How To Get Rid Of My Debt?!

[jumpfrog]

If you live in a city, maybe you could advertise in your parish/diocese bulletin your willingness to do: child or elder care, odd jobs, housecleaning, meal prep, or a combination of the above. There are many busy professional families that just need a bit of extra help, from someone who is flexible. It may cost a bit for an ad, I am not sure how much...maybe you could even get it for a reduced cost.

[emmaberry]

[quote name='jumpfrog' timestamp='1344328446' post='2463928']
If you live in a city, maybe you could advertise in your parish/diocese bulletin your willingness to do: child or elder care, odd jobs, housecleaning, meal prep, or a combination of the above. There are many busy professional families that just need a bit of extra help, from someone who is flexible. It may cost a bit for an ad, I am not sure how much...maybe you could even get it for a reduced cost.
[/quote]

This. Also, depending on where you are in the country, there are a lot of wealthy devout people out there who love to support vocations, especially coming from their own parish. If you put an ad in your bulletin like jumpfrog said, you are bound to get some people who call you to rake their leaves/feed their dog/etc and then give you a couple hundred dollars, or just way too much money for such a simple job. My old church used to have 'sales' where the youth would go up in groups and be bid on by the audience for a day of work. Usually, they only worked for a couple hours, and the bidding would get really high. In that situation, the money was for youth conferences and travel, but you could put the funds raised towards your debt.

God bless!

[somethingfishy]

You may find it easier to pay off the debt if you have already been accepted to the congregation you're discerning with. Most of the organizations that will help discerners with debt require a letter of acceptance before they can help. In my experience, congregations don't require you to be free of debt before application/acceptance, but only before entrance (and entrance dates can be conditional, depending on whether you've paid off your debt). People will be more likely to donate as well if you have been accepted because then they know their money will be going toward your vocation.

God bless you in your discernment. It's wonderful to hear of vocations coming from Australia these days -- sounds like times aren't easy there for Catholics.

[PhuturePriest]

I agree that selling possessions you have would be a good idea, especially since you are entering a Convent and no longer need these things. Musical instruments are generally a good bet, especially since they are expensive most of the time. You may find you only have to sell a few things before you get the money you need.

[abrideofChrist]

[quote name='FuturePriest387' timestamp='1344378183' post='2464170']
I agree that selling possessions you have would be a good idea, especially since you are entering a Convent and no longer need these things. Musical instruments are generally a good bet, especially since they are expensive most of the time. You may find you only have to sell a few things before you get the money you need.
[/quote]

Many religious communities welcome musical instruments and similar items. Have a great lawn mower? Might be just what the community's looking for. Ditto for the oil paint set or your huge collection of the Fathers of the Church, sewing machine, box of nice yarn, etc.

[Maximilianus]

I imagine a community would take vehicles too... I was at an orphanage in Haiti and the sisters there had what I assume were military surplus vehicles... just thinking out loud.

This may seem ubiquitous, and I'm not sure how effective it would be, but you could start a blog or website, explaining your discernment, or displaying any gift or skill you have and attach a donation button. A little mendicant, but every little bit helps.

[AnneLine]

That's not TOO much debt... it should be do-able!

in addition to what you ahve already mentioned, if you have nice handwriting, I wonder if you could leave contact info at stationery shops that sell wedding invites and/or Christmas Card orders for businesses that you are available to address wedding invitations and/or Christmas cards on a per-item basis.

A lot of people will spend money for weddings that the wouldn't for other things.... and a few hundred invites at a reasonable recompense ($1.00 or $.50 US) per envelope would hadd up pretty quickly. Some businesses send holiday/Christmas cards out to ALL their customers, and again, might be willing to pay something for this to be done for them....

Or something similar to this... get creative!

[cmtc]

Thanks everyone! Your suggestions are blowing my mind!!! These responses are all so helpful - I really appreciate it!

I will add all the recent suggestions to the list and look into them all.

Be assured of my prayers for each one of you and your intentions.

In JMJ,
cmtc

Edited August 8, 2012 by cmtc

[littlesister]

One of our novices was in the same predicament, so she got herself sponsored to run the New York Marathon. If you.re athletic, something like that just might work. It did for her. Or could your future community hire you in one of their missions as a live-in? That would take care of room and board and the stipend, or salary as the case might be, could be applied to your debt. A number of our candidates have done that, but of course it depends on the work of the community and the requirements for their staffs. It's a challenge that many if not most discerners are facing today. We pray for them all the time.

[OnlySunshine]

[quote name='littlesister' timestamp='1344739270' post='2466332']
One of our novices was in the same predicament, so she got herself sponsored to run the New York Marathon. If you.re athletic, something like that just might work. It did for her. Or could your future community hire you in one of their missions as a live-in? That would take care of room and board and the stipend, or salary as the case might be, could be applied to your debt. A number of our candidates have done that, but of course it depends on the work of the community and the requirements for their staffs. It's a challenge that many if not most discerners are facing today. We pray for them all the time.
[/quote]

This is a very good idea! When I was in the application stage with the Carmelite Sisters of the Divine Heart of Jesus (Northern Province), I had credit card debt of $1,600. Since I did not have a job, I thought my entrance would have to be delayed until the following year but the Sisters were kind enough to offer me a position in their apostolate so I could work to pay off my debts. It was a great way to learn about their life firsthand and live in the convent. I lived in the flat with the junior Sisters, in the guest room. I was scheduled to be there for 6 weeks, but I left after 3 days due to some medical issues. Still, it was very useful to my discernment because I felt I needed to keep looking around since their apostolate wasn't the right fit for me.