HELP!

[Jester]

Call the Chesterfield hotel and make it very clear to them that not only did you not stay in their hotel, you are not even in their city, and they need to remove that charge, pronto.

[Imogene]

Yeah, turns out that was their final charge, the one they did just before I was forced to leave... a charge I didn't tell them to do, and basically suggested I needed to leave. According to my friend, though, I could've stayed through the weekend at least.... which might've stopped me from going all the way to Independence...
Meanwhile, I am back in Chesterfield, after Dad Western Union'd me $150, to get me back here, and to pay for a room for two nights. He was talking about getting me a place for a month, but backed down on that one...
In other news, if I use the money to continue on to New York, it'll be the last money he ever sends me. Because he foresees a day where I will call him to come pick me up from New York to get back to Texas. Except I've promised myself I am NEVER returning to Texas, and the future roommates have basically said I will always at least have the couch...

[Seshat]

Check out truck stops and backpacker hostels. You may be able to make the $150 stretch a lot longer than two nights.

Buy food from cheap chain grocery stores, and buy things like oatmeal and dried legumes: CHEAP and filling. Add the cheapest fruit and veggies you can get to keep you healthy. If you need storage stuff and stuff to soak the oatmeal and legumes in, get them from charity shops, not new.

Wash clothes with ordinary hand soap in the sinks or basins in the truck stops/backpacker hostels, squeeze the water out in a towel (wrap in a towel, walk all over the wrapped towel/clothing bundle) and hang both clothes and towel over the shower rail overnight to finish drying.

As others have said: you're not in a situation to be picky right now. Raw fruit and veg for the variety of vitamins and minerals, cold soaked grain/legume mixes for protein and bulk. Water to drink. Necessary purchases from charity shops, secondhand. Stay in the cheapest places you can that aren't actually dangerous to your health or body. (thus, truck stops and backpacker hostels)

Surrender the car and take the hit to your credit rating.
Sell the laptop.
If you can get enough together for a greyhound (or generic bus line/amtrack) ticket to new york with those, do so, and GO. Sleep on the bus.

If that doesn't do it, backpacker hostel staff almost always know where you can get temporary work. Stay at the hostel, do the work (probably cleaning at a bar or something, but hey, it'll bring in money), until you have enough for the ticket.

[ArcticChicken]

Ramen noodles are cheap. Add hot water, and stir.

I like to toss a crapton of veggies into mine, makes it much more filling and satisfying.

In my experience, farmers markets sell better veggies for cheaper than a supermarket, though everything else is more expensive.

ETA: You can get internet access in most libraries, sell the laptop.

[Imogene]

Let's see... spent $40 to get gas back to Chesterfield... spent $45 that night to stay in the motel I'd been in the night before I drove to Independence...
My hotel friend supposedly posted my Zune on Craigslist for me...
Slept in the car last night to save the last $50 from Dad... but since he's not going to send me any more money, I'm looking to get gas money to NY

[Seshat]

Go to a backpacker hostel and ask where backpackers find temporary work.

[Imogene]

Current update:
I an currently sitting at $150... my friend decided to just give me the money for my Zune this morning, and I plan on getting an Amtrak ticket for Wed... looks like the ticket should only be $139... so, if I could get a bit more to cover food until Wed, I'll be spectacular.

[telecom_goddess]

Ok I'm trying to keep up here...so this is the train to NYC? good luck with this.

[Imogene]

Just checked Amtrak's website, the ticket price jumped up to $179... I also checked what happens if I voluntarily surrender my car... and while it would be nice to not have to worry about the car, I would still be paying for whatever they couldn't sell the car for... so, if my friend can find a friend of hers who could just watch the car for me until I can save up enough to have someone transport it to NY...
Wandered into my friend's hotel to hang out, and her boss was still around... my friend and I were discussing what I'm going to do with my car, and her boss told me I could park it in the back of their parking lot, so long as there was a definite time limit on me moving it away. Like, 60 days... which kind of helps.

[Imogene]

Okay, so... I woke up this morning and the car wouldn't turn over... luckily, I was in walking distance of the hotel, so I grabbed the laptop and walked over... friend jumped my car, and here I am, seriously contemplating trying to sell the laptop back to the guy I bought it from in hopes of getting enough from that to buy the Amtrak ticket to get the hell out of Chesterfield, to somewhere where I might find stability at least briefly. I'm still looking for a way to give the car back and just have the loan cleared. Tired of all the shit it's giving me now.

[Sapphire Silk]

Okay, so... I woke up this morning and the car wouldn't turn over... luckily, I was in walking distance of the hotel, so I grabbed the laptop and walked over... friend jumped my car, and here I am, seriously contemplating trying to sell the laptop back to the guy I bought it from in hopes of getting enough from that to buy the Amtrak ticket to get the hell out of Chesterfield, to somewhere where I might find stability at least briefly. I'm still looking for a way to give the car back and just have the loan cleared. Tired of all the shit it's giving me now.

Can you just take it to the bank and surrender the keys? You'll still owe the difference on what they sell it for and what you owe, though. I don't think they do short sales for cars (though they might, have you asked?)

Otherwise, it's just a wait for the repo man.

[Mikkel]

Consider the difference rent for the time you had the car. A car always lose value faster than you can pay off a loan.
I guess a rental would have been more expensive.
The newer the car is when you (or the bank) sell it, the less you lose. Better not complicate things with leaving it and chancing vandalism.

[Imogene]

Can you just take it to the bank and surrender the keys? You'll still owe the difference on what they sell it for and what you owe, though. I don't think they do short sales for cars (though they might, have you asked?)

Otherwise, it's just a wait for the repo man.

Can't find a bank nearby, CarMax (where I bought the car originally) wouldn't take it back if I didn't pay off the loan in full at the same time.

[protege]

Better not complicate things with leaving it and chancing vandalism.

Yep, I was going to say that too. Letting the car sit too long might be a bad thing. In some areas, such vehicles tend to attract attention...and become prime targets for vandalism and/or theft. The loan won't go away if something happens to the vehicle.

[Sapphire Silk]

Can't find a bank nearby, CarMax (where I bought the car originally) wouldn't take it back if I didn't pay off the loan in full at the same time.

Your best bet is a strategic default then. Not something I would normally advocate, but right now if you are still making payments, you are throwing good money after bad when you are barely making ends meet.

Let the repo man take it.

I'd keep paying on the insurance though, until that happens. Anything happens to or because of that car, and you have no insurance, and that could mean big trouble.