A: First, I'd recommend reexamining the house-cleaning job. Unless you can find someone to swap child care with, it's not worth working outside the home and paying for the child care.

If you can't find someone to barter childcare with, see if there are things you can do at home that might help bring in money. Do you sew? I know one stay-at-home mom, and she does alterations, makes children's clothes and costumes, and even custom cushion covers. She also does some bookkeeping on the side, which was her occupation before she had kids. Are there other kids that you could provide childcare for in your home?

As for the debt, you've done a great first step, of consolidating. Now, you need to look and see what's causing the money drains in your household, so that you're not able to move forward. Are you still charging on any of the credit cards? If so, stop. Can you negotiate a longer repayment term on the consolidation loan? It never hurts to ask. What interest rate did you get on the consolidation loan? If it's more than 14 percent, I'd look around and see if there isn't someone else who is offering a better deal.

Finally, I'd recommend sitting down and actually working up a budget, so you can see exactly where all your money is going. Track your expenses over the next 30 days, looking at everything that you spend. Not to judge where the money is going, but so you can get a detailed picture and make informed choices. You may be surprised at what you find out, and then you can make decisions.

There are ways to save money without having to give up what you enjoy. Get your whole family involved and see what ways they can think of to save money. This may include things like selling lots of the toys that kids have outgrown.