Besides grants for food, housing, and temporary welfare assistance, state and federal governments offer few opportunities for loans and grants unless you're trying to get help paying for college. Find information on federal college loan and grant programs for yourself, which may be a long-term way for you to find a way out of your current financial stress.

Loans, in general, aren't a good idea unless the item you're paying for will appreciate (increase) in value with time. This is why home mortgages are considered a good way to spend your money. Although you do pay interest on the mortgage, because the home increases in value, you almost always owe less on the mortgage than the home is worth.

But if you use loans to pay your rent or buy food, you'll simply put yourself that much deeper into a hole. To get back on solid financial footing, try to use only your own earnings, or the occasional assistance from the government if you absolutely need it, to pay for your expenses in life.