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@Hypatia: I'm so sorry you are going through this What is DH's recovery looking like?

Do either you or your husband have a 401K to draw from during this time?

I'd also try to simplify meals as much as possible. Cut costs where you can. Reduce energy bill by cutting consumption.

Cut out or reduce snacks from grocery list.

Reach out to your community. Food pantries and churches can offer help. Temporary public assistance.

Maybe ask for a personal loan through a friend or family member?

Anyway you can pick up extra money through a temporary job or services? Can you cut hair? Offer to mow grass? Babysit?

That's all I can think of hon.

When we’ve hit tough spots we’ll suspend 401k contributions for a couple pay cycles until we get back on our feet. That can bring in quite a bit more per pay cycle and we always manage to catch up before the year end. Can you suspend gym memberships? Charitable contributions? Bike to work to save on gas?

We have had a ton of medical bills in the past 5 years so I hear you the main thing I think is to negotiate an interest free payment plan with the medical providers. Between DH and I in 5 years, we have had 3 surgeries, 5 ER visits, and 2 babies, and every time the medical providers were willing to do a payment plan.

I don't know what your spending habits are like, but I think you cover some big major moves in your post. Do you track spending in categories and have an idea of averages? When we had a ton of extra surprise expenses last year, I went through our budget with a fine toothed comb, and tried to come up with strategies for each category.

Also there should be free breakfast and lunch provided over the summer in some schools in your area most likely, no forms to fill out or anything.

I'm so sorry. This sounds like a really hard time and you've already cut a lot out of your budget. When we've tightened the only extra thing is I buy raw ingredients (so bag of beans then crockpot cook them and freeze rather than buy cans) and cut down on meat consumption.

Like others suggested I would look for a CC with 0% for 12 months promotional deal so if you do end up needing to use it you're not accumulating interest. Also calculate what you can pay of the medical bills while still making ends meet and try to negotiate that. Hospitals and the like much prefer something rather than medical bills just getting unpaid. They tend to work with you on those. Also watch those bills because we've found mistakes that if we didn't pay attention we would have paid more than we had to. Such a pain.

is there any wiggle room in your schedule to take on any extra paid work? Maybe babysitting a couple hours a week, cleaning a house or two on the weekends, or even a regular waitressing shift?
I'm sorry you guys are going through this- it sounds really stressful

I would look for income opportunities at this point, are you in the position to get a temporary job?

I also don't know if this is an option, but can you barter for services?

@MrsLonghorn: Is this the one you are thinking of? Although it's hard to pick just one. I miss her...

http://boards.hellobee.com/topic/hours-cut-at-work-budgetlife-advice#post-2806583

A couple of things I can suggest that I think just echo what others have said:
1. Cut out all unnecessary spending (which it sounds like you have).
2. Create a meal plan with simple meals and stick to your budget. Remove drinks and snacks from food shopping budget ie: wine, beer, soda, crystal lite. Obviously snacks for kids makes sense but buy off brand or shop at Aldi or Walmart. Those are more often than not, the most inexpensive grocery stores. Use cash for food, which helps with sticking to that budget.
3. If you can, find a second job temporarily. It may take a couple of months but Christmas season is coming and people always hire around August / September for that. A night shift at Kohl's can help A LOT, surprisingly.
4. Stop contributing to 401k, kids savings plans, etc.

Good luck. I know it's hard but once you get those medical bills paid off, you'll be able to get back on track with your emergency savings. I did Dave Ramsey's program and it was a huge help to me.

Just like you can temporarily scale back on your 401k, you can do the same with your taxes for a few paychecks, you'll just have to make up the difference in April. Summer is also a great time for free kids meals. Check if your local school district offers them.

Definitely find a card with 0% interest until you can get back on your feet. You may be able to borrow from your retirement funds, but I'd save that as a last resort.

for us, food is one of the biggest expenses every month. I would maybe ask at your local stores when they mark down meat, bakery, produce... I have gotten some insanely good deals on perfectly good groceries and even household items like AC filters or contact solution that way before. you can follow some coupon blogs for ways to get CVS extrabucks and all of that. my friend has made a lot of money with that kind of thing. I am sorry you are dealing with this.

I apologize for not reading all the responses first but here are my quick thoughts:

1) Meal plan, budget friendly of course, and stick tightly to it. Do you have frozen meat you can get creative with? Check out Aldi? You can get real creative with meals to cut costs....I did a challenge one week and was shocked how much I could cut our grocery bill if I really tried.

2) Establish a cash only system...We've got friends who do this when they need to tighten the purse strings...set a budget at the beginning of the week, cash in envelopes for each item...use cash only.

Good luck to you!

@Hypatia: May not be relevant but I gathered up a bunch of old (mall quality) jewelry and took it to a place that buys pre-owned signed pieces (like tiffany) and scrap gold. Stuff I wasnt using at all and didnt like turned into a check for $1400!!