A Vet still fighting

Well my story is not a unique one I'm sure but nonetheless. I was working for a good high tech company and had a great salary with stocks, pension and all of that. It was just my wife and I. We had just started the process of buying a house. I am also in the military reserves. When the terrorist attacks happened on Sept. 11, I was ready and thought I might be called up. Indeed I was called to active duty in October of that same year. I spent two years on military duty. When the time came to be discharged, I notified my employer within 2 months of being discharged. They replied, "great, we look forward to having you back." It wasn't untl a week that I was due back that they said "we downsized and eliminated your position". This was a company over 200 people. So my first day back, I was let go with a thanks and a mediocre severance package. I spent the next year unemployed. My work experience was in the HR field which was a declining industry during the economic downturn. Meaning, no one was hiring HR people. They were laying off. As most people know, unemployment benefits only go so far. Mine went to house and cars ,then heat and food. Other bills had to wait. Not to mention, my wife had our first child whiie I was on active duty. Well, I eventually went back to work a year later in 2004. But the damage had been done and continued. My house was in foreclosure and I had been negotiating with the mortgage company like crazy. They accepted my large payments for the arrearages and then changed their minds. Now my house is safe and current, but not the rest of the bills. So it's only been recent that I have been learning how to deal with creditors. My current job requires a security clearance which is in jeopardy at the moment because of my collections. Well, I can only pay them about one or two at a time since I am making about 1/3 of what I used to make. In hindsight, maybe I should have sold my house, but that is very difficult if it is in foreclosure. Not to mention that no one will give you another house loan nor could I move into a nice apartment complex with marginal credit. So this forum helps in many ways. Maybe there are others out there with a similar story and more sucess that they can share. Maybe I can help someone else.