[parttimepro]

This sounds like a really difficult situation. Bottom line, he needs to make more money and spend less. It sounds like the best way for him to make money would be to get a job as a mechanic. The barrier to this is the apprenticeship required. I have a couple thoughts about this. First, this may not be inappropriate, as there are probably significant differences between cars in Tanzania and in Canada. Maybe I'm totally off base, but I would guess that most Tanzanian cars would be older models that are generally easier to service (i.e. mechanical rather than computer-controlled, they have carburetors, etc.) So it might be incorrect to think this is just a bureaucratic barrier.

Secondly, and more importantly, apprentices must get paid at least as well as security guards. $22K canadian is what, $15K US? That's got to be minimum wage. Getting an apprenticeship is at worst a lateral move, pay-wise.

Can't give specifics about controlling spending. Others have noted that refinancing his house will let him pay off his credit card debt and save on interest payments that way. Depending on where he lives and how much his daughter's tuition is, it should be possible to get by on $52K/year. I have plenty of grad student friends living on less than half that (no kids, of course, which makes things a lot easier).

I'm glad you're talking to people like the security guard at your building. There are a whole bunch of people, a lot of them immigrants, who are working hard and playing by the rules, trying to make a better life for their children.