on and forward . iReport : Read Thompson-Arce 's post By the time she married Mathew Arce last July , she said she and her ex were friends . In fact , they were so close that his mother -- meaning Thompson-Arce 's ex-mother-in-law -- was in -LRB- not just at -RRB- the second wedding ceremony . Soon after the Florida wedding , the new lovebirds flew into a financial mess . She had left a job , and as soon as she found another -LRB- a temp position -RRB- , her 22-year-old husband was fired from his higher-paying gig . iReport.com : Job hunt stories They fell behind in rent . The bills stacked up . The credit card debt grew . iReport.com : What are you cutting from budget ? A couple months later , Arce , landed a temporary Wal-Mart cashier position , which has since turned into a full-time job . But finances remained shaky and digging themselves out of debt seemed insurmountable . Tell us how you 're surviving in this economy In walked the ex with an offer , just in time for Christmas . Thompson , an 18-year bakery employee at Wal-Mart ,
Editor 's note : This story is part of an ongoing series of profiles CNN is doing about economic survival in this time of financial crisis . Nicole Thompson-Arce poses on her wedding day with her husband , Mathew Arce , and her ex-mother-in-law . -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Struggling to make ends meet , trying to dig themselves out of debt , Nicole Thompson-Arce and her husband have moved in with her ex-husband . Together , the unlikely threesome of Omaha , Nebraska , is raising two young daughters from the first marriage . It 's the kind of situation that has left cable guys howling . `` They 'd never heard anything like this , '' Thompson-Arce , 28 , remembered with a laugh . `` And they 're in people 's homes everyday . '' When she and Craig Thompson , 42 , were going through a divorce in 2005 , this was not a deal either of them could have imagined striking . It was a messy divorce , the kind involving a custody dispute . But once they ironed out that battle , agreeing to joint custody , Thompson-Arce said they were able to move