catalytic converter cant afford right now (1,300) can I still drive my car?

yes. its just for emitions. everything will run fine

If its real bad can cause un do back pressure or even get so hot it glows red. This could cause more damage or even catch fire in worse case . I would not wait to long.

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/question4822.htm --- check this out

thank-you all will fix soon!

It is more than likely the rear O2 sensor rather than the catalytic converter.

check the warranty on your emisions system. It's longer than the rest of the car.

the warranty means nothing if you're not the orrigional owner, also look into other brands of catalytic converters, they'll cost less than at a dealer. I got my foreward cat through Borla, it's a direct fit cat (just bolts in) took 30 mins to do on my Subaru and cost $450 instead of $600, also you could have a universal cat put in for the secondary cat that would do just fine and they're about $200. The reason the front is so much is your're replacing more than just the cat, you're replacing the exhaust manifold to because it's all one piece.

Can you just bypass or replace the catalytic converter with a pipe?

You cannot legally bypass a catalytic converter.