If you are unlucky enough to lose your job for one reason or another, it probably won’t take long before the money you have doesn’t add up to the money you owe. One of the first things you might stop paying on time are your bills and that means they’re going to start piling up fast.
This isn’t an experience anyone likes having and is stressful for not only yourself, but for anyone who depends on you to cover the bills such as your spouse or family. Not being able to cover your monthly debts should be avoided at all costs. Not just because it can result in your gas or electricity getting cut off, but it can also lead to huge dips in your credit score – which can have a serious impact on the future if you are looking to open a new credit card, buy a car, or purchase a new home.
The important thing to keep in mind is that if you are facing a need for fast cash in order to pay your loans, there are a few solutions that you can seek out to get you through this tough financial period. It takes work – and sometimes a bit of risk – to get through it, but in the end, it could help save your car, your house, and everything in between.
Read on to learn some ways to pay your bills when you don’t have the money to pay your bills.
Focus on what matters most
If your bills are starting to pile up all around you, you have to first focus on what you need to pay first not only live comfortably, but productively as well. After all, you can’t get yourself out of financial trouble if you’re not looking for work to make money. While it may be tempting to pay off the bills you can and leave the rest for a later day, that is not the way to do it.
Focus on the bills that are the most important to your daily life. Food, shelter, transportation, electricity. These are the kinds of bills you’re going to have to pay if you and your family wants to continue living productive lifestyles amidst the stress of not being able to pay all of your bills.
If your mortgage is simply too much to bear and you can’t find anyway to pay it, you don’t have to necessarily move right away. Depending on how much trouble you are in, it might actually be advantageous to not pay your mortgage and remain in your current home.
The process of foreclosure can take anywhere from a few months to several years. That means you could potentially be staying in your house without making payments while you work to dig yourself out of the financial hole you have found yourself in.
Find out how long you have until you start facing consequences
None of this is fun, but it’s all necessary. Do your research and find out how much time you have before the consequences of not paying your bills begin. While there are basically no bills that don’t come without consequences if left unchecked, there is a big difference between missing a credit card payment or phone bill, and defaulting on your mortgage.
It’s crucial to find out when you will begin to feel the repercussions of not paying a specific bill and what those repercussions will be.
This takes work, and you’re going to have to prepare yourself to ask questions that you likely don’t want the answers to, but it is crucial for you to remain in the know when it comes to the consequences of struggling to pay your bills.
Know what your options are
There are no solutions to owning money other than paying the money that you owe. However, that does not mean that you can’t get help along the way. If you’re at risk of getting your house foreclosed on, take some time to research relief programs.
For those struggling with mortgage payments, there are ways to seek help. HAMP and HARP were both created following the 2008 housing crisis in an attempt to lessen the burden for those who are at risk of foreclosure. HAMP is for those who have already missed a payment. They will work with you to modify your mortgage payment so it makes up no more than 31% of your gross monthly income. HARP is for those who have not yet missed a payment. It does this by lowering your interest rate and changes it to a fixed rate.
If you’re facing short-term pressure but are confident that you financial situation is going to improve in a fairly short amount of time, one option to consider is to take out personal loan. Based on your credit, you could take out a rather large unsecured loan and pay as you go. If you do not have the credit score necessary to take out an unsecured loan, there are options available to you such as a car title loan or payday loan.
For example, car title loans utilize the value of your vehicle and offer you a fast cash loan in exchange for you trading in your vehicle’s title. It comes with the risk of repossession, but if you are confident that you will be able to pay it off in time, it can be a great asset. Learn more here.
If you’re at risk of missing a car payment, reach out to your creditor or lender and see if you can refinance the loan. If you have good credit, it could work out that you get a modified payment and are given permission to reduce your monthly payments, or get a short-term agreement to not have a monthly payment for an agreed upon time.
If you’re sensing that you won’t be able to make a payment on your credit card, reach out to your provider and ask what is typically done in this situation. The rep may be able to extend your due date to give you some time to make your minimum payment.
These are just a few options for some of the most common and impactful forms of debt. It’s also proof that even when things seem bad, there is always a way to make it a bit better.
Ignoring the Problem Until the Calls Start Coming Won’t Help
It may be tempting to just ignore your creditors and lenders and hope that the problem goes away, but that’s not going to happen. Most creditors want to work with you because it’s much less hassle to chase you down for the money and they get much more money back when they don’t have to discharge the debt to the third party (i.e. a collection agency).
There are options, several common ones were discussed above, and you are not the first person to have to deal with these issues. Don’t be afraid to ask for help and take this moment as an opportunity to really take control of your finances. None of this happened overnight, and the solution won’t come overnight either, but there is a brighter future ahead.