Emergency Coping Strategies When You Can’t Pay Your Bills

You tried everything to stretch your budget as far as it would go. You clipped coupons and charged your grocery purchases on buy now pay later (BNPL). The last time you spent money on entertainment was years ago; your idea of fun is watching free YouTube videos, ads and all, at the public library. The highlight of your day is lying in bed all evening and reading books from the public library; when you’re lucky, some of the interesting ideas and events in the books even make their way into your dreams. You never drive anywhere except work and the supermarket, because you don’t want to spend more money than that on gas. Somehow, despite all your efforts, your financial situation has gotten even worse. After years of making the minimum payments on all your bills and debts in the nick of time, it has become obvious that there is no way to pay for everything this month. The worst thing you can do is panic, but the best thing you can do is to contact a Philadelphia debt relief lawyer.

First, Prioritize Which Bills to Pay This Month

You can’t pay all of your bills this month, but you can pay some of them, and you should. When you decide which bills to pay, focus on what is most important instead of what is most urgent. Food is the most important thing, so buy groceries, unless you have enough food in your fridge and freezer to avoid it, or unless you can get food from food banks or from family and friends. The next thing to prioritize is shelter. Pay your rent or mortgage if you can afford to, even if it means missing a payment on all your other bills. Utilities and secured debts such as your car loan are next in order of priority, but your situation would be much worse if you didn’t have your car or your air conditioning. Everything else can wait. This includes credit cards, BNPL bills, and medical debt, no matter how often the creditors contact you to bug you about paying.

Second, Think About Long-Term Solutions

Without decisive action on your part, the problem will be at least as bad next month. Your first step is to call the creditors for the bills you could not pay to set up a payment plan or, if appropriate, to cancel services. Apply for unemployment insurance if you just lost your job, as well as SNAP and any other public benefit programs you might qualify for. If you are healthy enough to work, keep applying for jobs. Move in with family if this is an option. It is also not too soon to contact a debt relief lawyer to discuss options such as settling your debts or applying for debt consolidation loans.

Contact CONSUMERLAWPA.com About Getting Through a Financial Crisis

A Philadelphia consumer law attorney can help you get through the most recent financial crisis.  Contact CONSUMERLAWPA.com to set up a free, confidential consultation.

Source:

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