Reacting When You Need Help Paying Bills |
By Siddarth Nagaraj on April 26, 2011
.jpg.aspx?width=75&height=75) When you’re in debt, bills seem to accumulate even more quickly than normal. As you struggle to cope with your existing problems and take firm hold of your financial situation once more it can be difficult to maintain other responsibilities, leading to the amassing of further bills. In such situations, it is understandable that you should feel tempted to seek assistance in paying bills.
However, there are a number of ways to do this and not all of them are advisable, as some prove very costly and increase your dependence on external third parties, preventing you from regaining your financial independence and ensuring that you won’t find yourself in a similar situation in the future. These options vary widely, from services that provide quick capital at high charges (such as payday loans) to private attorneys who will handle your affairs in exchange for payment to bill consolidation services that target those who are searching for a way to simplify their debt repayment process. All of these have multiple flaws and should be considered with due caution, but regardless of your financial situation, it’s important that you plan ahead for potential financial dilemmas so that if you do encounter serious plans you have an idea of how to face them. If you currently need help paying bills, consider what steps you can take as an individual to lessen your burden before seeking external help which may bring with it additional costs.
Simplification has been promoted for ages as a useful general method of easing management of one’s affairs and it makes sense that would be so. If you are having difficulty finding sufficient resources in your account to pay your bills, see what costs you can integrate or eliminate. This could involve changing or reducing your subscribed payment plans for services such as phones, television, and Internet access but it might also cover broader expenses should you find that you are currently paying for multiple versions of the same service and can afford to do without one or both of them. It’s also worthwhile asking providers of services like phone connections what alternative billing options exist; depending on your situation it may be possible for you to find a solution that works for you but involves less austere measures.
It is absolutely vital that you not succumb to the pressure of dealing with unpaid bills by attempting to avoid your creditors due to fear or inability or unawareness of how to repay them. The costs that come with not corresponding with your creditors are multifaceted and severe. In addition to the higher charges, additional bills and further penalties (including legal action) you can face, you are likely to lose opportunities to negotiate more favorable terms of payment to your creditors when sorting out your bills. Late payments will hurt your credit score, impeding your ability to access necessary credit from trustworthy sources. Furthermore, failing to pay different bills on time will have varying consequences, as while credit card companies and medical providers sometimes wait months before contacting debt collection agencies (although that is certainly no reason to fall behind on payments), landlords, auto lenders and mortgage lenders are known for being relatively intolerant of those who don’t pay when due.
Paying bills when you’re struggling to make ends meet can be a trying experience. As you attempt to assess what expenses you can cut and how to pay those you can’t, the prospect of handing responsibility for management of your financial affairs to someone else can seem attractive. However, it’s still possible to handle bill payment on your own and this can help you organize your finances for the future. |
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