We all need money to pay bills. It’s how we keep heating our homes, keep water coming out of our taps, keep the lights being able to be switched on. It’s part of life. If you’re struggling to make ends meet, let’s take a look at what you can do.
Don’t Bury Your Head
Firstly, as much as you might want to hide your bills in the back of a drawer and forget about them, it won’t help. Tackling your situation head on is a far better option and once you start to get the issues organised and sorted out you’ll feel much better. There is plenty of help out there if you are willing to accept it but that’s often the hardest step.
Contact Someone You Trust
It could be possibility that someone, maybe a friend or family member, can lend you the money. If the bill is just a one off whilst you wait for a pay cheque or invoice to be settled, this might be a good way to sort out the problem. If it’s only part of a much larger problem, borrowing money from loved ones probably isn’t the best idea. Putting your financial pressure on others isn’t the best thing to do as you don’t know what they’re going through either.
Make A Phone Call
Honesty is the best policy. If you contact the company that the bill is from and tell them exactly what’s going on with your financial status, they’re much more likely to be understanding. If they have to chase you again and again for payment they’re understanding will waiver. Taking your honesty into consideration, they might extend the payment terms to give you extra time. Make sure you keep paying any instalments they agree upon, which will clear your balance quicker and show the company that you’re committed to settling the payment.
Write Down A List Of Priorities
Luxuries can wait. You need money to pay bills. List your priorities with food, shelter and heating being at the top. Mortgage or rent and any loans against your home should be at the top too.
Make A Budget
Budgeting what you earn and what you spend is vital. It can help you see just what financial situation you are in. Maybe you’ve not been meeting ends meet for longer than you think. Cancel your TV contract, swap to a cheaper utilities supplier, quit the gym. See where your money is trickling out your account to and discover where you can save. The amount you save can go towards your bills and once you’ve covered that, into savings.
Sell Something
It’s easy to list things online via outlets such as Facebook Marketplace or eBay. If you have things you don’t need, sell them. The money will be far more useful and you can keep those bills at bay. It might not be a long term plan but short term, that cash in your hand can be spent on the things you need it to be, the item from your shelf can’t.
Work Your Socks Off
You might not have the option of taking on a second job but that could be a solution if you do have some spare hours every week. Even a couple of hours of shop work or behind a bar every week could help your current situation. Don’t overthink it, don’t think you’re too good for it, it can ease the pressure you’re currently under.
Get Help
As mentioned before, there are places that can help and you don’t need to pay for this help either. That will just get you into more trouble. The charities that can help give you free advice on how to tackle debt and work with creditors. Non-profit organisations who can help you include Stepchange, Christians Against Poverty and National Debtline.
Lastly, please don’t go to a pay day loan place if you need money to pay bills. It can be tempting, especially with their flashing marketing and graphics but it wont help you get control over your finances. It will simply mask the problem and make it worse. The sooner you tackle your situation, the better.
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