You can determine a financial emergency once you
experience a situation that can render you moneyless,
homeless or without any important property. You should
differentiate this kind of emergency from a
threatening phone call or letter from a bill
collector.
When experiencing such emergency, it is crucial to act
immediately and begin by contacting the creditor.
Doing so enables you to work out a temporary solution,
which can help you keep your properties. However, it
does not always work and if so, getting in touch with
your lawyer to negotiate with the creditor is helpful.
Face the Problem
The common misconception in debt problems is « the less
you know, the less it hurts ». However, you must learn
how to face your debt problems. You must be able to do
this since rebuilding and repairing the credit will
not take place when you do not know exactly where your
money goes or where it must go instead.
Although it is not harmful to overestimate your debt,
it is always beneficial to know how much money you
really owe. You can do this by taking a look on the
bills you have received. In case you have thrown out
your bills without even opening them, you can still
call customer service and inquire about the bills.
There are several creditors that use automated
telephone systems. This can provide a balance and
information regarding the payments automatically.
Additionally, information about your account might
also be available on your creditors’ Web sites. After
acquiring the necessary details, sum it all up,
especially those past due installment bills and your
monthly obligations.
Options Available for Your Debts
There are several options available when dealing with
debts. One is to do nothing. This option is probably
the most popular approach used by those who are deeply
in debt. Most often, these people have very small
income and property and do not normally expect any
change in their lifestyle. If you do not anticipate
any steady income any time soon, you can consider this
option.
However, if doing nothing does not help, you can find
money to pay your debts. You can do this by, first,
selling a major asset, like a car or a house. This can
be a good choice if you can no longer afford your car
or house payments. Instead of waiting for a
repossession or foreclosure to happen, selling a
property is always a better.
The proceeds you gain from the sales can help lessen
your debt and enable you to pay off anything you still
owe. More so, you should remember to pay off the liens
placed by the creditors and use anything that is left
to aid you in paying your other debts. However, before
taking this step, make sure that you already came up
with an alternative for your housing or transportation
needs.
Another way, which can help you pay off your debts, is
to cut your expenses. Not only will this eventually
aid you in the payment but also in negotiating with
your creditors. Try to shrink the cost of your food by
clipping coupons, purchasing generic brands, buying
when there is a sale or shopping at outlets with
discounts.
Yet, if you cannot seem to cut your expenses, you can
always borrow money from a tax-deferred account.
Tax-deferred retirement account, like IRA or 401(k),
can help pay off debts by withdrawing money from them
before retirement. However, since you may need to pay
a penalty or taxes, this should only serve as your
last resort.