The Credit Crunch

Do you find that as each month comes and goes it is getting harder to make ends meet? Is there more month left than money? We're you recently laid off? Cut back at work? Maybe since everything has gone up in price, what you were once able to do with your paycheck, has decreased.

Whatever the reason is, these are very tough economic times. You may find yourself in a situation where you have to make a decision as to which bills you can afford to pay this month. If you are robbing Peter to pay Paul, you are probably very stressed, worrying about how will you make ends meet and maintain a quality lifestyle without ruining your credit. You are not alone!

If you are currently employed and earning an income, here is what you should do if you find yourself in a situation where you are running short on money and you can't make that payment. The first thing you should do is determine your priority bills. What I mean by your priority bills are your Mortgage or Rent, car payment and utilities. These are the things that must be paid monthly in order to keep a roof over your head and food on the table. The mortgage or rent must be paid to maintain a secure residence.

The car payment must be paid so that you can be able to get to work to receive a paycheck. The utilities, such as electric and gas must be paid so that you can have heat and electricity and be able to cook and maintain a decent household. The next priority should be groceries. If you've been to the grocery store lately, then you know the price of food is skyrocketing. It is probably a good idea to get coupons and use them to save money. You can get coupons from the newspaper or you can go online and get coupons. There are many websites online where you can get coupons. Do a search and they will all come up. These are necessities in order to live. You can then determine what your next priority bill should be.

If at any time you have a bill you can not pay. Please contact the creditor and explain your situation to them. Creditors will be more than happy to work out a payment arrangement with you. Be sure that the arrangement is one that you are sure you can afford to keep. However, keep in mind, creditors will try to get the most money they can out of you. Please know that as long as you pay the bare minimum towards your debt, you can not be sued. However, you can be sued if you ignore your creditors and do not contact them at all and if you do not attempt to make any payments towards your debt. Also, you should know, even if you pay the bare minimum towards the debt, your creditor will probably continue to call you to get more money. These are scare tactics they use.

If you fall short and cannot make a payment, please understand that your creditors will call you. They will call you sometimes several time per day. I guess they think they can harass the money out of you. If you experience these calls, you can answer the phone and simply ask them to not call your home anymore and to put all correspondence in writing. Or, you can simply send them a letter stating the same. They do not have a right to harass you by phone. Same applies if they call you at work.

If you find yourself in a situation where you have no income coming in at all; for example, you were laid off, cut-backs, fired or your job was phased out; the first thing you should do is either contact your local unemployment or state aid office as soon as possible. It is important that you contact the appropriate office to start an application. In most cases, it will take weeks before you will receive monetary assistance, but you may be able to receive food assistance immediately. You will also need to contact your creditors and follow the steps above, except you may not be able to make any payments right away. You will need to explain your situation to your creditors, including your landlord or mortgage company, utilities etc.

If all else fails and you are overwhelmed by debt, do not be afraid or too proud to contact a Debt Consolidation company. However, please research the company and be sure you receive a clear understanding of how they will help you. Debt Consolidation can work in many cases. Your other option is to contact a lawyer to see if you may qualify for bankruptcy. A bankruptcy is only an option after a period of time, usually 3 months or more of your being delinquent in your debt.

A lawyer can explain your options in more detail. Please do not contact a Debt Settlement company. Debt Settlement companies work differently than Debt Consolidation. Debt Settlement claims they will settle with your creditors to get them to agree to your paying only a portion of the debt you owe. Be careful in contacting these companies. Many lawyers will tell you they can SCAM you and they do not work for your best interest (see my article entitled "Beware of The Debt Settlement Scams").

Should you find yourself in any of these situations, there is yet another option. It is to go into business for yourself. Now is the time to consider taking control of your financial situation. I am in the business of training individuals to work from their home and successfully earn a great income. I have successfully trained people to earn a six-figure income within a 2-4 year time frame. Please view the short video and let me know if I could be of help to you.

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