What to Do If You Can’t Afford Your Bills
If you are hiding your bills in a drawer and trying to forget about them, it is time to face up to financial reality. Sadly those bills will not go away and they will need to be paid at some stage. Missing payments to your debts could mean additional interest and charges will be added, making your debt even more unaffordable.
Here are some ways for you to deal with your debt problems if you can’t afford your bills…
1: Face up to your debt problems - Being unable to pay a few bills could be masking an even bigger debt problem. So it is time to stop burying your head in the sand and face up to your financial problems. Struggling to make payments to debt is a serious problem, especially if they are classed as priority debts as you could lose that service.
2: Prioritise your outgoings – Now that you are facing your debt problems head first, it is time to prioritise your outgoings. There is no point spending money on new non-essential items when you have priority debts to pay. Meeting priority bill repayments, such as mortgage or utility bill, should take preference over other debts.
3: Set Yourself a Budget - A budget is easy to write down on paper but much harder to stick to in everyday life. Keep a diary of every expense and be honest with yourself, so you need to include everything from your morning latte to late-night takeaway. This will give you a good idea about where you are spending unnecessarily.
4: Make Contact - Making contact with the company that you owe money to is essential. You can tell them that you are having problem paying the bill and they may be sympathetic especially if you are usually a regular payer. Even if you cannot afford the full bill, it is advised that you make some payment towards it as then your creditor can see that you are making an effort to clear your debts.
5: Get Debt Help - There is no need to struggle with financial difficulties by yourself. There are a number of companies out there which are designed to help you with your personal finances and One Advice is one of them. We offer a range of debt solutions and can offer you free debt advice about which solution is best suited for you.
