If you lose a job or suffer a financial setback, you might find yourself asking, “What am I going to do now? How do I manage to pay my bills with little or no money? How do I avoid losing my home and staying out of trouble with my creditors?” Although the situation can seem helpless at first, there are a number of things you can do to stay afloat during the tough times. But, in order to avoid having problems later, you need to take action immediately. If you run into a financial crises, and fear that you may have trouble paying your bills, do not ignore your bills or stop paying. If you default or pay late, you could be hit with late payment fees and a much higher interest rate on the unpaid balance. Instead,
Contact your creditors immediately, and ask about options they may be willing to offer to help you deal with this situation. If you are in good standing with the creditor, they may be willing to
• Accept lower payments,
• Lower your interest rate, or
• Offer you an extended time to make a payment without assessing a penalty or higher interest rate.
If you are unable to get help from customer service, ask to speak to a supervisor or account retention specialist.
Some consumers also prefer to work with a credit counselor to help them deal with all of their bills. However, if you contact or are contacted by a credit counselor, be careful. Not all credit counselors are reputable, and some may charge exorbitant fees to provide a service that you might be able to do on your own. If choose to work with a credit counselor, make sure that you check out their reputation, ask for information in writing about the services that they will provide, and make sure to get a complete schedule of all fees that will be charged for providing assistance. .