This post was sponsored by MYJAR
It’s a situation no parent wants to be in–you don’t have enough money to pay the bills. You can find yourself in this situation thanks to medical expenses, job loss, or serious unexpected expenses. When you get in this tough position, you may find yourself having to choose between food, utilities, house payment or car payment. What’s a parent to do?
If you find yourself woefully short on cash, here are steps you can take:
1. Contact your lender. Contact your lender as soon as you think you might have trouble making your payment. Your mortgage lender would much rather work with you on payment options rather than lose money through a foreclosure or short sale.
2. See if you qualify for food assistance. Check if you qualify for food assistance. You may qualify for SNAP, and your kids may get discounted meals at school. If you don’t qualify, you can still visit your local food pantry or notify your church, which may be able to give you some food to help make ends meet.
3. Hold off on non-essential payments. While you want to stay current on every bill, sometimes you just can’t. If you have outstanding credit card debt, temporarily skip those payments so you make sure you have money to cover the essentials–payments on your home and car as well as money to pay for utilities and food.
4. Slash non-essentials. If you haven’t already done so, now is the time to slash non-essential spending. No more eating out, entertainment, cable television, etc. You can put these luxuries back in the budget when your financial situation improves.
5. Find extra work. Can you or your husband pick up a side job? Deliver pizzas or papers? Do whatever it takes to bring extra money into the home.
6. Take a short term loan. If you believe your situation is temporary, consider taking a payday loan. Payday loans are often frowned upon, but if you need to make a payment to keep your house or car, a payday loan may allow you to do so. Thanks to responsible lending, you can learn the interest rate your charged and make a plan to pay the loan back to pay the minimum in fees and interest.
If you find yourself seriously short on cash, don’t despair. There are things you can do to improve your financial situation and get through this temporary rough patch.
