It’s pretty unlikely that we’ll all go through life without any unexpected money problems arising. Out finances can be going great and then suddenly, a massive bill or unexpected payment comes in, and we start to struggle. The key is not to panic. You can immediately start to worry about how you’re going to afford to pay everything. Instead, take action.
When you own a car, things can pop up when you’re least expecting them. It can also happen with your house, or even the financial associations with having children, such as when they’re in school. When a surprise bill comes through the letterbox, rather than struggle, think about the things you can do to tackle it head on.
By looking at your current financial situation, considering your payments and talking them through, you might just be a little better off than you think. Just make sure you don’t ignore the situation you’re in, and you should come out okay.
Watch What You Spend
The first thing you need to do when you’re trying to make an extra payment work is take a look at what you’re currently paying out. By getting a grip on your spending, you can start to understand exactly where your money goes. When you do that, you can consciously try to cut back. Sometimes, we stretch ourselves too thin by trying to keep up the lifestyle we’re used to. When you’re trying to make an extra payment or gather extra money together, you have to make lifestyle changes that reflect your new financial situation.
Get An Advance
Depending on the size of your unexpected payment, you might be able to get an advance on your salary to cover it. If it’s something your boss or the company you work for can allow, it might just solve your problems. It will mean that your next salary will be lower, so you will still have to have a frugal month. But if it means that you don’t default on any payments, it will be worth the sacrifice.
Get A Part Time Job
Say you work Monday to Friday, 9 am to 5 pm. You come home, and you watch TV, eat dinner, go to bed and do the very same thing the next day. Until it gets to the weekend and you watch a lot more TV and maybe even eat out. Instead, you could be utilizing your evening and weekend to earn extra money. If you have an unexpected payment, getting a part time job could be the answer to getting it paid.
Bridge The Gap
If the bill you’ve gotten is manageable, but still a little too much for you to make in one go without it affecting the other monthly payments you have to make, you might consider a form of financing. You could choose to pay with your credit card, but if you can’t immediately pay it off, the fees could be astronomical. You can also get a loan, or pay day loans direct lenders, if you know you will have the money on time to pay it off.
Borrow From Your Savings
If you have savings, you might want to think about borrowing from them. If the unexpected bill you’ve gotten in for an amount that can be covered by your savings, and might not take that long to put back, go for it. If it saves you from defaulting on any payments or getting further into debt, it will be worth it. Just make sure that you only ever borrow from yourself, not savings that you’ve made in somebody else’s name.
Sell Things
Another idea for raising the cash to pay the bill would be to sell things. You might be able to find unused items around the house that other people would pay money for. It might be that you sell your car and buy a cheaper model, or even auction off any antiques that were left to you that you never liked anyway. There are so many ways to raise extra bits of money by selling online.
Earn Extra Money
Along with selling items online, you could also think about the ways you might be able to make extra money online. You might have the skills and experiences to turn yourself into a mini-entrepreneur. From becoming a virtual assistant in your spare time to creating an ebook on a topic that you know and love, there are a bunch of different ways to get an extra income online. It could give you the money to pay off your unexpected bill and even make some savings in case it happens again.
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