First, is your family secure? Is the mortgage or rent paid? Is there adequate food for your family? Have the utilities (gas, electricity, water) insurance, auto loan been paid? Once these basic family living type bills are paid, then consider the second level priorities which may include: telephone bill, finance company debts and credit card payments. Third priority would be retailers, doctors, dentists and hospitals.
Are there services that you can discontinue? Telephone, cable TV, cell phone, some types of insurance to name a few. Looking over your list of creditors, which are most likely to repossess items, attach your wages or savings account for non-payment of bills?
Note: Above all, don’t ignore bills and past-due notices. Call creditors and make arrangements to pay your debts. Make sure those arrangements are realistic given your financial situation, because if you over-promise, those creditors will not work with you in the future. Some creditors may reduce the overall size of your debt (this is especially true of doctors and hospitals). However, if you ignore creditors altogether, your debt will be sold to a collection agent.
Author: Margaret VanGinkel, vangin@iastate.edu
|
