There are few things worse than feeling under financial stress. Nobody likes to spend hours totting up their finances to try to pay all their bills. It’s even worse when you run the calculations and realize that it will be a struggle to make all of your payments on time. Missing payments is bad as it can lead to bad credit, which will impact the rest of your personal finances. Plus, it can put you in debt, which is a slippery slope you don’t want to go down.
What can you do when you’re struggling to pay the bills? A few ideas spring to mind, some of which may suit you more than others.
Get a job
If only one person in your household works, it could be worth getting another job. A lot of moms are scared at this prospect because you think you have no skills or experience. On the contrary, being a mother has given you both in many areas! You spend a lot of time around kids, so you’d be perfect for an occupational therapy program or a teaching assistant job. Alternatively, if you need to stay at home, you can find online jobs that bring extra money. It doesn’t need to be a high-paid job, just enough to help you pay your bills and live comfortably.
Cancel some of your payments
Look at your bills and consider which payments are actually worth the money. Do you need to spend $40 a month on cable television? Cancel your contract and switch to a streaming service for $10 a month. Speaking of which, you’ll be amazed at how many subscriptions you pay for every month. Look at all of them, then see if you need them or not. Cut your losses and reduce your monthly bills to make them more manageable.
Consider borrowing money
In some cases, borrowing money can help you pay your bills. Disclaimer: this is only advisable in one-off situations. For instance, when you have a particularly expensive month and can’t afford your bills. This was out of the ordinary and doesn’t usually happen; hence you don’t have the cash to cover your payments. Here, using a credit card or borrowing money can come in handy. It covers your bills, but you have the financial ability to repay what you borrowed next month. However, if you constantly struggle to pay your bills, borrowing money is the last thing you should do. It will put you in a debt cycle that’s almost impossible to get out of. Consider this option if you have a one-off month where your expenses were higher than normal for whatever reason.
You should be able to use one of these ideas to manage your bill payments. The first two are perfect if you consistently have money issues. Getting a job will bring a second income source into your household, potentially doubling what you earn. Canceling some payments will reduce what you have to pay, bringing you bills to a more manageable level.
