What To Do If You Can’t Pay Bills Due to Coronavirus

TRI Writer • August 7, 2020

Has the recent pandemic left you struggling to pay your bills or facing mounting debt and credit card balances? If you are worried that you won’t be able to catch up on your payments and you aren’t sure how you’re going to make ends meet for your family, an experienced bankruptcy attorney may be able to help.

Start By Conserving Funds and Prioritizing Your Debts:

These are uncertain times. Many people just like you are struggling to make ends meet and struggling to pay their bills. Putting a flexible financial plan in place is more critical now than ever. A good Covid-19 financial action plan will assume the best while preparing for the worst. We recommend starting with a basic plan founded on the principle of commonsense.

How to Conserve Funds:

  1. Use unemployment funds, and stimulus payments to pay for food and other basics, and save the rest.
  2. Contact any service providers or loan servicers and ask if they offer deferment during the pandemic or if they have any coronavirus-related programs.
  3. If you are working (or when you start working), use the money you saved to catch up on past-due bills.
  4. Generally speaking if you are seeing down to the bottom of your bank and must choose between one bill or another, think in terms of paying your car payment before unsecured creditors. After all, its much harder to get a replacement car than to pay a payment on an account later. However, that depends upon a lot of factors. That is when you should RUN to your experienced bankruptcy lawyer for a free consultation. Bankruptcy might be avoided if you play your cards right. A well experienced bankruptcy can steer you with wisdom to alternatives. Then if necessary your experienced bankruptcy attorney may be your next best friend in helping you to file and get protection bankruptcy court.

How to Prioritize Debts:

Any strategy to prioritize debt will depend on your specific situation. Generally speaking, a plan to prioritize debt should use income, unemployment payments, and stimulus funds received during the pandemic to cover necessary expenses to provide for your family’s basic needs. It’s almost always best to put any surplus aside as savings. If you end up in a better financial situation, with stable employment reasonably quickly, the saved funds will allow you to catch up on your payments.

Don’t Assume the Worst, but Don’t Assume the Best Either:

In difficult times, many people make the mistake of being overly optimistic about the future. For instance, they may find themselves unemployed for an extended period and eventually turn to bankruptcy for relief. When they look back on the months following their job loss, they often regret being unproductive with their money. The earlier you consider bankruptcy, the more likely you’ll avoid wasting vital resources you have at your disposal on debts that will eventually be discharged. Avoiding wasting funds in this manner can make a significant difference when trying to provide for the crucial needs of a family.

If you have questions about how bankruptcy can help families facing financial struggles during the Covid-19 pandemic, we can help. Find out how to get a fresh start by filing bankruptcy. Get in touch with Kenneth C. Rannick P.C., Tennessee, and Georgia bankruptcy attorney as soon as possible.

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