What to Do When You're Struggling to Make Ends Meet

You have studied your financial picture carefully, 你意识到根本没有办法维持收支平衡. You just can't pay all your bills. What can you do? Fortunately, 你可以自己采取很多步骤来处理债务问题, including contacting us or our partners at BALANCE他为Patelco会员免费提供保密建议.

Reduce your monthly payments

When you find yourself in financial trouble, 你的当务之急应该是尽可能地削减现金支出. If you've been prepaying your mortgage, car loan, or other debts, put that plan on hold, at least temporarily. 如果你的信用卡还款额超过了最低还款额, 减少最低付款，直到你的财务状况好转. 这一小步也许足以解决你的问题, 尤其是如果你的经济问题是暂时的. 在你开始支付更大的账单之前，确保你可以轻松地每月支付所有账单. 如果你没有足够的钱来支付最低还款额，你需要采取进一步的行动.

Consolidate debts

When you consolidate your debt, 你用一笔大额贷款来偿还现有的小额贷款. 这样你就只需要支付一笔贷款，而不是很多笔.

合并的主要优点之一是，你每月支付的合并贷款大大低于小额贷款的合并付款. 此外，你还可以降低利率.

There are also disadvantages to loan consolidation. For example, 合并贷款的还款期限可能比你现有的小额贷款的还款期限更长. This means it will take longer to get out of debt. Additionally, 如果你拖欠贷款，你可能会失去你为合并贷款提供的任何抵押品.

Consider refinancing

几乎任何类型的贷款都可以再融资:抵押贷款、汽车贷款、个人贷款，甚至信用卡. 当你进行再融资时，你会获得一笔新的贷款，并用这笔贷款的收益来偿还旧贷款. For example, when you refinance a car loan, you take out a used car loan from the new lender, 新的贷款人将贷款支票寄给你的旧贷款人，以偿还你现有的贷款.

再融资的主要目的是降低你的利率, thereby reducing your total repayment amount. However, 当你在履行财务义务方面有困难时, 你的目标更有可能是减少月供. 再融资到低利息的贷款可以稍微降低你的付款. 但是为了达到预期的效果，你可能不得不延长你的贷款期限. For example, if you have 24 payments left on your car loan, 你可能需要再融资36个月或48个月的贷款，以大幅减少你的月还款额. If you do this, your monthly payments will be less, 但这也意味着它需要更长的时间来偿还贷款. You should consider this a temporary measure. Once you have regained your financial stability, 你应该重新融资(换一笔还款期限较短的贷款)，或者通过每月额外支付或支付超过最低限额的金额来提前偿还贷款.

Divide your debts into two categories

如果你不能履行所有的财务义务, 你需要确定哪些债务是必要的，哪些是不必要的. 一般原则是，必要债务是指如果不偿还可能造成严重问题的债务. 不能支付非必要债务的后果远没有那么严重. 一笔特定的债务是否必要取决于你的个人情况. 常见的基本债务包括租金或抵押贷款, utilities, child support, school tuition, car payments, unpaid taxes, medical and auto insurance, and secured loans. Nonessential debts may include credit cards, loans from friends and family members, and other unsecured debts.

Pay essential debts first

你的基本债务显然应该首先偿还. If you can't pay all your essential debts, 你可能需要对这个列表进行优先排序，并将最不重要的列表移到不重要的列表中. For example, if you can get around without a car, 你的车贷可能会被移到不必要的清单上.

Pay nonessential debts with any remaining money

在你的基本债务还清之前，你不应该支付任何不必要的债务. If you have money left for nonessential debts, 你应该优先考虑这个清单，先支付最重要的非必要债务.

记住，未付债务的利息和滞纳金将继续累积, making your unpaid debts even larger.

Negotiate with creditors

如果你有经济困难，但你想尽你所能做到最好 pay off your debts, you may be able to negotiate with your creditors. In order to avoid the collections process, many creditors will reduce payments, extend your repayment period, waive late fees, or sometimes even accept less than full repayment. If you can negotiate your repayment terms, 你可以在不破坏信用记录的情况下度过金融危机.

Notify creditors of trouble as soon as possible

谈判成功的关键之一是尽快让你的债权人知道潜在的问题. Explain the situation to them (e.g., job layoff, medical emergency). 让债权人知道你正在做什么来解决问题.g., looking for work, cutting costs at home). 指定您是需要临时修复还是需要长期缓解, 并继续支付最低限度的款项，作为你真诚努力的标志.

Don't expect perfect results

不幸的是，许多债权人拒绝与债务人谈判. 你可能会发现你的一些债权人不愿意接受部分付款或延长你的贷款期限. 但努力谈判对你还是最有利的.

Contact BALANCE for complimentary advice

我们关心你的财务状况——也就是你对自己的钱和财务状况的感觉. That’s why we’ve partnered with BALANCE 为您提供保密的一对一的建议-不收取任何费用. Contact BALANCE today for trustworthy advice on handling debts.

咨询来源:Broadridge Financial Solutions.