MONEY HELP WHEN YOU HAVE NO MONEY TO PAY YOUR BILLS

There are two main types of spenders falling behind:

1. You make enough but spend too much
2. You do not make enough to pay your bills

There are several reasons you need money help:

• debt
• an “emergency” ate up your savings
• you do not make enough at your current job
• loaning money when you cannot afford it
• you help everyone else when you cannot afford to
• you do not pay close attention to your finances
• no budget in your life
• You did not factor in the cost of living before renting or purchasing a house
• job loss
• illness

Know that you are not alone in your current financial situation. I have fallen into one of these categories at one point in my life and I will tell you what I did to pay my bills and not fall behind: I made a strict budget and stuck to it and then I found a Side Hustle!

You Need a Budget

Knowing that you are not the only one in this situation is a comfort; however, now we must find a way to pay your bills. First, you must take a good, hard look at your financial situation, admit there is a problem, and take some accountability.

Have the “Money Talk”

This may mean sitting down with your significant other and discussing the finances freely without blame. In this candid conversation, focus on the solution and not the problem. If your money situation is a surprise to your significant other, you may want to give him or her a few days to let it sink in and then come up with your action plan.  Allow him or her to process the feelings and then move forward.

Money Help Action Plan

Step #1 – Money help – create a budget

If you are going to tackle your lack of funding, you must first become accountable. Creating a budget will show you exactly how much your bills total and how much you make. You must be able to cover the cost of your needed bills or take drastic action (will be discussed below). A simple budget will do for now. Let’s get started.

I am going to help you with the above. I am first going to direct you to a suggested reading: Budgets. Then I am going to offer you a budget worksheet to help you figure out this situation. You need to allow yourself a good hour to sit quietly with no distractions and figure out your current income and total.

Budget Categories:

• House/rent, Electric
• Gas
• Water
• Car/Transportation
• Childcare
• Phone
• Memberships
• Subscriptions
• Insurance
• Loans
• Credit Card Bills (Add anything else you are currently paying for)

What to do After You Budget Your Money?

After you have a budget, if you are not able to pay your bills you have some important, life-changing decisions to make. You need to find a way to bring in more money and cut spending in any “want” area of your budget.

When Are My Bills Due? Make a “Show My Bills” List

Also, make sure to take into account when your bills are due. Set aside an hour to collect all of your bills and open online billing accounts to jot down all of your billing due dates. Make a list using my free bill tracker template below and put it on the fridge if you are a paper person or use a spreadsheet in google sheets to make note of these dates so you are not asking yourself, “When are my bills due?” Do not leave this to questions. If you do not pay your bills on time, you will continue to build debt. Set up automatic bill reminders or set timers on your phone a few days in advance of the bill due date so you can pay your bills on time.

Bills Tracker: Budget Template

#2 Money Help: Cut Expenses

If you make enough money to cover your needs, cutting expenses can be a matter of looking at your “wants” group of spending and make some changes. Here are some things you can cut out of your budget to save money:

• manicure
• gym membership
• extra clothing or trips to the mall
• expensive coffee
• bottle water (use a filter at home)
• food budget (coupon and meal plan)
• gambling and lottery (many people spend up to $300 a year on the lottery alone)
• cable
• vacations (find free stuff to do in your town or city)

Make some sacrifices for a few years to make the rest of your life better. Remember, this isn’t forever. Once you have paid down your debt and saved for an emergency fund, you will have a little more money to play around with. Nonetheless, you may need to hustle for a few years to get back on track. However, you CAN do this! “Every Journey begins with one small step!” – Lao Tzu

What if I Don’t Make Enough?

Nonetheless, maybe you are not overspending but do not make enough money. In this case, you will need to find some ways to save on expenses and bring in more money. I am going to give you a list of 10 ways to help change your financial situation.

Yet,  I am going to warn you, some of these ideas may not be easy, but if you live a very frugal life for just a few years, you can get yourself above water, put money aside for an emergency fund, and get your finances back on track! I promise once you are done, you will be living an amazing, worry-free life because you will have an emergency fund and money in the bank.

#3 – Money Help: Get Your Budget Back on Track

1.  Cut out any extras (see above)
2. Get a Side Hustle
3. Start selling what you can (use Facebook groups, Garage sale, Poshmark, Mercari, Decluttr, LetGo)
4. Return anything that still has tags
5. Call companies and ask for a lower rate or payment plan
6. Take responsibility
7. Pay your needs first and then what you can (House, Water, Electric, Food, Water, Childcare)

#4 – Money Help: Ideas to Save Money

Save Money on Childcare

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