These expenses may be included in the monthly mortgage payment. Any condo fees or mobile home lot payments also should be considered a high priority. Failure to pay these obligations could lead to a lot of stress and loss of your home.
Make payments on essential utilities such as heat, water, and electricity. Carefully analyze other expenses in this category such as cell phones, house phones, Internet and cable TV. Could you do without them in a financial crisis? Could you save money on electricity , heating and cooling , or phone bills? If you need your car to get to work, rank your car payment just below food, medicine, housing and basic utilities. Pay your insurance payments too.
Keep bills in the same spot, such as a filing cabinet or a basket on your desk. Once a month, sit down and sort through the bills.
Either pay them or mark them as paid if you use online bill pay and record the payment on your spreadsheet or budgeting app. Then, file the bills away so that you are ready for the next month. Some expenses only come up once or twice a year or quarterly. Your auto insurance payment might be due every six months, or you might need to pay membership dues to an organization once a year. Irregular expenses have a way of surprising people. A simple way to handle those non-monthly expenses is to figure out how much each one costs each month and treat them as monthly expenses.
More and more people are using cards to pay for purchases. Between and , the number of card payments increased by 7. Paying with cash can make you think twice before buying something. To help yourself cut down on frivolous purchases or spending on non-necessities, you might find it useful to put yourself on a cash-only diet.
You might find it helpful to assign one person the role of paying the bills, or you might divvy up your household bills and have each person take responsibility for a few. It can often be the first step on the path to financial success. At Mid Penn Bank, we have been offering personalized service to our neighbors in Pennsylvania since Contact us to learn more about how we can help you build a foundation for your financial future.
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Compare Accounts. The offers that appear in this table are from partnerships from which Investopedia receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where listings appear. Investopedia does not include all offers available in the marketplace. Homeowners - If you are behind on mortgage payments, you could end up in foreclosure.
If you cannot afford your mortgage payments, find a housing counselor at For help paying rent , call for names of social service agencies that might be able to help. You must pay your electric, gas, water and phone bills to keep these services. Do not wait for a shut-off notice! Many utility companies have payment plans where you pay the same amount each month so you can budget your money.
Visit www. If you need your car to get to and from work, you must make your car payments on time. One missed payment can result in repossession of your car. Car insurance is also important. Washington law requires all drivers and owners to have insurance. Do not let your car insurance lapse! If you owe child support and cannot afford to pay, try to make a partial payment each month. See if you can modify change the current support order.
If DCS is garnishing support from your wages, contact a lawyer. Find out if you can get the amount being garnished lowered or your current support order modified. If DCS agrees to lower your monthly payment amount, they may require you to sign a document waiving giving up your rights under the Statute of Limitations for how long DCS is able to collect from you.
Talk with a lawyer before signing this waiver. Contact a lawyer or go to www. You might be able to defer put off making payments. There are also income-based repayment plans based on your current income and household size. Your payments could be as low as zero.
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