How to deal with financial struggles

Payments that are missed could lead to serious consequences that could otherwise be avoided.

08:54 06 October 2013

You never know when finances might become difficult. Any number of situations can occur to make your financial circumstances unstable. If you have a home, you might even be concerned about losing the property and the money you invested in it. The same could be said if you have a loan on a vehicle, or even a personal loan.

Here are a few suggestions if you find yourself in a bit of a financial squeeze:

• Alert lenders to your situation, even if you think you might be able to make the full payment on time. They will be able to note the account and may even have some ideas to help.

 

• Remember that late and missed payments can negatively affect your credit rating, so avoid that whenever possible. Figure out if there is a recurring problem, or if a change in due date might fix the problem.

 

• Do not be afraid to ask for options. You may not know all the options available to you, but if you discuss your financial situation with your lenders, they might be able to make a special exception, or tell you what options you do have.

 

• Try shuffling some other payments around if possible to avoid pesky fees, or more serious consequences. Decide if you can manage to pay for the fee though; you don’t want to end up with a more serious financial problem the following month when you’re trying to catch up.

 

• If you find that your situation will cause recurring payment issues, you will most likely need to cut down your monthly expenses to cover the gap. When you are already having difficulty, getting additional loans like payday loans to cover the gap will only cause more issues.

If you do not give notice to your lender, and your financial burden becomes unmanageable, anything, even the worst, may happen. You could lose your prized possessions!