What to do when your income isn't enough to pay the bills?

Answer 1

If your income is not enough to pay the bills, one must do one or both of the following things: * Lower how much you spend * Make enough money to cover what you spend Since there are sometimes difficulty in acquiring higher paying jobs, the first thing that someone should do when they do not have enough money to pay bills is to reduce spending. The best way to do so is prepare a budget that looks at:

* Absolutely necessary costs (e.g., rent/mortgage, food, electricity/gas, etc.)

* Mostly necessary costs (e.g., nice to haves without which life would not be worth living)

* Unnecessary costs (e.g., sushi on Friday nights)

First, determine if you can cover your necessary costs (and yes, credit card bills are considered necessary but no, you may no longer use your credit cards for purchases).

If so, great! You can survive with some modifications to behavior without losing your residence, etc.

If not, you may want to find ways to cut back while still tackling the basics. For example, if you buy name brand (e.g., Kraft Mac and Cheese), you may be able to get the same value from a store brand (e.g., President's Choice Mac and Cheese) while saving money. You may also consider reducing (where possible) utilities usage and getting rid of services that you may not use (e.g., call forwarding with your phone service, mobile phone data plans, etc.). Also, clipping coupons can save a lot if the products are ones that you use.

I do recommend that if one is not able to do the above on their own, they should go to someone who is willing to help them (friends, family, etc.). There are also not-for-profit services out there that help people do the above actions without charging fees.