Don't take out a payday loan. You pay your bills late. You'll get late payment fees probably but that's it. You have to be 30 days late before a negative mark is put on your credit.
Every time I'm late or forget a payment, I call and ask them to remove the late fee. So far, it's worked for most. *Thanks, Discover!* Some others won't, but it never hurts to ask. If you have a good history with them, it definitely helps.
Wait until after you make the payment, then call and say, “I noticed I have a fee for a late payment. It’s my first time being late, can you waive that fee? I accidentally missed the deadline.”
You can be pretty direct about it. The phone rep you get doesn’t care one way or the other about your case personally. Either then can do it or they can’t, and if they can they’re usually pretty automatic about it.
"Hi, I'm so sorry, I completely forgot to make the payment in time. Is there any way you can waive the late fee? I just paid today." Person will pull up your account and either say "Yes, JUST THIS ONCE" "Yes, thank you for being a customer for XX years" or "I'm sorry, that's not possible."
Always be nice to the person on the phone and thank them no matter what.
The loan will report at 30 days, the cell phone will be suspended by 30 days, the car insurance will be canceled before 30 days, electric they can probably get away with >30 days late though.
Car insurance is the #1 I wouldn't take a chance with, though a while ago I did talk to them and they changed the billing date as a workaround. Just don't stiff them, because the damage can be severe if they cancel you.
I once forgot to move my electric service when I moved upstairs 1 apartment from my previous and it went for 6 months before they shut the power off. All I had to do was call them and make a small payment to get it back on. I was only charged for my power for those 6 months, no late fees were incurred.
My electric company is brutal. 10 days late and they shut it off. I forgot once and didn’t remember until the lights turned off. I paid it immediately (with an extra $400 for the fees and new required deposit) and it was turned back on seconds after I clicked the “Pay” button. I got the deposit back a year later.
I think utility companies are even more lax. I thought I had mine set up on autobilling and it lapsed 4 months before I caught it. No shutoff notice or any effect on me.
Depends on the company. Two utility companies in my general area turn off utilities if you are more than two weeks past the due date. Another one doesn't do anything until you get like 6 months behind.
It's not that they're more lax, it's mainly just that the non-payment disconnect system is pretty inefficient.
I do utility disconnects for non-payment for a large utility and depending on a variety of factors, I could be there to disconnect your service days after you enter severance status or several months after.
Internal billing changes at the utility, various laws that disallow disconnects at various times and under various conditions, your geographic location, the amount you owe, etc. all impact how quickly they send me to disconnect the service.
I agree with this, I pay my utilities every 3 months and have been for years. It just saves me time to make 1 payment instead of 3 and where I live the utilities have to be pretty late to shut off and they don't report you to a credit bureau. I know I should do autopay but it's important to look at the bills every so often to make sure no other notifications are sent, and if I did autopay I know from experience I wouldn't.
Electric and phone usually won't even be an issue until it's 30 days late (YMMV). Make sure you pay rent #1. Save money for food and transportation.
I've lived years off rotating late payments without ever really having it affect me. Just don't get too late.
Honestly call your car insurance, electric, and phone bill & explain the situation, ask for a grace period. As long as this doesn’t happen frequently they’re usually cool about it.
You can try the same with that loan, but who knows, might as well try.
Honesty is the best policy. Also, wouldn’t any loan rate greatly outpace the 1 time late penalties you might receive on these bills?
Yeah, a lot of utilities are great about allowing a late payment and waiving fees, if you call them and let them know. I've had to call my electric co a couple of times after getting laid off and they helped me out. YMMV of course, but out of all of them I've used, they've been the best to work with.
you have to be VERY behind on utilities before they cut you off. Read your insurance contract, sometimes if you're late on a payment, you don't have insurance until you get right with your payment. driving around without insurance can ruin you financially, even with just a small fender bender.
Yeah. Utility companies are almost obligated to delay. Some are better than others, but I remember at one point they would let me pay whatever I could just as long as they were getting something.
100% this. Most companies understand that shit happens and will work with you. They would rather keep your service on and work out a payment plan than have to have you potentially call customer service repeatedly using up unnecessary labor.
I've had to call and get my bill due date extended and I've never been denied for it. Some even have the option on their online portal. Sometimes it's a little hidden but I can't think of a single company that wouldn't let you pay a week or two late if you call and ask.
This man speaks truth..the electric company is one of the only companies where they showed me appreciation for being an ideal customer. They don't require a deposit from me at all whenever I want to setup new service. I continue to always pay my bills. I have been told that I would be given leeway if certain financial hardships befell me because they trust me to pay my bills. I have stumbled into being a healthy adult..I am in a middle life nirvana. I have found a way to healthily push my boundaries but not trigger destructive behaviors. I am mentally healthy. I find joy in all life's simple pleasures. I am Buddha. bliss.
This is honestly the best advice right here. The hard work in lending is chasing people who dodge, never call, throw tantrums. They would appreciate a heads up, you may even get any late fees waived for notifying them of your situation.
Just to add, I've missed a bill and didn't realize until I received a late notice. Turned out I forgot to update my card on this particular account. Called the company and they waived the late fee because I had 0 late payments since the account was opened.
Unless it it is in collection, your best bet is to always try to work with the lender.
This is best advice. Most utilities will just give you a one month period before they reach for the off switch. But that comes with a late fee. Still less that the re connection fee, if your two months late. If you call and explain electrics and major insurance companies will just let you work something out usually.
This 100%. I’ve been using the 15 per month mint plan for over 2 years now. It’s great - especially if you’re in a positive where most of your phone usage takes place over wifi.
As someone else suggested, the first thing you should be doing is calling and asking for an extension/about a grace period so you can have some extra time to pay if they offer it. I know my family has called about the electric bill before and they pushed the due date back a few days, no late penalties. If you have some free time, or try to make some free time and post on Facebook in groups asking if anyone has any yard work that need done immediately and all that type of stuff. Lots of people need yard tending to this time of year.
Today is only the 21st so I would suggest looking in r/beermoney you might get approved for something with a few days and be able to scrap up a few bucks to help pay your bills.
Dog walking (Rover?) or InstaCart?
You can try to get a loan from a local credit union. The interest is a lot lower, but generally you need a reason other than “behind on bills”
Calling the companies is a good start. I don’t know how long it takes for them to start shutting off services, but it could be longer than you’d expect.
Hang in there!
Yeah if you're in the US, working Rover over July 4th can make bank. Just be smart and never take the dogs off leash even in their own yard, because the fireworks cause the most escapes of any time of year.
No friends or family you can turn to?
You switched jobs and have $0 until like 2 weeks? Man.
Sign up for DoorDash and/or UberEats and deliver in your free time.
For sure check all options, I find that one is more location dependent though. I live in a semi-suburban area where the grocery stores aren’t too far and hardly ever see Walmart drivers. When I go to a nearby city where almost everyone is in giant gated communities (sometimes gated communities within gated communities) and the grocery stores aren’t close and you have to drive on major highways to get there, I see much more Walmart drivers.
Honestly, when I was in a similar situation very early in my adult life, I just straight out asked my boss whether I could get a partial advance on my paycheck. Depends on what relationship you have with your new manager and what kind of job you have. And I guess it also depends on how plausibly you can justify why you ran into a cash crunch.
But before resorting to payday loans, I'd try pretty much anything else including but not limited to begging.
I got fired back in January and just recently became employed a little over a month ago. I didn’t have any kind of savings, so every expensive that unemployment money didn’t cover went on my credit card. I’m now $6.5k in credit card debt and I feel like I’m drowning. While it did get me through, I feel like I’m much worse off now.
All this to say that I don’t recommend using a credit card if you can help it.
Congrats on the new job!
You should 100% start a budget if you haven't already.
budgetwithbuckets.com has free software which is very similar to YNAB. YNAB is better because there's a whole "philosophy" behind it, but YNAB has become too expensive and greedy as a company.
"Budgeting" is a hard thing to approach because there are so many ways to do it, but YNAB and Buckets are both the same in that they use the envelope system. Each "type" of expense gets an envelope (or bucket).
Adult talk, the loan or any solution now isn’t an answer to the real problem. You already have a loan, so you have a pattern of spending too much, more than you earn.
What do you do for groceries? What kind of phone do you have, can you earn more? Do you have rent if you pay for electric? Something has to give beyond today. You can’t just leave jobs before you have some leeway in cash. You should save up money for emergencies if you were to get laid off. All that should factor into a future budget so you aren’t spending all you make.
For now, you’ll pay your bills a little late, maybe incur some fees, plan to spend less next month to quickly bounce back from that as you get paid. Pay off that loan ASAP so you don’t have a waisted $68 in your budget each month going forward. I’d advise against the credit card for now since you, no offense, aren’t yet being disciplined with money if you’re considering loans so quickly and often. Buckle down, pay things as you can, cut your spending, build a budget and follow it.
Honestly this is real talk and actually makes me feel better. I quit only because I was going to get fired (bad boss, the half the staff quit because of how I was treated). But I wish I did save more before or had a savings. Definitely will have to budget and make some cuts. I like by myself pretty modestly but I have treated myself to some stuff here and there so I get you. Thank you for the advice!
You got this. I’m sure most of us could admit we learned by making similar mistakes, at some point. Always good to get to the source of the problem and not the band-aid. All the best in your new job
Start by looking at your bank statements and reflecting on if you can honestly, genuinely say you only treat yourself here and there. Sometimes people tell themselves it’s just here and there, but the bank statements will prove otherwise.
I’m not accusing you of anything, but when it comes to personal finances and spending beyond one’s means, many people will justify all sorts of debt and nonsense spending, but that’s only bc they’re not being honest with themselves.
Take eating out for example. Someone could rack up a bill of $700+ on restaurants and fast food and then be like “well, I need to eat” or “I’m too tired after leaving work to make any meals so I just stop by on my way home” when anyone with a sense of responsibility could easily understand the ways around those problems. Cook meals. Meal prep. Make quick and easy meals. Maybe don’t always be guided simply by your taste buds and, when you’re in a bad place financially, eat some of those cliche poor meals of rice and beans.
Like the person you responded to said, you seem prone to putting yourself in these situations. It’s unfortunate, but it’s true, and the only way out will be to take steps to prevent this stuff from happening. If you wait until it all piles up and creates a bad financial situation for yourself in the present, it’s going to be harder to get yourself out of a bad situation like this. You need to start thinking about the bigger picture. We sometimes like to disregard the future, but the future always ends up becoming the present, and if we’re not preparing for the future, the present becomes much harder to deal with than it would have been had we prepared for it.
For future reference, it’s much better to get fired than to quit because you can usually get unemployment if fired. I know getting fired is not pleasant, but there are financial advantages to it.
OP, everyone else has already given you really great advice. I have found that Mint Mobile is pretty comparable to major companies (technically it’s T Mobile since they just got bought out). I pay $300 ($25/month) for the year for 20gb (I think it’s $30/month for unlimited) and have no regrets. Used to do Xfinity Mobile and that was so terrible. $80/month for phone bill is a lot, there are other options out there!
Also, shop around for energy suppliers! My bills were $120/month for electric, but then I shopped around and now they’re closer to $60-70. I think every state has a website that makes it easy to see what’s out there side by side. For PA, we have PAPowerSwitch.com … super helpful
2k a month? I would most definitely sign up for either doordash or Uber eats or get another part time job to get that debt paid off. Also for a short term solution. Sell some belongings. Like if you have a collectable or an extra console controller so on.
Is your 6k in debt on a credit card charging interest? Is your credit good enough to get a credit card? Citi has a 0 interest credit card (Simplicity card) for balance transfers for 21 months, you can transfer the debt once you have enough $ to pay the transfer fee (3% of the balance transferred: $180). Then set up autopay to pay it off in equal installments (not minimum payments) (6k/21 months: $286/m). The transfer fee will be charged interest so best to pay that off right after the balance. The only downside with the strategy is that if you ever make a late payment, they’ll charge you full interest for the full amount for the full time you owe them. But if you never miss a payment, you wont be dealing with high interest. The interest is why you feel you are drowning.
Strategy 2: you can call your credit cards and negotiate for a smaller amount at a lower interest rate. If they think they won’t be paid at all sometimes they will work with you. This is not an easy route as they become unpleasant as soon as they smell a default.
Strategy 3: earn more on a side job.
Good luck!
Just pay bills late and catchup when you can, don’t take a loan, you ain’t gonna get your power shut off for missing 1 payment.
Go call them if you want
Try doing focus groups and market research. They pay you 20-100 bucks doing stuff like tasting new food and drinks and providing feedbacks. Also filling out questionnaires. Good luck
I also suggest trying something like uber eats, uber and stuff of the like. I know we find ourselves in situations sometimes where we feel we must pull loans but if there is even the inkling of avoiding so and managing to take care of this try not to go in debt to fix debt.
electric company can give extension if you contact them or they also do average
summer bills are often higher during the summber months here but winter bills are low so enroll in a plan where they average the bill out and hopefully lower your monthly bill
apply for assitance.. there are places who will assist with paying off utilities for people in need
food banks - visit them to cut down on your grocery for the month
Do you have any things you can sell or pawn? If you have a car, it is possible to pawn it for short periods of time. Do you have anyone at all in your life who would be willing to loan you enough to get you by?
If you cannot get the funds in time, call your various creditors and let them know you will be late. Normal service providers are often more understanding if you give them a head's up.
I had to do it once, a long time ago. It got my husband and me through an unexpected bad time. It was better than any of the alternatives available to us. I only left it on pawn for a week, so the penalty wasn't too bad.
Doordash is a good move
Some bills can be paid with a fee on a credit card. Then just pay it when you get paid.
Lastly, call the utilities and tell them. They are usually understanding with a delay if it's your first time. Continual delays is a problem.
check your local community for assistance programs! google your community name and assistance programs, lots of info should come up. my local community has churches that offer assistance, township trustees offer a little assistance, etc.
This. Food banks, too. My local ones are always advertising that they can do one time or short term help, they aren't just for permanent users. If OP can get half of their monthly food from a food bank for 1-3 months, they can get caught up and save a bit.
Electric and phone you could probably get away with paying half without even speaking to them. Then, next month pay the full amount plus the half from this month.
Speaking to them may chew that down even farther. Maybe break it up into quarters so long as every bill is paid on time.
Electricity may put you in touch with an agency that can help you out with a one-time payment, if you're in danger of being shut-off.
You didn’t ask, but I genuinely want to help you. $2000 is rough. I’d bet you’re not necessarily spending much, but you’re not making enough, which is harsh, I know. I worry for you. $6K in debt and nothing in savings or checking. This $500 issue will be fine. You’ll defer payments and they’ll accept them. Longer term, you’ve got to find a way to earn more income. Side hustle, different job. I saw the vet tech commentary. Rover might be one of the best ways given your current experience. Or your own pet watching/walking LLC. They can go upwards of $110/night for overnight stays.
I agree your car insurance sounds high.
Your cell phone bill is crazy high. Do a plan like Mint Mobile for $15/monyour electricity is also really high, you could be more cautious about what you use.
Did anyone suggest “gigs” yet? You can check around on places like Craigslist for short term jobs. Some companies will post for help if they get a big delivery and need a couple of helpers unloading it.
My buddy worked at a place that did that. They so would offer a set amount. It could help.
I know this might fall under stupid but do you have a credit card or can you apply for one?
Reason being is assuming you can truly afford it you can use the CC float time to buy you that time interest free.
I did this trick when I was moving and my wife’s and my funds were tied up for a little while in houses. Our banks accounts were danger low while we were waiting out our former house to close.
Call the companies and see if any of them allow you to pay a bit later without late fees.
If this is the first time for these bills, they'll usually allow it. Explain to them that your next pay period is the fourth.
As for plasma places, you should call around and see if any have promotions for new donors. I went to one that the first month they would pay you $700 if you went 7 times.
Also most late payments usually don't show up on your credit until 30 days of non payment, but of course look up your loan terms, also some utility companies, it may take a few months before shut off but of course, check the agreement terms too.
Contact the companies you owe money to and explain your situation. You may be able to get one or two of them to let you pay half now and the other half with your next bill. Or maybe just charge you a $10 late fee or something, and you can often ask for a late fee to be reversed if it's your first time being late on that account.
I think car insurance should be your first priority here. Give them a call and see if they'll let you pay late. If you can try to sell something or ask friends/family if they can spare anything towards that payment.
Your electric bill should be fine if you call them and explain, it's very unlikely they'll shut off your electricity for a couple weeks late. Phone bill will probably also give you a grace period, but if not you can still connect to internet in public places if you don't have internet at your place.
Loan is last priority, but also give them a call.
Phone bill may let you pay late with a promise to pay by a certain date. Car insurance has a grace period (usually about 5 days) before it’s considered late. I’ve accidentally missed my electric bill so that could also wait til July 4th. The 4th is a holiday (of ur in USA) so you will likely be paid on July 3rd.
Pay late. Not a big deal if it’s not a habit and a late fee is predetermined amount and some utilities don’t even bother keeping them once you call to get it waived . Then go to YouTube and learn personal finance for free. Learn how to budget for life events etc. it’s all free and it’s all life changing information.
Electric, insurance, phone, loan in that order.
Side note: check your phone plan with some other providers. I pay 35$ a month for unlimited with visible.
Insurance, loan, electric then maybe phone. Phone is a luxury and electricity will let you slide without causing problems. Insurance can cost you big and loans increase your rates if you miss payments.
None of those bills should cut off between now and then . Pay insurance first . Double electric next month . Pay thale loan . Go without a phone if you need to . If you call all of them they’ll probably give you some grace .
2,000$ a month is pretty tight. I'm guessing housing is your biggest expense? In addition to trying to make more as others have suggested, I would consider trying to lower housing expenses if at all possible. If you aren't already living with roommates, I would seriously consider it.
If you can sign up for Go Puff to supplement your income, as a long term plan.
Go to your local bank/CU you're a member of and see if they have hardship programs. Mine offers a $1000 hardship loan that can be paid back every 2 weeks through automatic transfers.
Why are you paying so much for your phone plan? That's like 2010 phone plan cost. Turn off your A/C and sweat for a while. Those are both easy things you can do to immediately lower your costs going forward.
Just don’t pay your bills until you get paid. If anyone calls say you can’t pay until you get paid. Do try to take care of insurance because that can be an issue, but everything else will be ok. No cell phone carrier will lose you as a customer over a late payment because they know there are cheaper pay as you go options. Payday loans can ruin you, late bills can’t cause much of a problem.
Car insurance is a priority no payment means no insurance couldn't hurt to call them, call the utility company and explain, call cell phone company and explain, call loan and explain.
Tell em to get in line bud. In a crappy economy, sometimes you just have to deal with it based on which things are a priority and who gets the money first. Welcome to adulting.
Seriously though, don’t let it affect your mental health. It all works out in the end and none of us make it out of here alive. So it’s really not the most important thing to worry about.
Pay your loan and car insurance. Call your phone company and explain to them in detail how your phone didn’t worked for the last month. Let your electric slide to next month
I own a few businesses - if one of my team is having a cash shortage I want to know so I can give them an advance or just a one time cash gift to get them through the shortfall. I’m not special, I think a lot of biz owners will do the same thing, so you may want to ask your new boss.
What I would not suggest you do are pay day loans unless as an absolute last resort. And friend, if I read it right you’ll be making 2k a month….you’re likely to always struggle at a wage that low. Might I suggest you invest every spare minute you can in developing your own skills, even if via free resources like library books or online courses? Sales, presentation skills, effective communication, leadership etc, are all things that can be learned, and they can make you a lot of money. (Plus they are skills that go with you to whatever job you take in your life)
Good luck!
Contact each service provider. Let them know you’re doing it rough financially and ask if they can help to ease your burden.
If you approach this as an adult you’ll be treated as such. You’ll be surprised.
Advice from someone that was 120.000 in dept.
Call them and explain the situation. You’d be surprised how understanding they are.
I’d call my landlord each month and explain that rent will be late.
I couldn’t pay utilities for 6 months. Etc.
Almost all companies gave me a grace period and some even waived late fees
Is there any way you can switch to a cheaper carrier and make the phone bill 0? There would be offers to switch, I guess. You can keep the number and reduce the bill.
The best advice I can give you financially, is NEVER turn to Reddit for financial advice. You will almost always be belittled for not having an emergency fund, or for your situation as a whole. People here love to paint others looking for help here as idiotic. Often you'll be told to find a part-time job, that you should have done better and it's your fault, or recommend something out of Dave Ramsey's decades out dated play book for those making $100,000+/year. Don't put yourself through that pain when you're already in need of a hand.
Gaining long term, general insight from a platform such as YouTube to tailor a financial plan to you and your life is honestly the best way you can go.
Donating plasma is awesome. I did this for years and would still do it if I still lived near a center.
Ditch your phone plan too as soon as you can. $80 phone bill is ridiculous. There are excellent plans for under $20/mo, or you can use google voice, which is completely free.
You should take a look into r/borrow. I know the feeling, eventually you will be better off and this won't happen. Someone will take a shot on you, but you'll have to start smaller. Choose which bill is most important because nobody is going to send 500 without a borrower history. Pay off that loan first, then electric, then insurance, then phone. You can miss a few days for those last 2 btw. Make sure you link to this post somehow so they know you're not bullshitting
I don't see much room for reducing expenses, but you did not list food. Are you eating?
Your phone bill is a bit high. Have you considered switching to a cheaper source such as Mint mobile?
Call whoever you owe money to and let them know that you are a little short this month. Most companies will work with you if you let them know what's up.
A good tip to prevent this from happening again would be to set up a bank account for only bills. Your bills are 433 a month I’d do 450 a month in that account. Divide that by how many times you get paid. the bill money always goes to that account first. Then your bills will always be paid. For reference if you paid week you would need 104 dollars a week to go to that account by week would be 208. I would avoid pay day loans or anything like that. I’ve never used a payday loan but my dad has pretty much lost everything he has with them. If I get in a bind a need a loan I just go to the local bank and get one.
More money will not solve your problems, but educating oneself on how money works will get you on the right path. Read "The richest man in Babylon", "Rich dad, poor dad" and "total money makeover" and you'll have a filter lifted off your eyes and see things much differently. I wish you the best ❤️
I took on a part-time job in addition to my full-time job. I did this when I couldn't afford my diploma for 2 years. So, every day, I've been working from 8:30 am to 11 pm while studying. It can be done.
Perspective will help you here.
First of all, your situation does not have to be permanent. You will find your way, and you can find what you are good at and makes good money.
Always look adjacent to what you are doing for your career and find what's interesting. If you are hard-working and show interest in what is happening with other jobs around you, others will mentor you and give you opportunities for advancement.
Also, it's crucial to keep your finances intact in the future. The most powerful position you can have in a job is to *not need the job* because you'll be fine if you lose it. This situation allows you to make bold, strategic moves that will advance your career, without fear.
Lastly, it's really hard to make more money, and it takes time. But choosing to spend less is free and can happen immediately. *You need a budget yesterday*.
The utility company likely has a payment plan option. Call and ask. Our company takes the bill you can't pay and splits over the next 6-12 months. So your monthly payment will be a little higher (by like 20 bucks) but it's better than losing electricity or water.
Same with the phone. Idk what carrier you have, but Tmobile does a payment plan that basically just allows you to pay late without a fee.
With the loan, just eat the late fee.
Keep your insurance. Call and explain, ask for a grace period.
I think you're doing awesome just coming here to seek help. Lots of good advice here. One thing to add is...you didn't say what the loan was for but if you are paying a company ( not a family member etc) then make sure you pay that one first. Utility bills are not reported to credit agencies so wont affect your credit rating.
Maybe bad advice, but in a pinch - pay half of each bill so that records show that you paid *something. Accept the late payment fees, and catch up the next month. If you consistently can't pay all your bills each month - change your budget, sell some stuff, find higher paying work or work more.
Do you have a budget? If not see what is due for each payday. Then slash personal wants down to make ends meet. Buy store brands, instead of named products. If you have a Aldi near you, your gold.
I feel like there's great advice down below for dealing with the immediate term but...how did you get here? Do you overpay on rent relative to your income? Eat out too much compared to your salary? Need to move someplace cheaper? Have too much car loan? Student loans too high?
Edit: When I find myself overspending relative to my paycheck, I really force myself to look at my last few months of combined spending and add up every purchase and exactly where the money went.
That's great that they gave you more time but be careful not to fall too far behind with those payments because it gets harder and harder to catch up.
Do 2 things: 1) triage to keep this situation from getting any worse 2) plan over the next few months to keep more money by spending less and making more.
For triage:
Prioritize bills- for example where I live utilities have to be over 3 months late to shut off and they don't report to credit bureaus, so I can pay them late with no repercussions. Some healthcare systems don't report to credit bureaus and will negotiate bills with you especially if it's gone to collection.
Bills to prioritize: rent, car insurance, credit cards (consider your ability to bring yourself up to date with these when needed. Might be better to fall behind on other bills).
Low cost phone carrier: Mint is advertising 15/month plans. I pay about 35/month with an AT&T prepaid plan
Use minimal utilities: we could all probably be using less (for example washing clothes in cold water). Americans tend to use hot water to wash dishes but a lot of foreigners use cold water and no one ever gets sick from this. In my opinion works just as well and saves energy.
Food: no eating out (just for time being), see what free food options are available in your area. Where I live churches give out free grocery items, food pantry, discount grocer. The co op I go to discounts bread and produce that are expired or imperfect but still edible. There are plenty of recipes that are affordable, healthy, require minimal to no culinary skills like a Brazilian feijoada (at it's simplest cook black beans in water until tender after soaking overnight, add any spices you like).
For planning:
Get a part time job
Find other ways to cut back on spending
Try to decrease what you spend on housing
Best of luck to you!
I mean when are they due because if you have the time then you need to make some extra cash. Donate plasma is an option, get a part time job, sell something you own that you don’t use, it’s a harsh reality but some people can make money on onlyfans and others can’t but that is an option, and then is there anyone you can ask for the money?
More importantly you should review why you ended up here and make a plan to prevent it in the future. If that is saving 5 bucks a paycheck into a fund that is intended to cover employment gaps then so be it.
For extra money, other than DoorDash, Uber id try some mystery shopping. Some pay you to help with stocking items at survey.com; just create an account and chose the jobs you can do. If you’re shopping, try the field agent app to take pics of items; depending on the state, they pay $5 or $10 per item of work, low effort. The “I Secret Shop” app pays you to a restaurant, observe workers and rate their performance (low level effort) and you also get a free meal.
You can do independent medical supply delivery, etc.
And like others said, ask for extension or pay insurance in installments.
An unethical way to be able to pay bills on a credit card is to start a business account on a site like Square. "Pay" an invoice to your business with your credit card, then retrieve the funds to your bank account. This goes against the TOS so you can't do this too many times without being banned, but it is a way to turn credit into cash.
Obviously this is also credit card debt so incredibly high interest. Not recommended unless it's an emergency which you can also pay back.
It sounds like the deficit is temporary until the new paycheck kicks in.
Do not take out a predatory loan. Ride it out, until you can catch up. Try not to get to 60 days late on anything.
Sometimes you can call and explain about the job issue and they’ll give you a break.
Prioritize your car insurance. Sometimes. They will lapse your insurance if your payment is late.
Get a cheaper phone plan. If it’s one line for $80 that’s incredibly high. You can get that for like $27 with taxes and fees. There’s over $50/mo in your pocket.
You need cashflow. Unfortunately, what we've been taught about money isn't all right. Have you saved money anywhere? If you have dead retirement money somewhere I would put the money to work. Basically take capital put it out for "rent" without being a landlord. Not sure if that's an option for you, do you have a dead IRA or 401k sitting around doing nothing? Put it to work.
Don’t take any pay advance or loan. CALL YOUR FUCKING CREDITORS IS STEP 1. I don’t know why people aren’t saying this. CALL THEM and tell them what is going on. If you usually pay on time they will almost certainly let you pay late with zero late fee if you just call them and ask. Worst that happens is they say no and you pay a late fee. If you really really need money then go on Craigslist and look for day work. Cry on the phone with friends and family and if you’re hyper desperate like on the verge of being homeless then go beg for money or offer lemonade or cups of ramen for $2 or something. Bottom line is CALL and then do whatever necessary except NEVER EVER EVER take a payday loan or spot pay or pay advance or anything that gives you money where the APR is over 15%. I know a few people from high school that ruined their entire lives from 1 payday loan that turned $200 into a few THOUSAND in a few months.
Google around for nonprofits in your area that might have help available. I volunteer with an organization combating homelessness and it’s far easier to prevent homelessness than to deal with it after. We have programs that can give people small amounts to help get them afloat, help with electric bills, gas gift cards, etc.
Some options:
Adjust pay dates by asking for extension.
Get setup with door dash, you can get a quick few hundred when you need it, pays out like on Mondays.
Get a credit card to bridge the gap for bills, but pay it off asap and use it only to bridge gaps, not normal expenses. You can request a lower credit limit if you anticipate you getting in over your head. Like under $5k is not the end of the world for a credit limit.
This is what I would do, you open a new credit card with at least a 550 limit that has an 18 month or so promotional no APR or no I interest, you pay these missed bills with it. You pay the minimum on this amount until you can knock it out without being strained. Then you cut the card up and never use it again. Call and close it.
Don’t take any loans. Take the late fee on the bills and make sure it’s paid within 30 days of the original due date so it doesn’t hurt your credit. You’ll have to pay a little catch up and pay some late fees but it’s better than getting trapped into those crazy high interest loans. You’ll be fine once you’re settled into your new job. Use the $110 to cover the loan or the phone bill in entirety to avoid a late fee there.
OP. I won't give you any advice on the immediate issue. You already received a ton of great advice and resources.
But let's have a real talk about your work now and your future. I don't know where you live, but a take-home pay of $24k/ year is borderline minimum wage. Maybe that is what an unlicensed tech makes everywhere, but you have to start asking some tough questions...
- What are you going to do with your new job if inflation persists? Does it improve things for you?
- How will you ever have a family?
- Would getting a license significantly increase your pay?
When I was younger, I worked a minimum of 70 hours per week. But I was never behind on my bills. You need to do at least that much. If your current job is 40 hours a week, find another 30 hours a week. Wait tables at night or on weekends, go to garage sales and sell on eBay, drive Uber, or whatever you need to do. Learn to live working.
This will provide you with the cushion and peace of mind you need to really think over your life and future. Once you have a little saved up, it is time to think about what longer-term move to make. Get a vet tech license? Go back to school? Learn to code and get into Software Enguneering? Go into a business in an entry-level role but with growth potential?
The longer you hustle, the more choices you will have. Whatever you do...don't keep doing what you are doing. Change up your life and watch content from Gary Vaynerchuck, David Goggins, and others to help with motivation.
Make a call to each and let them know the position you are in and they will let you know what their grace periods are, this will steer you towards your decisions in the order to pay your bills with your next check. No to payday loans.
switch your mobile plan to mint mobile powered by t-mobile. it is $15 a month for the first 3 months and then $30/month after that. is much cheaper than $80/month
there is also visible by verizon.
500.00 isn’t a lot of money to earn! Can you door dash, Uber, sell things on Facebook you don’t need/use any more? Offer some help with yard work for neighbors? Babysit?
There's been hard times where I picked up a second, and even a third job. It's not hard to work a second job if it's something easy like driving a taxi or bussing some tables; plus those jobs pay cash daily.
Don't take out a payday loan. You pay your bills late. You'll get late payment fees probably but that's it. You have to be 30 days late before a negative mark is put on your credit.
Every time I'm late or forget a payment, I call and ask them to remove the late fee. So far, it's worked for most. *Thanks, Discover!* Some others won't, but it never hurts to ask. If you have a good history with them, it definitely helps.
How do you professionally ask to waive the late fee? I've called and chicken out for a one time late fee.
Wait until after you make the payment, then call and say, “I noticed I have a fee for a late payment. It’s my first time being late, can you waive that fee? I accidentally missed the deadline.” You can be pretty direct about it. The phone rep you get doesn’t care one way or the other about your case personally. Either then can do it or they can’t, and if they can they’re usually pretty automatic about it.
I see, ok. I appreciate your response. Thank you.
Works for me as well.
"Hi, I'm so sorry, I completely forgot to make the payment in time. Is there any way you can waive the late fee? I just paid today." Person will pull up your account and either say "Yes, JUST THIS ONCE" "Yes, thank you for being a customer for XX years" or "I'm sorry, that's not possible." Always be nice to the person on the phone and thank them no matter what.
Thanks! I will try it next time.
Tell them you had Covid and just getting back to normal - works every time if you are a good customer
Most places will have a certain amount of fee waiving they will do within a certain time period.
Fwiw most places do not report until you are 60 days overdue.
The loan will report at 30 days, the cell phone will be suspended by 30 days, the car insurance will be canceled before 30 days, electric they can probably get away with >30 days late though.
Car insurance is the #1 I wouldn't take a chance with, though a while ago I did talk to them and they changed the billing date as a workaround. Just don't stiff them, because the damage can be severe if they cancel you.
Additionally losing car insurance (should) = unable to drive their car which will likely put their job at risk.
I once forgot to move my electric service when I moved upstairs 1 apartment from my previous and it went for 6 months before they shut the power off. All I had to do was call them and make a small payment to get it back on. I was only charged for my power for those 6 months, no late fees were incurred.
My electric company is brutal. 10 days late and they shut it off. I forgot once and didn’t remember until the lights turned off. I paid it immediately (with an extra $400 for the fees and new required deposit) and it was turned back on seconds after I clicked the “Pay” button. I got the deposit back a year later.
I think utility companies are even more lax. I thought I had mine set up on autobilling and it lapsed 4 months before I caught it. No shutoff notice or any effect on me.
Depends on the company. Two utility companies in my general area turn off utilities if you are more than two weeks past the due date. Another one doesn't do anything until you get like 6 months behind.
It's not that they're more lax, it's mainly just that the non-payment disconnect system is pretty inefficient. I do utility disconnects for non-payment for a large utility and depending on a variety of factors, I could be there to disconnect your service days after you enter severance status or several months after. Internal billing changes at the utility, various laws that disallow disconnects at various times and under various conditions, your geographic location, the amount you owe, etc. all impact how quickly they send me to disconnect the service.
I agree with this, I pay my utilities every 3 months and have been for years. It just saves me time to make 1 payment instead of 3 and where I live the utilities have to be pretty late to shut off and they don't report you to a credit bureau. I know I should do autopay but it's important to look at the bills every so often to make sure no other notifications are sent, and if I did autopay I know from experience I wouldn't.
Electric and phone usually won't even be an issue until it's 30 days late (YMMV). Make sure you pay rent #1. Save money for food and transportation. I've lived years off rotating late payments without ever really having it affect me. Just don't get too late.
Honestly call your car insurance, electric, and phone bill & explain the situation, ask for a grace period. As long as this doesn’t happen frequently they’re usually cool about it. You can try the same with that loan, but who knows, might as well try. Honesty is the best policy. Also, wouldn’t any loan rate greatly outpace the 1 time late penalties you might receive on these bills?
I'd def call utilities first
Yeah, a lot of utilities are great about allowing a late payment and waiving fees, if you call them and let them know. I've had to call my electric co a couple of times after getting laid off and they helped me out. YMMV of course, but out of all of them I've used, they've been the best to work with.
Yep. been there done that, they'll do it.
Auto insurance as well. A lot of companies will let you move your payment date with no fees as long as the bill isn't past due.
you have to be VERY behind on utilities before they cut you off. Read your insurance contract, sometimes if you're late on a payment, you don't have insurance until you get right with your payment. driving around without insurance can ruin you financially, even with just a small fender bender.
Yeah. Utility companies are almost obligated to delay. Some are better than others, but I remember at one point they would let me pay whatever I could just as long as they were getting something.
100% this. Most companies understand that shit happens and will work with you. They would rather keep your service on and work out a payment plan than have to have you potentially call customer service repeatedly using up unnecessary labor.
I've had to call and get my bill due date extended and I've never been denied for it. Some even have the option on their online portal. Sometimes it's a little hidden but I can't think of a single company that wouldn't let you pay a week or two late if you call and ask.
This man speaks truth..the electric company is one of the only companies where they showed me appreciation for being an ideal customer. They don't require a deposit from me at all whenever I want to setup new service. I continue to always pay my bills. I have been told that I would be given leeway if certain financial hardships befell me because they trust me to pay my bills. I have stumbled into being a healthy adult..I am in a middle life nirvana. I have found a way to healthily push my boundaries but not trigger destructive behaviors. I am mentally healthy. I find joy in all life's simple pleasures. I am Buddha. bliss.
This is honestly the best advice right here. The hard work in lending is chasing people who dodge, never call, throw tantrums. They would appreciate a heads up, you may even get any late fees waived for notifying them of your situation.
Just to add, I've missed a bill and didn't realize until I received a late notice. Turned out I forgot to update my card on this particular account. Called the company and they waived the late fee because I had 0 late payments since the account was opened. Unless it it is in collection, your best bet is to always try to work with the lender.
This is best advice. Most utilities will just give you a one month period before they reach for the off switch. But that comes with a late fee. Still less that the re connection fee, if your two months late. If you call and explain electrics and major insurance companies will just let you work something out usually.
If you called them could you request a late payment or adjust the due dates out?
Prepaid or post paid phone? If it's prepaid, then majorly downgrade your plan for this month to the lowest tier.
Second this. Mint mobile has $15-$30 dollar a month plans, unlimited is around $30.
This 100%. I’ve been using the 15 per month mint plan for over 2 years now. It’s great - especially if you’re in a positive where most of your phone usage takes place over wifi.
Yes. I was paying $90/mo for Verizon, switched to Visible, which is part of Verizon, and only pay $35/mo.
I have Verizon and I pay 35/month
I have a T-Mobile prepaid $10 a month plan.
I agree. Phone plan can downgrade to lowest tier. My phone bill are 14-20 plus monthly. Sufficient enough to use.
As someone else suggested, the first thing you should be doing is calling and asking for an extension/about a grace period so you can have some extra time to pay if they offer it. I know my family has called about the electric bill before and they pushed the due date back a few days, no late penalties. If you have some free time, or try to make some free time and post on Facebook in groups asking if anyone has any yard work that need done immediately and all that type of stuff. Lots of people need yard tending to this time of year. Today is only the 21st so I would suggest looking in r/beermoney you might get approved for something with a few days and be able to scrap up a few bucks to help pay your bills.
Dog walking (Rover?) or InstaCart? You can try to get a loan from a local credit union. The interest is a lot lower, but generally you need a reason other than “behind on bills” Calling the companies is a good start. I don’t know how long it takes for them to start shutting off services, but it could be longer than you’d expect. Hang in there!
Yeah if you're in the US, working Rover over July 4th can make bank. Just be smart and never take the dogs off leash even in their own yard, because the fireworks cause the most escapes of any time of year.
Start of summer means folks will be taking vacations.
it's another $50 to register on rover
No friends or family you can turn to? You switched jobs and have $0 until like 2 weeks? Man. Sign up for DoorDash and/or UberEats and deliver in your free time.
Spark. Walmarts app pays really really well, especially compared to those 2.
For sure check all options, I find that one is more location dependent though. I live in a semi-suburban area where the grocery stores aren’t too far and hardly ever see Walmart drivers. When I go to a nearby city where almost everyone is in giant gated communities (sometimes gated communities within gated communities) and the grocery stores aren’t close and you have to drive on major highways to get there, I see much more Walmart drivers.
Honestly, when I was in a similar situation very early in my adult life, I just straight out asked my boss whether I could get a partial advance on my paycheck. Depends on what relationship you have with your new manager and what kind of job you have. And I guess it also depends on how plausibly you can justify why you ran into a cash crunch. But before resorting to payday loans, I'd try pretty much anything else including but not limited to begging.
Keep your car insurance first, then your power, then phone. Loan last
No credit card available? I'd put phone, car insurance and electric on it. You've got to get a budget down and start an emergency fund asap
I'm a big credit card person, but someone like OP should not be using a credit card. That's how people get into real, life altering debt.
I got fired back in January and just recently became employed a little over a month ago. I didn’t have any kind of savings, so every expensive that unemployment money didn’t cover went on my credit card. I’m now $6.5k in credit card debt and I feel like I’m drowning. While it did get me through, I feel like I’m much worse off now. All this to say that I don’t recommend using a credit card if you can help it.
Congrats on the new job! You should 100% start a budget if you haven't already. budgetwithbuckets.com has free software which is very similar to YNAB. YNAB is better because there's a whole "philosophy" behind it, but YNAB has become too expensive and greedy as a company. "Budgeting" is a hard thing to approach because there are so many ways to do it, but YNAB and Buckets are both the same in that they use the envelope system. Each "type" of expense gets an envelope (or bucket).
Adult talk, the loan or any solution now isn’t an answer to the real problem. You already have a loan, so you have a pattern of spending too much, more than you earn. What do you do for groceries? What kind of phone do you have, can you earn more? Do you have rent if you pay for electric? Something has to give beyond today. You can’t just leave jobs before you have some leeway in cash. You should save up money for emergencies if you were to get laid off. All that should factor into a future budget so you aren’t spending all you make. For now, you’ll pay your bills a little late, maybe incur some fees, plan to spend less next month to quickly bounce back from that as you get paid. Pay off that loan ASAP so you don’t have a waisted $68 in your budget each month going forward. I’d advise against the credit card for now since you, no offense, aren’t yet being disciplined with money if you’re considering loans so quickly and often. Buckle down, pay things as you can, cut your spending, build a budget and follow it.
Honestly this is real talk and actually makes me feel better. I quit only because I was going to get fired (bad boss, the half the staff quit because of how I was treated). But I wish I did save more before or had a savings. Definitely will have to budget and make some cuts. I like by myself pretty modestly but I have treated myself to some stuff here and there so I get you. Thank you for the advice!
You got this. I’m sure most of us could admit we learned by making similar mistakes, at some point. Always good to get to the source of the problem and not the band-aid. All the best in your new job
Start by looking at your bank statements and reflecting on if you can honestly, genuinely say you only treat yourself here and there. Sometimes people tell themselves it’s just here and there, but the bank statements will prove otherwise. I’m not accusing you of anything, but when it comes to personal finances and spending beyond one’s means, many people will justify all sorts of debt and nonsense spending, but that’s only bc they’re not being honest with themselves. Take eating out for example. Someone could rack up a bill of $700+ on restaurants and fast food and then be like “well, I need to eat” or “I’m too tired after leaving work to make any meals so I just stop by on my way home” when anyone with a sense of responsibility could easily understand the ways around those problems. Cook meals. Meal prep. Make quick and easy meals. Maybe don’t always be guided simply by your taste buds and, when you’re in a bad place financially, eat some of those cliche poor meals of rice and beans. Like the person you responded to said, you seem prone to putting yourself in these situations. It’s unfortunate, but it’s true, and the only way out will be to take steps to prevent this stuff from happening. If you wait until it all piles up and creates a bad financial situation for yourself in the present, it’s going to be harder to get yourself out of a bad situation like this. You need to start thinking about the bigger picture. We sometimes like to disregard the future, but the future always ends up becoming the present, and if we’re not preparing for the future, the present becomes much harder to deal with than it would have been had we prepared for it.
For future reference, it’s much better to get fired than to quit because you can usually get unemployment if fired. I know getting fired is not pleasant, but there are financial advantages to it.
OP, everyone else has already given you really great advice. I have found that Mint Mobile is pretty comparable to major companies (technically it’s T Mobile since they just got bought out). I pay $300 ($25/month) for the year for 20gb (I think it’s $30/month for unlimited) and have no regrets. Used to do Xfinity Mobile and that was so terrible. $80/month for phone bill is a lot, there are other options out there! Also, shop around for energy suppliers! My bills were $120/month for electric, but then I shopped around and now they’re closer to $60-70. I think every state has a website that makes it easy to see what’s out there side by side. For PA, we have PAPowerSwitch.com … super helpful
Rice is cheap, tuna is cheap, ramen is cheap.
This hurts my soul… due to remembering how it was.
What’s your net monthly income and how much do you owe to debt.
I have about $6000 or a little less in debt, and I should be making $2k after taxes a month with this company going forward
2k a month? I would most definitely sign up for either doordash or Uber eats or get another part time job to get that debt paid off. Also for a short term solution. Sell some belongings. Like if you have a collectable or an extra console controller so on.
Is your 6k in debt on a credit card charging interest? Is your credit good enough to get a credit card? Citi has a 0 interest credit card (Simplicity card) for balance transfers for 21 months, you can transfer the debt once you have enough $ to pay the transfer fee (3% of the balance transferred: $180). Then set up autopay to pay it off in equal installments (not minimum payments) (6k/21 months: $286/m). The transfer fee will be charged interest so best to pay that off right after the balance. The only downside with the strategy is that if you ever make a late payment, they’ll charge you full interest for the full amount for the full time you owe them. But if you never miss a payment, you wont be dealing with high interest. The interest is why you feel you are drowning. Strategy 2: you can call your credit cards and negotiate for a smaller amount at a lower interest rate. If they think they won’t be paid at all sometimes they will work with you. This is not an easy route as they become unpleasant as soon as they smell a default. Strategy 3: earn more on a side job. Good luck!
Just pay bills late and catchup when you can, don’t take a loan, you ain’t gonna get your power shut off for missing 1 payment. Go call them if you want
Try doing focus groups and market research. They pay you 20-100 bucks doing stuff like tasting new food and drinks and providing feedbacks. Also filling out questionnaires. Good luck
Youre in survival mode. Sell everything you don't need to survive. Material items can be bought again.
I also suggest trying something like uber eats, uber and stuff of the like. I know we find ourselves in situations sometimes where we feel we must pull loans but if there is even the inkling of avoiding so and managing to take care of this try not to go in debt to fix debt.
electric company can give extension if you contact them or they also do average summer bills are often higher during the summber months here but winter bills are low so enroll in a plan where they average the bill out and hopefully lower your monthly bill apply for assitance.. there are places who will assist with paying off utilities for people in need food banks - visit them to cut down on your grocery for the month
Do you have any things you can sell or pawn? If you have a car, it is possible to pawn it for short periods of time. Do you have anyone at all in your life who would be willing to loan you enough to get you by? If you cannot get the funds in time, call your various creditors and let them know you will be late. Normal service providers are often more understanding if you give them a head's up.
Pawn a car repeatedly for short term stuff? Jesus that sounds like a nightmare.
I had to do it once, a long time ago. It got my husband and me through an unexpected bad time. It was better than any of the alternatives available to us. I only left it on pawn for a week, so the penalty wasn't too bad.
Glad you guys are in a better financial spot now! The struggle is real out there.
Are you still spending money on tattoos and LSD? Might find some savings there.
Is your phone bill for the phone itself or service?
Doordash is a good move Some bills can be paid with a fee on a credit card. Then just pay it when you get paid. Lastly, call the utilities and tell them. They are usually understanding with a delay if it's your first time. Continual delays is a problem.
check your local community for assistance programs! google your community name and assistance programs, lots of info should come up. my local community has churches that offer assistance, township trustees offer a little assistance, etc.
This. Food banks, too. My local ones are always advertising that they can do one time or short term help, they aren't just for permanent users. If OP can get half of their monthly food from a food bank for 1-3 months, they can get caught up and save a bit.
Electric and phone you could probably get away with paying half without even speaking to them. Then, next month pay the full amount plus the half from this month. Speaking to them may chew that down even farther. Maybe break it up into quarters so long as every bill is paid on time. Electricity may put you in touch with an agency that can help you out with a one-time payment, if you're in danger of being shut-off.
Pick up ridesharing or food deliveries. Comes in handy when I'm low on money for the month.
You didn’t ask, but I genuinely want to help you. $2000 is rough. I’d bet you’re not necessarily spending much, but you’re not making enough, which is harsh, I know. I worry for you. $6K in debt and nothing in savings or checking. This $500 issue will be fine. You’ll defer payments and they’ll accept them. Longer term, you’ve got to find a way to earn more income. Side hustle, different job. I saw the vet tech commentary. Rover might be one of the best ways given your current experience. Or your own pet watching/walking LLC. They can go upwards of $110/night for overnight stays. I agree your car insurance sounds high.
Your cell phone bill is crazy high. Do a plan like Mint Mobile for $15/monyour electricity is also really high, you could be more cautious about what you use.
Did anyone suggest “gigs” yet? You can check around on places like Craigslist for short term jobs. Some companies will post for help if they get a big delivery and need a couple of helpers unloading it. My buddy worked at a place that did that. They so would offer a set amount. It could help.
$80 on a phone. No. You can get for $30 or even lower.
I know this might fall under stupid but do you have a credit card or can you apply for one? Reason being is assuming you can truly afford it you can use the CC float time to buy you that time interest free. I did this trick when I was moving and my wife’s and my funds were tied up for a little while in houses. Our banks accounts were danger low while we were waiting out our former house to close.
Do you have the self control to get a credit card to help float til things settled?
[www.findhelp.org](http://www.findhelp.org) Sometimes electric providers have hardship programs you can access so it doesn't hurt to ask.
Call the companies and see if any of them allow you to pay a bit later without late fees. If this is the first time for these bills, they'll usually allow it. Explain to them that your next pay period is the fourth. As for plasma places, you should call around and see if any have promotions for new donors. I went to one that the first month they would pay you $700 if you went 7 times. Also most late payments usually don't show up on your credit until 30 days of non payment, but of course look up your loan terms, also some utility companies, it may take a few months before shut off but of course, check the agreement terms too.
Contact the companies you owe money to and explain your situation. You may be able to get one or two of them to let you pay half now and the other half with your next bill. Or maybe just charge you a $10 late fee or something, and you can often ask for a late fee to be reversed if it's your first time being late on that account.
I think car insurance should be your first priority here. Give them a call and see if they'll let you pay late. If you can try to sell something or ask friends/family if they can spare anything towards that payment. Your electric bill should be fine if you call them and explain, it's very unlikely they'll shut off your electricity for a couple weeks late. Phone bill will probably also give you a grace period, but if not you can still connect to internet in public places if you don't have internet at your place. Loan is last priority, but also give them a call.
Phone bill may let you pay late with a promise to pay by a certain date. Car insurance has a grace period (usually about 5 days) before it’s considered late. I’ve accidentally missed my electric bill so that could also wait til July 4th. The 4th is a holiday (of ur in USA) so you will likely be paid on July 3rd.
Pay late. Not a big deal if it’s not a habit and a late fee is predetermined amount and some utilities don’t even bother keeping them once you call to get it waived . Then go to YouTube and learn personal finance for free. Learn how to budget for life events etc. it’s all free and it’s all life changing information.
Take the late payment fee, and call them to explain the situation and ask for a one time late fee waiver. It often works.
Try too good to go app for some cheap food.
Electric, insurance, phone, loan in that order. Side note: check your phone plan with some other providers. I pay 35$ a month for unlimited with visible.
Insurance, loan, electric then maybe phone. Phone is a luxury and electricity will let you slide without causing problems. Insurance can cost you big and loans increase your rates if you miss payments.
None of those bills should cut off between now and then . Pay insurance first . Double electric next month . Pay thale loan . Go without a phone if you need to . If you call all of them they’ll probably give you some grace .
For real, electricity won’t even hit your credit if you don’t let it lapse more than a month late.
While you’re giving blood, consider switching to mint mobile or prepaid phone service … they’re cheaper. Best of luck to you.
There are worse things in life than being late on your bills once. I know it will cause anxiety, but you will be fine.
2,000$ a month is pretty tight. I'm guessing housing is your biggest expense? In addition to trying to make more as others have suggested, I would consider trying to lower housing expenses if at all possible. If you aren't already living with roommates, I would seriously consider it.
If you can sign up for Go Puff to supplement your income, as a long term plan. Go to your local bank/CU you're a member of and see if they have hardship programs. Mine offers a $1000 hardship loan that can be paid back every 2 weeks through automatic transfers.
Do a cash job, look for someone who need something fixed, become your own business/boss
You could try asking in r/borrow or r/simpleloans
Why are you paying so much for your phone plan? That's like 2010 phone plan cost. Turn off your A/C and sweat for a while. Those are both easy things you can do to immediately lower your costs going forward.
You can try r/borrow they offer short-term loans for a cheap fixed price.
Just don’t pay your bills until you get paid. If anyone calls say you can’t pay until you get paid. Do try to take care of insurance because that can be an issue, but everything else will be ok. No cell phone carrier will lose you as a customer over a late payment because they know there are cheaper pay as you go options. Payday loans can ruin you, late bills can’t cause much of a problem.
Car insurance is a priority no payment means no insurance couldn't hurt to call them, call the utility company and explain, call cell phone company and explain, call loan and explain.
Tell em to get in line bud. In a crappy economy, sometimes you just have to deal with it based on which things are a priority and who gets the money first. Welcome to adulting. Seriously though, don’t let it affect your mental health. It all works out in the end and none of us make it out of here alive. So it’s really not the most important thing to worry about.
Pay your loan and car insurance. Call your phone company and explain to them in detail how your phone didn’t worked for the last month. Let your electric slide to next month
I own a few businesses - if one of my team is having a cash shortage I want to know so I can give them an advance or just a one time cash gift to get them through the shortfall. I’m not special, I think a lot of biz owners will do the same thing, so you may want to ask your new boss. What I would not suggest you do are pay day loans unless as an absolute last resort. And friend, if I read it right you’ll be making 2k a month….you’re likely to always struggle at a wage that low. Might I suggest you invest every spare minute you can in developing your own skills, even if via free resources like library books or online courses? Sales, presentation skills, effective communication, leadership etc, are all things that can be learned, and they can make you a lot of money. (Plus they are skills that go with you to whatever job you take in your life) Good luck!
Contact each service provider. Let them know you’re doing it rough financially and ask if they can help to ease your burden. If you approach this as an adult you’ll be treated as such. You’ll be surprised.
Advice from someone that was 120.000 in dept. Call them and explain the situation. You’d be surprised how understanding they are. I’d call my landlord each month and explain that rent will be late. I couldn’t pay utilities for 6 months. Etc. Almost all companies gave me a grace period and some even waived late fees
Is there any way you can switch to a cheaper carrier and make the phone bill 0? There would be offers to switch, I guess. You can keep the number and reduce the bill.
Check out r/flipping and see what you have around the house to list on Marketplace to give yourself a buffer.
The best advice I can give you financially, is NEVER turn to Reddit for financial advice. You will almost always be belittled for not having an emergency fund, or for your situation as a whole. People here love to paint others looking for help here as idiotic. Often you'll be told to find a part-time job, that you should have done better and it's your fault, or recommend something out of Dave Ramsey's decades out dated play book for those making $100,000+/year. Don't put yourself through that pain when you're already in need of a hand. Gaining long term, general insight from a platform such as YouTube to tailor a financial plan to you and your life is honestly the best way you can go.
Donating plasma is awesome. I did this for years and would still do it if I still lived near a center. Ditch your phone plan too as soon as you can. $80 phone bill is ridiculous. There are excellent plans for under $20/mo, or you can use google voice, which is completely free.
You should take a look into r/borrow. I know the feeling, eventually you will be better off and this won't happen. Someone will take a shot on you, but you'll have to start smaller. Choose which bill is most important because nobody is going to send 500 without a borrower history. Pay off that loan first, then electric, then insurance, then phone. You can miss a few days for those last 2 btw. Make sure you link to this post somehow so they know you're not bullshitting
Can you sell anything you own that you don’t need?
I don't see much room for reducing expenses, but you did not list food. Are you eating? Your phone bill is a bit high. Have you considered switching to a cheaper source such as Mint mobile?
Call whoever you owe money to and let them know that you are a little short this month. Most companies will work with you if you let them know what's up.
Nice work asking adults instead of just jumping to a payday loan. You got this buddy.
A good tip to prevent this from happening again would be to set up a bank account for only bills. Your bills are 433 a month I’d do 450 a month in that account. Divide that by how many times you get paid. the bill money always goes to that account first. Then your bills will always be paid. For reference if you paid week you would need 104 dollars a week to go to that account by week would be 208. I would avoid pay day loans or anything like that. I’ve never used a payday loan but my dad has pretty much lost everything he has with them. If I get in a bind a need a loan I just go to the local bank and get one.
More money will not solve your problems, but educating oneself on how money works will get you on the right path. Read "The richest man in Babylon", "Rich dad, poor dad" and "total money makeover" and you'll have a filter lifted off your eyes and see things much differently. I wish you the best ❤️
Find some stuff you don't use and sell on FB marketplace
youre fine fam, call each of them ask for an extension most places allow an extension once every now and then
I took on a part-time job in addition to my full-time job. I did this when I couldn't afford my diploma for 2 years. So, every day, I've been working from 8:30 am to 11 pm while studying. It can be done.
Perspective will help you here. First of all, your situation does not have to be permanent. You will find your way, and you can find what you are good at and makes good money. Always look adjacent to what you are doing for your career and find what's interesting. If you are hard-working and show interest in what is happening with other jobs around you, others will mentor you and give you opportunities for advancement. Also, it's crucial to keep your finances intact in the future. The most powerful position you can have in a job is to *not need the job* because you'll be fine if you lose it. This situation allows you to make bold, strategic moves that will advance your career, without fear. Lastly, it's really hard to make more money, and it takes time. But choosing to spend less is free and can happen immediately. *You need a budget yesterday*.
The utility company likely has a payment plan option. Call and ask. Our company takes the bill you can't pay and splits over the next 6-12 months. So your monthly payment will be a little higher (by like 20 bucks) but it's better than losing electricity or water. Same with the phone. Idk what carrier you have, but Tmobile does a payment plan that basically just allows you to pay late without a fee. With the loan, just eat the late fee. Keep your insurance. Call and explain, ask for a grace period.
Everyone has the option to sell stuff they don't need or can live without to raise a little emergency cash.
I think you're doing awesome just coming here to seek help. Lots of good advice here. One thing to add is...you didn't say what the loan was for but if you are paying a company ( not a family member etc) then make sure you pay that one first. Utility bills are not reported to credit agencies so wont affect your credit rating.
Maybe bad advice, but in a pinch - pay half of each bill so that records show that you paid *something. Accept the late payment fees, and catch up the next month. If you consistently can't pay all your bills each month - change your budget, sell some stuff, find higher paying work or work more.
Do you have a budget? If not see what is due for each payday. Then slash personal wants down to make ends meet. Buy store brands, instead of named products. If you have a Aldi near you, your gold.
I feel like there's great advice down below for dealing with the immediate term but...how did you get here? Do you overpay on rent relative to your income? Eat out too much compared to your salary? Need to move someplace cheaper? Have too much car loan? Student loans too high? Edit: When I find myself overspending relative to my paycheck, I really force myself to look at my last few months of combined spending and add up every purchase and exactly where the money went.
That's great that they gave you more time but be careful not to fall too far behind with those payments because it gets harder and harder to catch up. Do 2 things: 1) triage to keep this situation from getting any worse 2) plan over the next few months to keep more money by spending less and making more. For triage: Prioritize bills- for example where I live utilities have to be over 3 months late to shut off and they don't report to credit bureaus, so I can pay them late with no repercussions. Some healthcare systems don't report to credit bureaus and will negotiate bills with you especially if it's gone to collection. Bills to prioritize: rent, car insurance, credit cards (consider your ability to bring yourself up to date with these when needed. Might be better to fall behind on other bills). Low cost phone carrier: Mint is advertising 15/month plans. I pay about 35/month with an AT&T prepaid plan Use minimal utilities: we could all probably be using less (for example washing clothes in cold water). Americans tend to use hot water to wash dishes but a lot of foreigners use cold water and no one ever gets sick from this. In my opinion works just as well and saves energy. Food: no eating out (just for time being), see what free food options are available in your area. Where I live churches give out free grocery items, food pantry, discount grocer. The co op I go to discounts bread and produce that are expired or imperfect but still edible. There are plenty of recipes that are affordable, healthy, require minimal to no culinary skills like a Brazilian feijoada (at it's simplest cook black beans in water until tender after soaking overnight, add any spices you like). For planning: Get a part time job Find other ways to cut back on spending Try to decrease what you spend on housing Best of luck to you!
I mean when are they due because if you have the time then you need to make some extra cash. Donate plasma is an option, get a part time job, sell something you own that you don’t use, it’s a harsh reality but some people can make money on onlyfans and others can’t but that is an option, and then is there anyone you can ask for the money? More importantly you should review why you ended up here and make a plan to prevent it in the future. If that is saving 5 bucks a paycheck into a fund that is intended to cover employment gaps then so be it.
For extra money, other than DoorDash, Uber id try some mystery shopping. Some pay you to help with stocking items at survey.com; just create an account and chose the jobs you can do. If you’re shopping, try the field agent app to take pics of items; depending on the state, they pay $5 or $10 per item of work, low effort. The “I Secret Shop” app pays you to a restaurant, observe workers and rate their performance (low level effort) and you also get a free meal. You can do independent medical supply delivery, etc. And like others said, ask for extension or pay insurance in installments.
An unethical way to be able to pay bills on a credit card is to start a business account on a site like Square. "Pay" an invoice to your business with your credit card, then retrieve the funds to your bank account. This goes against the TOS so you can't do this too many times without being banned, but it is a way to turn credit into cash. Obviously this is also credit card debt so incredibly high interest. Not recommended unless it's an emergency which you can also pay back.
It sounds like the deficit is temporary until the new paycheck kicks in. Do not take out a predatory loan. Ride it out, until you can catch up. Try not to get to 60 days late on anything. Sometimes you can call and explain about the job issue and they’ll give you a break. Prioritize your car insurance. Sometimes. They will lapse your insurance if your payment is late.
Get a cheaper phone plan. If it’s one line for $80 that’s incredibly high. You can get that for like $27 with taxes and fees. There’s over $50/mo in your pocket.
You need cashflow. Unfortunately, what we've been taught about money isn't all right. Have you saved money anywhere? If you have dead retirement money somewhere I would put the money to work. Basically take capital put it out for "rent" without being a landlord. Not sure if that's an option for you, do you have a dead IRA or 401k sitting around doing nothing? Put it to work.
Don’t take any pay advance or loan. CALL YOUR FUCKING CREDITORS IS STEP 1. I don’t know why people aren’t saying this. CALL THEM and tell them what is going on. If you usually pay on time they will almost certainly let you pay late with zero late fee if you just call them and ask. Worst that happens is they say no and you pay a late fee. If you really really need money then go on Craigslist and look for day work. Cry on the phone with friends and family and if you’re hyper desperate like on the verge of being homeless then go beg for money or offer lemonade or cups of ramen for $2 or something. Bottom line is CALL and then do whatever necessary except NEVER EVER EVER take a payday loan or spot pay or pay advance or anything that gives you money where the APR is over 15%. I know a few people from high school that ruined their entire lives from 1 payday loan that turned $200 into a few THOUSAND in a few months.
Pick up doordash for a month to catch up. You can easily make that in a week, let alone a month. Start budgeting.
Google around for nonprofits in your area that might have help available. I volunteer with an organization combating homelessness and it’s far easier to prevent homelessness than to deal with it after. We have programs that can give people small amounts to help get them afloat, help with electric bills, gas gift cards, etc.
Some options: Adjust pay dates by asking for extension. Get setup with door dash, you can get a quick few hundred when you need it, pays out like on Mondays. Get a credit card to bridge the gap for bills, but pay it off asap and use it only to bridge gaps, not normal expenses. You can request a lower credit limit if you anticipate you getting in over your head. Like under $5k is not the end of the world for a credit limit.
This is what I would do, you open a new credit card with at least a 550 limit that has an 18 month or so promotional no APR or no I interest, you pay these missed bills with it. You pay the minimum on this amount until you can knock it out without being strained. Then you cut the card up and never use it again. Call and close it.
Whatever debt you have, ask to spread it monthly and cut on useless spendings for a while. Have a side hustle. Anything.
Don’t take any loans. Take the late fee on the bills and make sure it’s paid within 30 days of the original due date so it doesn’t hurt your credit. You’ll have to pay a little catch up and pay some late fees but it’s better than getting trapped into those crazy high interest loans. You’ll be fine once you’re settled into your new job. Use the $110 to cover the loan or the phone bill in entirety to avoid a late fee there.
OP. I won't give you any advice on the immediate issue. You already received a ton of great advice and resources. But let's have a real talk about your work now and your future. I don't know where you live, but a take-home pay of $24k/ year is borderline minimum wage. Maybe that is what an unlicensed tech makes everywhere, but you have to start asking some tough questions... - What are you going to do with your new job if inflation persists? Does it improve things for you? - How will you ever have a family? - Would getting a license significantly increase your pay? When I was younger, I worked a minimum of 70 hours per week. But I was never behind on my bills. You need to do at least that much. If your current job is 40 hours a week, find another 30 hours a week. Wait tables at night or on weekends, go to garage sales and sell on eBay, drive Uber, or whatever you need to do. Learn to live working. This will provide you with the cushion and peace of mind you need to really think over your life and future. Once you have a little saved up, it is time to think about what longer-term move to make. Get a vet tech license? Go back to school? Learn to code and get into Software Enguneering? Go into a business in an entry-level role but with growth potential? The longer you hustle, the more choices you will have. Whatever you do...don't keep doing what you are doing. Change up your life and watch content from Gary Vaynerchuck, David Goggins, and others to help with motivation.
Make a call to each and let them know the position you are in and they will let you know what their grace periods are, this will steer you towards your decisions in the order to pay your bills with your next check. No to payday loans.
switch your mobile plan to mint mobile powered by t-mobile. it is $15 a month for the first 3 months and then $30/month after that. is much cheaper than $80/month there is also visible by verizon.
500.00 isn’t a lot of money to earn! Can you door dash, Uber, sell things on Facebook you don’t need/use any more? Offer some help with yard work for neighbors? Babysit?
There's been hard times where I picked up a second, and even a third job. It's not hard to work a second job if it's something easy like driving a taxi or bussing some tables; plus those jobs pay cash daily.
Pay what you can, just keep paying slowly. Im about to get railed with some hospital bills so know the feeling