How to Pay Credit Cards If You Lose Your Job
Paying your credit cards when you have lost your job and income can be difficult, since you have less money coming in. In most situations, though, you want to keep paying to preserve your credit rating and avoid calls from collectors. There are several things you can do to keep your credit cards under control if you have lost your job.
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Instructions
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Check whether you have credit protection insurance. This is an optional feature you can buy with some cards. If you do, this may stop your credit card payments temporarily, since one of the features of this type of insurance is that your creditors stop collecting if you lose your job, move or experience other difficult financial situations. Be aware that even if you do have credit insurance and your payments stop, interest will still accrue.
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Contact lenders if you know you will have a hard time making payments. You may be able to work something out; lenders may temporarily lower your monthly minimums, for example. Talking to them about your problem is better than just ignoring it and getting collection calls and black marks on your credit.
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File for unemployment benefits if you are eligible, or look for some type of job to bring in income if you aren't. Depending on why you are out of work and your work history, unemployment benefits may pay a portion of your salary while you look for work. You can use this money to pay your credit card bills while you look for a new position. If you aren't eligible for unemployment, then you may want to look for any type of job to get you through until you find a better one---even something part time or below your skill level, such as retail, baby-sitting or cutting lawns.
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Cut unnecessary expenses. If you cancel your cable service or stop eating out, you can divert this money toward paying your credit card bills from your unemployment or other income. Likewise, cutting coupons can save you money on food, which you can also use to pay credit card bills.
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Sell unnecessary items. Almost everyone has some type of clutter hanging around at home. Sell those items on Craigslist or eBay to bring in cash you can use to pay your credit card bills until you find a new job and have regular income again.
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References
- Photo Credit credit 3d sign image by onlinebewerbung.de from Fotolia.com
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Comments
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Why is it that when they give advice about paying your bills after you lose your job they always talk about all the ways to continue to pay the bills. When you lose your job the first thing is to make sure you have food. (food stamps) You can pay the mortgage or rent. (Unemployment insurance ) Enough money to keep gas in the car and a little nest egg for emergency's (sick kids still need to go to the doctor and you have no insurance.) The last thing I ever worried about was the Visa bill. The electric bill was more important.
