There are many things in life that we simply cannot control. While you may have the best laid plans in place when it comes to your finances, things can go wrong and make these plans completely obsolete. You may be faced with unemployment or suddenly have more bills than you first thought. Your mortgage payments may be too high and you may be struggling to make the bills each month. You may be relying on credit cards to pay your bills or you may be living pay check to pay check. All of these things can cause you emotional stress and impact all aspects of your life. Trouble sleeping, relationship problems, health concerns and emotional suffering all often follow financial complications which is why it is important to gain control of your finances as best as you can.
Bankruptcy is one option you have when debt becomes too much to control. However, it is not the only option you have and most individuals agree that avoiding bankruptcy is definitely something they would prefer. So how can you gain control of your financial situation without succumbing to filing for bankruptcy? Below are a few tips:
Consider Debt Consolidation – debt consolidation means that you are consolidating your debt into one more manageable payment. This is a process that allows you to take control of your finances and stop late fees.
Create a Spreadsheet – sit down tonight and put together a spreadsheet of all the expenses you have on a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly basis. Then, make another column for all incoming payments made every week, usually through your pay check. If you have more outgoing expenses than incoming, then you need to correct this by cutting back.
Stay Ahead with Your Bills – when the bills come in each month, sort them into different piles. Pay the ones that need to be paid first.Consider the interest rates of each debt which can also severely hurt you in the long run.
Communicate With Your Bank – it is possible to have your mortgage payments reduced as well as other debt payment plans that you are on. However, you need to communicate with the lenders and explain what has happened rather than just pushing these bills aside and hoping that next month will be better.
Speak to an Attorney – speaking to a Minneapolis bankruptcy attorney can also help you gain control of your finances without having to go the extra step and file for bankruptcy. Our team at Buettner Law Group, LLC can help you manage your debt by putting your financial situation on the table for you to clearly see. We will take the big picture and help you visualize it as smaller more manageable chunks. In some instances, the best path to take may be bankruptcy, but in others, it will not.
For more information on bankruptcy and debt management, contact us today at 612-377-5311 for a free initial consultation.