Need help financially? This may help.

May 7, 2009

Need help financially? This may help.

Due to the current financial crisis going on I wanted to direct a post towards programs and ideas that may help you financially during this hardship we are all having.  

If you have been laid-off recently or have been hit hard financially due to gas, interest rate increases, medical bills or life in general you may feel stressed out.  If you are wondering how you will make your mortgage payments, credit card payments or if you are wondering about health coverage you may find this information  helpful and you may be able to finally start feeling relief.  

Below you will find some ideas and resources to consider to help you with things from maintaining a roof over your head to feeding you kids, to providing medical security and more. 

• For mortgage payments you can contact your bank and see if they have a hardship program to apply for.  This will allow you to apply to lower the interest rate on your mortgage without having to refinance and will not negatively effect your credit.  If they do not offer a hardship program then the next step you should ask about is if they can assist you to apply for the new programs that the Obama administration helped put into place.  For information on the mortgage programs offered please visit this website: http://www.treas.gov/press/releases/reports/modification_program_guidelines.pdf . 
• For health Insurance you may be receiving COBRA, did you know that you there is a government program that will assist you in paying your premiums?  You can also put the payments into a Health Savings Account (HSA) and save on taxes for that amount.  Visit www.irs.gov for more information on applying for the government subsidy.  You may also want to apply for Medicaid http://www.aarp.org/money/lowincomehelp/applying_for_medicaid.html, or Mediacare http://www.medicare.gov/
• If you are having problems getting food on the table contact WIC http://www.fns.usda.gov/wic/howtoapply/ or apply for food stamps http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/10101.html
• To discuss programs on credit card payments contact your credit card company and speak with someone about a hardship program or pay-off program, try to get your rate lowered.  Be nice and honest and let them know you want to pay but need assistance due to your circumstance.  Note: If you speak with anyone that is rude or not working with you it may be best to simply say thank you and call back to talk with someone else. 
• For car payments call the car loan company and see if they have a skip-a-payment plan or hardship program.  Most companies will work with you. 

HINT: Be nice when talking with these companies.  Let them know you enjoy their services and want to continue business with them but that you need assistance for the time being. 

Some other options for you may be to talk with your church and see if they have funds available to assist you with paying your bills, they are use to helping people and depending on their funds they may be able to help you. 

In closing I will add some insight on our financial crisis.  Most of our financial problems stem from living outside our budget.  Marketing efforts reach into our pockets when they tell us we’ll feel better in the newest car, the biggest house, the trip to Hawaii and all the new clothes and shoes to fit into those lifestyles.  As a nation we are impatient and spoiled and thus we are now seeing from the inside out what happens when we think like that.  Dave Ramsey has a lot of great information to help us all change our thinking process.  His advice not only will help us get out of debt but will help us start making income, actually incoming and not outgoing.  Visit his website for some great information www.daveramsey.com . 

Stay tuned for more posts from living better today!

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