Sudden bills have a big impact on any and all types of people. When something we haven’t budgeted for turns up in the post (or your inbox), it can send you scrambling to find a way to pay it that isn’t going to ruin you.
And that’s the kind of reaction this post is here to help you with. Scrambling, panicking, and preventing yourself from focusing on the situation in as calm and rational a manner as possible does you no favors.
Instead, you need to do a bit of damage control right now. Yes, there’s a big bill on the horizon. But it doesn’t have to stop you from building up to your long term wealth plans.
Dip into Your Savings
If you’ve got savings, use them. No matter how big or small the pot might be, put them to good use right now. After all, this is the kind of situation you were saving for!
Even if the savings in question aren’t strictly an emergency fund, use them to the max here. Doing so will prevent you from needing other forms of funding, some of which can be quite risky.
Indeed, this will prevent you from maxing out your credit card and being unable to maintain consistent repayments. A dip into the savings for a big, unexpected bill doesn’t feel good, but it can prevent further financial harm from coming your way.
Then you just have to focus on building that pot back up.
Look at Your Entitlements
This is a good thing to consider if you’ve been involved in an accident, or you’ve been diagnosed with an illness, that now means you’re receiving hospital invoices by the dozen.
At a time like this, you could be entitled to state benefits – especially if you’re out of work at the same time.
Check your local and state government website for the full breakdown of how this might work in your area. You can also look into charities that help people in your situation stay on top of their bills.
And if you’ve got health insurance, whether private or through your employer, double check the level of cover. You want to be sure you’re getting as much of your hospital bills paid off as possible, and that sometimes requires reading through the terms and conditions a few more times.
Talk to an Attorney
If you’ve had to cope with a very sudden and very massive bill, chances are you’re not the only one at fault.
Your energy provider could suddenly level an unexpected payment on you because of a fault in their system. You could have been involved in a car accident and had to stay in hospital for a few days. There are a variety of situations where a financial emergency isn’t just something you have to try and cope with.
The first thing to do is follow the energy company’s complaints procedure and see if they can retract the bill. Similarly, if a road collision occurred, talk to your insurance provider and see what they can cover.
But once you’ve done these things, get in touch with an attorney. You could be well within your rights to seek financial compensation for the event. You could also be due compensation because of the emotional turmoil it put you through!
For disputes against commercial bodies, you’ll want to find a lawyer’s office skilled in negotiating cases in the same industry the company in question is part of. For anything that’s happened to your person, you’ll want experienced personal injury professionals like attorney Adam Kutner.
Often enough, even if the layer you’ve contacted doesn’t quite cover your needs, they’ll be able to send you the details of another office that’s capable of taking on your case.
Try to Get into a New Budget Routine
This new routine should keep you on budget – with a new budget that actually reflects the state of your finances at this current point!
Without this new routine to follow, you could be doing your finances some long term harm.
After all, you need to live within your means and be very strict about stepping outside of them. You may even have a savings account you need to fill back up, and that’s hard to do with some significant changes.
Be Careful About Borrowing
And finally, we want to put down a little warning about turning to short term loans during a crisis like this. Yes, you’ve got a big bill to pay. Yes, there’s very little in the bank (or free for you to use) to pay these bills off.
But taking out a short term loan usually means you get hit with an astronomical amount of interest. This interest could end up being more than the bill you’re trying to deal with, and you could be trying to pay it off for a lot longer as well.
Treat loans like this as a last resort. Turn to them if you have to when there are literally zero other ways for you to stay afloat.
Sudden Bills are Scary, and Staying on Top of Them is Hard
When you’re hit with a sudden bill, life can feel like it’s upended. How are you supposed to pay? How are you supposed to stop the bill from getting any bigger? There’s a lot of worry cycling through your head right now and nothing is going to stop that runaway train from slamming into your bank account.
But you can do some damage control here. Sudden bills go hand in hand with emergencies, but you can mitigate the risk and pull some power back. Start by using the tools you have, a.k.a., your savings, any investments, etc., and then look into things like benefits and compensation.
Above all, limit your contact with short term loans. They may see you through the initial crisis, but the damage control they perform leaves you with quite a few more long term concerns to work on!