Unemployment is not usually something you saw coming your way. Even if you did, you might not have suspected just how drastic of a problem your finances can become in such a short period of time. Whether you saw a change in jobs in your near future or not, you need to avoid the mistake of assuming that your financial obligations have time to wait. Getting back into the work force full time, and then finally getting that first paycheck, may take a little longer than you think.

File For Unemployment

Finding suitable work might take a little longer than you had hoped and you do not want all of your utilities shut off in the meantime. Therefore, you want to immediately file for assistance, like those in Texas will file for Texas unemployment. Even though the amount of your unemployment benefits will be less than you normally received through paychecks, it can still be enough to pay your essential financial obligations, especially when you make use of the rest of the advice found here.

Create A Budget

You need to sit down at the table with your significant other and write a list of all of your monthly expenses. It is very important for you to put a lot of time in this so you are remembering anything and everything you spend money on each month, right down to the television streaming accounts. The next thing you will want to do is to cross off all of the things that you can do without for a little while. Remember that this is just temporary so you can go back to such luxuries once your financial situation is a little better.

At the end of the day, you need to cover things such as your rent or mortgage, your utilities, and groceries for the family. If you have a car payment, you might want to consider selling the vehicle if you have another fully paid for vehicle that you can use while you look for work. After doing that, call your utility companies to ask about budget plans or other types of assistance they could possibly help you with. You may qualify for LIHEAP, which will help make your utilities more affordable until you are back to wok. You could also contact your mortgage company to ask about a forbearance or a loan modification that can help you postpone or lower your monthly payments.

Look To Charity For Assistance

There are many different types of helpful assistance that can be received from local charities. There are small charities, usually ran by various churches, that will help provide you with clothing. Some may have income limits to qualify, while many do not. You simply go and take what you need, or whatever they can offer you. This can help you find appropriate clothing for upcoming interviews. It can also help to make sure that your children have some replacement clothing as they quickly grow out of what they already have.

Another important charity program you will want to consider looking into is your local food bank. By getting some help from the local food bank every month, you will not have to spend as much of your unemployment check on groceries. Simply locate your local food bank so you can sign up and start getting help soon.

With a little planning, budgeting, and dedication to making it work, you should find that you and your family can financially stay afloat while you continue to look for a suitable replacement for your old job.

Getting out of debt can seem like an impossible proposition. The idea of consolidating, saving, and eventually paying off each and every loan in full can be totally overwhelming for people who can barely manage to save money from week to week.

United Debt Counselors (“UDC”) may be able to help. No matter how limited a person’s budget might be, UDC is devoted to figuring out a working payment plan designed around each client’s specific needs. No one should have to put their life on hold just to try and get a handle on debt. Here are a few ways to set aside loan repayment money and work toward financial goals with UDC.

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About 60 million credit cards have been issued in the UK, making them an incredibly popular form of borrowing for consumers. But, it’s vital to be able to know how to manage the money you owe on credit cards. Failure to do so means that a convenient form of spending can quickly become a problem – with millions of people saddled with a big debt and stuck only paying interest on it.

So, how do you stop your credit card becoming an issue? Here are five tips to stop you from overspending…

Use introductory offers wisely

When you first get your credit card it will come with a credit limit and, depending on the card you have chosen, might carry an initial interest free spending period. It’s tempting to see this as a licence to spend the full balance – and to think that you don’t need to pay it all back for the duration of the interest free period. Yet this could prove costly. You should only spend what you need – your credit limit isn’t a target to aim for – and should make a clear plan to pay off what you owe, ideally before the end of the interest free introductory period so that your debt doesn’t grow.

Don’t just make the minimum payment

Your credit card company will tell you what the minimum payment on your debt is and it can seem tempting to just pay this amount as it makes your debt seem more affordable. However, this will see you make little progress towards paying back your full balance and your debt could become a bigger issue as interest is added. If this is the case, you might well find that a balance which appeared affordable grows beyond your means and it feels like you’ve overspent.

Consider a balance transfer – but be careful with your new card

Moving your credit card balance from one card to another, through a balance transfer, can help you to manage your total debt. The Money Advice Service shows how shifting a £5,000 balance from one card to another could save you £622 in interest within 18 months. Cards that offer good rates for balance transfers don’t usually offer a good rate for fresh purchases, however, so avoid adding to your debt once it has been transferred.

Don’t take it out with you

Find it difficult to avoid the temptation of popping a purchase ‘on the plastic’ while you’re out shopping? There’s a simple solution: leave it at home. Don’t give yourself the chance to give in to your spending urges. Don’t save the card details in any online accounts either and, when you’ve paid your balance, consider destroying the card.

Consider using your savings to pay off a balance

Credit card debt can be expensive – and can grow a lot faster than your savings could if it sits in a low interest account. It might well pay to use your rainy day fund to wipe off your balance (you could ‘pay yourself’ back in the long run) to avoid the amount growing beyond a figure that you’re comfortable with.

This is a guest post from Pauline of InvestmentZen.com

No matter how you got there, being in debt is not pleasant. And you want to get out as soon as possible. These tips will help accelerate your debt payments, if you stay focused and motivated. They’re simple to apply and can save you time and money while you get out of debt.

Know where you stand

Do you know how much you owe exactly? How many months you have left to pay if you want to get rid of that credit card balance? Having a clear image of your financial situation is the first step to getting out of debt. So get your statements out and list all your debt.

It will look like:

• Credit card A, $1,000, 18%
• Credit card B, $2,500, 12%
• Student loans, $35,000, 7%
• Mortgage, $125,000, 4%

And so on. Don’t forget anything. Personal loans, car loans, even that overdraft on your checking account. Now you know how much you owe, and we can start crushing that debt.

Negotiate your rates

Everything is negotiable when it comes to your creditors. They would much rather drop a few points of interest than see you default on your loan. Refinancing your student loans, getting a 12% rate on that 18% credit card, etc. can save you hundreds, if not thousands of dollars in interest.

The higher your balance, the more you will save by negotiating your rates. Have a quick look around to see what other creditors offer. Then call your provider, and tell them it has been hard lately to make the minimum payments on your loans, and you would like to know if they can help. Some might offer a repayment holiday for a month or two, but interest will keep accruing in the meanwhile, so we’re rather after a better rate. If they won’t help, take your business somewhere else.

Get a balance transfer

Getting a 0% balance transfer credit card in this example would save you $180 interest on credit card A, and $300 on credit card B. If your credit is good enough, you can apply for a 0% credit card online, in just a few clicks. That is a great hourly rate for your efforts. Careful though, not paying interest on the card doesn’t mean you should only make minimum payments. 0% balance transfers typically revert to double digit interest rates once the 0% deal is over. Say you have 12 months to repay your $3,500 balance from credit card A and B, you will have to come up with $300 every month to get rid of the balance. If that is too much of a stretch, make a note on your calendar to do another balance transfer 11 months from now before that one expires.

Refinance your mortgage

Refinancing your mortgage is about as easy as the couple of steps above. You can even do it online if you are staying with the same bank. Because the life of your loan is so long, you can save thousands of dollars by refinancing to a lower rate. Even better, if you keep making the same payments every month, you will cut months or maybe even years off your mortgage term. Always look for a mortgage that allows overpayments without penalties.

There are many mortgage calculators online that will let you input the fees associated with the refinance, to tell you whether it is worth proceeding, and how much you can save. Once again, it is a day or two of compiling information and filling paperwork, for thousands in savings.

Apply the debt avalanche method

You might be familiar with the debt snowball method of repayment, that suggests you should pay off the debt with the smallest balance first, in order to gain momentum and keep paying off more debt. The debt avalanche method suggests you pay the most expensive debt first. That is the most effective way, since you will end up paying less money in interest. Now that you have negotiated your rates down, redo a list of all debts, and while you keep making minimum payments on all of your loans, put any extra money towards eliminating the highest interest debt.

Once you are done, proceed to paying off the second highest interest debt. And so on.

These tips are pretty easy to apply, and can save you a lot of money over the long term.

How will you crush your debt this year?