Drowning in debt
If the television news can be believed, the average American family is drowning in debt! I was reading an article in a magazine recently that many people are now starting to fall behind on their mortgages rather than fall behind on their credit cards! That flies in the face of traditional debt management techniques. Seems to me that one would take a good hard look at getting some debt counseling before deciding to fall behind on any of those creditor accounts!
Having to choose which bill to pay, and which one to let slide is never an easy choice. One has to take a look at what would you really lose if you don’t make the payments? If I were in that position, I’d put the local accounts, such as dentists, lawyers, and entertainment services on the back burner and let them slide a little bit. Many of those professionals that allow you to make payments will let you skip a payment or two if you call them up and explain your situation to them. In many cases doctors and lawyers will agree to taking a smaller monthly amount and not charge you any late fees.
When my wife was going through her troubles with her first husband, her lawyer let her pay in small amounts and often let her skip payments for a few months if things were bad. So my advice is to take a hard look at which accounts can slide, and which can’t.