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uring the course o your lie, you willprobably experience some sort o unexpected incident or emergency.Below are some common situations that may drastically change a person’s nancial situation. We would like to oer you some basic tips thatmay help reduce the impact on your nances.Please note that the intent o this article is to givean overview o general inormation. We realizethat everyone may have their own complex seto circumstances that may require additionalresources.
A divorce occurs.
Divorce laws can becomplicated and may dier by state. You may choose to seek the advice o an attorney thatspecializes in this eld. Search or a divorceattorney in your area at www.amilylawsotware.com. Under the section labeled “For IndividualsFacing Divorce,” click on the “Find Proessionalsin Our Directory” link. Tis site sells divorce-related sotware, but also oers valuableinormation about the divorce process. You canalso check out the “Divorce Guide---A Worldo Help” link located under the “For IndividualsFacing Divorce” column or a variety o helpulinormation and calculators. A certied divorceplanner (CDP) may also be able to assist you.Tis proessional is a nancial planner that hascompleted additional training and educationrelated to the nancial issues o divorce. I you wish to hire a CDP, visit the web site o theInstitute or Certied Divorce Planners at www.instituteda.com.
A family member loses their job.
I thereis a loss o income in the household, see i youare eligible to receive unemployment benets, which may temporarily replace a portion o lost wages. Te web site or the Department o Laborhas a section that lists all o the unemploymentoces by state. Visit www.dol.gov/dol/location.htm or more inormation. Tis site also includesstate job centers and employment outlooks orparticular elds. During this time, try to keepspending under control so you can continue topay necessary bills the next three to six months.I possible, avoid withdrawing or borrowingmoney rom your retirement savings.
You can’t make your mortgage payment.
I you are having diculty paying your mortgage,you should contact your loan servicer and ndout i you qualiy or modied loan terms orother options to help you keep your homeinstead o losing it to oreclosure. You may also want to seek help rom a trained homeownershipcounselor. o nd a reputable counselor,contact the Homeowner’s HOPE Hotline atthe Homeownership Preservation Foundation(1-888-995-4673 or www.995hope.org)or the U.S. Department o Housingand Urban Development or areerral to a HUD-approvedhomeownership counselingagency (1-800-569-4287or www.hud.gov/oces/hsg/sh/hcc/hcs.cm).
You or a family memberexperiences a medicalemergency.
In addition todealing with a medical illness,your household will also receivea lot o bills and paperwork. Careully review all items such as doctor and hospital bills along with insurance claim payments/denials. Mistakesdo happen and uncorrected errors can be costly.I you can not aord your medical or hospitalcharges, contact the service provider’s billingdepartment to set up a monthly payment plan.Be sure to save bills, cancelled checks, or otherreceipts or your tax preparer because you may be eligible or the Health Coverage ax Credit.Do a keyword search at www.irs.gov or HCC.I you are uninsured and have a serious healthcondition that makes it dicult to buy standardhealth insurance plans, you may want to ndout i your state has a risk pool. Tis type o insurance usually can not deny you due to mostpre-existing conditions. For more inormation,visit www.nahu.org/consumer/HRPGuide.cm.
A family member passes away.
Coping withthe loss o a loved one will undoubtedly take anemotional toll on amily members. During thisdicult time, most amilies will struggle withthe unbelievable shock and grie o the situation.Tereore, nances and money will not be at theoreront o someone that recently lost a lovedone. Tis will be a time that amily memberscan band together to support one another inaccomplishing some o the ollowing necessary tasks.• Locate important documents, such asinsurance policies and the most recent will.• Beore committing to any uneralcosts, consult with other amily members and perhaps a lawyerabout any prior instructions orarrangements.• Obtain multiple copies o the deathcerticate, which will be needed toapply or death benets (such as lieinsurance policies or Social Security)and to access bank accounts.• I the amily’s medical insuranceis through the deceased person’semployer, consider options orcontinuing coverage.
Tips to OvercomeCommonFinancial Hurdles
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veryone makes mistakes. You probably have heard this phrase at some point inyour lie. In act, you may regret gettinginto debt and considered it to be a big mistake.Dwelling on the past will not solve your currentproblems. Remember that i nobody ever made amistake, society would not grow and prosper.It’s true…everyone does make mistakes.However, you can learn rom them and deal withthe results o your mistakes in a constructiveand eective way. In order to learn a valuablelesson, you must keep experimenting withnew approaches to your dilemmas instead o repeating the same mistakes. For example, i youacquired debt due to overspending, use this timeto educate yoursel on responsible credit card use. When it comes time to re-establish your credit,you will know not to make the same mistakesagain. Putting yoursel down or becoming angry and bitter will not help your current situation.On the other hand, i your debt was theresult o an unoreseen circumstance such as aamily illness or job loss, recognize that almosteveryone experiences setbacks at least onceduring the course o their lie. In the midst o an unortunate circumstance, you did whatyou needed to do in order to survive. Once youcomplete your settlement program, you may consider starting an emergency und in case anunanticipated event should ever occur again.Regardless o the reasons or your debt, realizethat enrolling in a debt settlement program isone way to rectiy your economic situation.Commend yoursel or taking this positive steptowards improving your nances. Although youmay be currently aced with overwhelming debt,you have decided to take action. In the end,you may become a stronger person because youlearned rom your mistakes.
Te man who makes no mistakes doesnot usually make anything.~Edward Phelps
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