Money worries can be stressful to deal with and impact many areas of your life. A financial crisis can be caused by dental, medical, car issues, childcare, family, health, living situation or a combination of these things. Dealing with money worries can cause major stress and anxiety. Whether it’s a short-term situation or an ongoing reality, it weighs you down and impacts your every day.

However, unexpected expenses are a part of life. Things happen all the time, and we might not be prepared.  Here are a few things you can do to manage during times when money is tight.

• Don’t get help from a predatory lender. Examples: Payday loans, title loans, fast cash stores, and whatever have extremely high fees and interest rates. These costs can take longer to pay off causing you to pay more in debt than toward your crisis. This can also harm your credit causing future financial crises.
• Get help from a legitimate, trustworthy, accredited agency. They can work with you to modify your budget, reduce what you owe, and pay your bills. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau can let you know if the company you have chosen has fair practices.
• Think about your spending your habits. Are there things you can go without while you work through your debt? Make sure you are only paying the necessary expenses up front.
• Try to get some breathing room: Find out if you can modify spending plans with your lenders or monthly bills.
• Pay more than the minimum: Do what you can to avoid paying the minimum payments. This can decrease the time you owe the money and you will make progress toward paying it off.
• Contact community agencies to explore your options. Sometimes local resources like community centers, churches or food pantries have ways to assist. Even some banks and credit unions can offer coaching or assistance.

• Check in your mental health and manage your stress. Financial crises cause us to lose sleep and overall affects our health.  Do you have someone you can check in with or talk to about your concerns?  Try one of our Health Activities
• Check in with your benefits specialist.

Here are some more great resources and information to help you meet your money goals:

• Savings Tips
• Debt Reduction
• Tax Time Saving
• Planning for College
• More Money Resources