Coping With Difficult Financial Situations
If you find yourself unable to meet commitments (unexpectedly big bills, repayments on loans, rent etc), don't panic! Things are rarely as bad as they seem, but is important to do something as early as possible: most businesses, particularly large enterprises like electricity or phone companies, are willing to negotiate paying off bills and the sooner you contact them the easier it is.
Some simple steps will help get you on track.
- Take pen and paper and write down a list of all your financial commitments, showing total amount owed, agreed repayment amount and how often it has to be paid.
- Look at your income, less rent, food and other essentials. (ie., do a budget)
- Out of the amount left over, how much can you afford to repay?
- Are there any debts that can be deferred easily until you are back on your feet?
- Are there any small debts you can repay quickly, leaving only one or two to deal with?
- If you have several debts, work out the proportion that each makes up of your total debt and apply those proportions to the repayments. (eg if one debt is half the total, allocate half of your repayments to it.)
- Contact each company and explain your position and negotiate a level of repayment you can afford.
Remember you do have legal rights as a consumer of credit and the lenders have legal obligations as well. If you feel undue pressure coming from a lender, the organisations below may be able to assist.
Links
Credit Line Financial Counselling Services http://www.wesleymission.org.au/centres/creditline/factsheet.asp
Insolvency and Trustee Service Australia http://www.itsa.gov.au/
NSW Department of Fair Trading - http://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au
Redfern Legal Centre factsheets - http://www.rlc.org.au/factsheets/factsheets.html"
Consumer Credit Legal Centre NSW - http://www.cclcnsw.org.au/
Financial Counsellors Association NSW - http://www.financialcounsellors.asn.au/fact.htm