Everyone has had money trouble at some point. These financial troubles come from many places, such as unforeseen emergencies or unemployment. Financial trouble often exacerbates other issues and can be an underlying cause for tension in relationships. Financial problems cause good people to make tough decisions such as choosing between paying bills or putting food on the table. Luckily, there are things you can do immediately to alleviate your financial worries.
There are many charity, church, and government assistance programs that are around specifically to help those who need help paying bills. Government assistance programs help you to pay utility bills, pay off debt, and phone expenses. Continue reading to learn how to get help paying bills, as well as how to pay off debt through government programs.
When you have been struggling to pay your bills, whether that is housing costs, food costs, automobile costs, or other types of payments, the last places you might think to look are at local charities, churches, or even to your local, state or federal government. However, it’s exactly at these places where you might be able to find your best chances of getting cash assistance to help you cover your bills.
First, let’s discuss churches and charities as places to go to when you are in need of financial assistance. Charities and churches play a highly active part in regional, national, and local communities by providing free food and cash relief. However, since most churches and charities are privately owned, they are not regulated. So, a church in one place may not offer cash assistance, but another in the area might.
When beginning to look for financial help from churches and charities one of the beginning steps you can take is to call your local churches and charities to see what programs or aid are available to you. After this, using online resources is a good next step. Using the internet to expand your search helps you locate local churches and charities that may help with bill paying.
Several factors like income, location, and urgency determine whether you qualify for bill-paying assistance. Churches and charities, however, usually only have funds based on donations from other patrons, so the amount and availability can be very limited.
Charity and church organizations that are here to aid in paying bills include:
- Lutheran Services.
- The United Way.
- Various Community Action Agencies.
- American Red Cross.
- DoNotPay.
- Catholic Charities USA.
Government programs also exist that provide cash assistance and other forms of aid by paying living expenses and bills for those in financial distress, who cannot afford to cover all of their bills.
Social services and assistance are oftentimes managed at the federal level, but the federal government also provides state governments the financial resources to run state-based programs. State governments also run their own social welfare programs.
The first place to look for these programs is the local Social Services Office. They will help you with understanding how to qualify or may refer you to someone else for your specific issues.
Government assistance service programs that offer cash help to those in need include: CARES Act, regular state unemployment benefits and pandemic unemployment provisions, TANF, Section 8 Housing, LIHEAP, WIC, Unemployment Insurance, Medicaid, SNAP otherwise known as Food Stamps, EITC, SSI, and more.
Residential history and income records are very important to have for these programs as the qualifying requirements are largely based on your income, the size of your household, and your work history.
By Admin –
