Remain Calm

The first step when a financial emergency occurs is to remain calm. It’s so easy to panic, but it’s helping no one. Take a few deep breaths, meditate if you must, and handle this situation accordingly. It’s helpful to put yourself outside of the equation to see how you can view it from the perspective of an outsider. Removing the personal aspect of this problem in your life is going to help you find a way to make life a bit easier when you take the time to look for financial solutions from the vision of someone not personally involved in this issue.

Stop Your Spending

Now is the time to stop any spending you aren’t obligated to. Going on a date night this weekend? Not anymore. Now you’re going to stay home and take that money and put it toward your emergency. Anything you don’t need to spend, pay for, or put out for must stop right now. In fact, it’s a good idea to see if you can go an entire month taking all your income and putting it toward the money you owe for your financial emergency. It’s not easy, but it’s possible.

Contact the Appropriate Parties

If times are very tough, you can contact your creditors and anyone you make monthly payments to. Financial Expert Allison Maxim advises you to ask if there is anything you can do to save a little money for the next month or so. Sometimes you can get away with asking your credit card companies to waive your payments for a month while you get back on track. You can call your mortgage company and ask if you can adjust your payments for a year so you can forgo making a payment one month. There are options, but you must be willing to make those calls and talk to people. It’s better to get ahead of these problems rather than allowing them to build up.

Get Creative

Do you have a credit card you don’t use but you can put money on and pay off immediately? Do you have stuff you can sell to make some additional money? Do you have jars of change sitting in your closet? Do you have a fund for a vacation you’re dreaming of taking? Use that money for this emergency before you find yourself in an even bigger financial mess in the near future.

Get Back on Track

Now that you’re going to handle your financial emergency using whatever means possible, it’s time to get back on track. You must have an emergency fund so this never happens again. An emergency fund is a fund you use when things like this happen unexpectedly. The recommended amount of money to place in this fund is $1,000, but there is no reason to stop there. It doesn’t matter how much you can afford to put into this account as long as you’re putting something into it. It might be $10 per week or $10 per day, but you need to put money into this account.

Now is the time to focus on paying off your debts, minimizing your expenses, and finding a more affordable way to live. If you can’t do that without taking a long, hard look at your finances, you won’t get on track. Your life is better lived when it’s not filled with stress and unhappiness. It’s not easy to get ahead of your finances when you’re behind them looking on, but it is possible. Let this be the first step toward creating a life that’s financially free and enjoyable.