by Lisa Web

Created on: October 09, 2008   Last Updated: July 22, 2010

Keeping up with bills on a low income can seem like a daunting task. Depending on how low your income is, how high your bills are, and your spending habits, the way you choose to keep up with the bills may be different. Here are some options to consider when having trouble keeping up with your bills.

First, determine what bills you have, and if you can, where you can cut down to lower bills. Make a list of all of your bills. An easy place to start is with your monthly living expenses. Look at fixed expenses, things that do not change, like rent, insurance, and car payment. These amounts are set, so each month you know exactly what you owe and when. Now take a look at flexible items, such as utilities. You may want to contact your electric and gas companies to see if you can enroll in a budget plan, where your monthly payment is the same each month, and will only be changed twice or once a year depending on your usage. Contact your phone company and see if they have any plans that are the exact same price each month, regardless of your usage. The more bills that are fixed amounts, the easier it will be to determine exactly who you owe, what you owe, and when you owe it.

After determining your expenses, and gaining control of as many as you can, look at your income. You will want to keep your income as stable as possible, unless your income goes up. If you are an hourly employee, be sure to work your specified number of hours each pay check to ensure that each check is the same amount.

Next choose one of the following tactics to keep up with your bills. For all examples, I will use rent and electric as the bills we are paying.

Payment plans. With this method, you would make a payment to each bill, each time you get paid. Let's say that you get paid weekly, and your rent is 400.00 per month. Each week, put aside 100.00 for the rent specifically. Now, you can write a check and drop it to your landlord if they would allow, or simply keep cash in an envelope in a safe place that you will pay the rent with at the end of the month. If you get paid every other week, you would want to set aside 200.00 each paycheck. Same for the electric bill. Let's say that the electric per month is 100.00. You could either use the internet to pay 25.00 per paycheck if paid weekly, or pay 50.00 per paycheck if paid every other week. This way you are less likely to fall behind, as most of your bills will be paid partially in advance. You will also be able to recoup from a fall out, such

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