How To Budget With a Low Income

What Do I Do If I Have a Low Income or No Income? How to Budget with a Low Income or No Income

One of the worst things that can happen is not knowing where your next paycheck will come from or if it will be enough to cover the rent and groceries for the month. During this hard time, here are some things to think about if this is your situation:

Pay For The Basic Things You Need To Live.

First, pay your rent and buy food.

Pay your utilities. Cut back on or get rid of services you don’t need right now.

Do you own anything that you could sell if you lost your job? Look around your house and see what you could live without, even if only for a short time.

Can you find ways to make more money? You could look for temporary work, take in a boarder, rent out your garage, work part-time from home, babysit, or deliver newspapers.

Banking, Debt, and Credit

If you owe your bank or cooperative society union money (from a loan or overdrafts) and fall behind on payments, your bank or cooperative society can use any money in your account to pay off your debts without telling you. It might be a good idea to open a new account at a bank where you don’t owe any money. Put all the money you get in this new bank account.

If you can’t pay back your debts, it will hurt your credit score. But your credit score will start to get better once you get back to work and can pay your bills again. Understand that because you live in Nigeria, that does ot mean you do not have a credit score. With the rise of the BVN , people are being tied to their transactions. You do have a credit score especially if you are one who uses loan apps a lot. 

Always remember to take care of the most important things first while you wait.

Tell your creditors about your current situation. Some creditors especially if you are one with a good credit reputation, would understand you. Depending on your relationship with your creditors, they might even be willing to help you get out the current situation you are in. But help might not come if you do not ask.

Getting More Help

It is normal to think that having a low income means you do not need to budget. But this post has proven to you that it is indeed possible to budget with a low income.

If you need help you can get help from a community if you belong to any. For example, if you are having trouble making ends meet, don’t be afraid to ask for help at the food bank around you (yes we do have a few of these in Nigeria) or at your place of worship. Family and friends are also a great place to get much-needed resources. You would be surprised how many people are willing to help you out, so long as they ca see that you are making efforts to get out of the situation.

During this time, you should only use cash and buy things that you need. Your family and friends won’t want to see you struggle, so only spend what you can really afford. This is not the time to use credit and get into debt.

If you need more help, find a free credit counseling service in your area . You can also read this article to go into more details on how to budget properly. You can also read 4 Easy Ways To Deal With A Pay Cut Or Reduced Income.