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Pay Your Telephone Bill With Lifeline
This federal program can help pay for your internet, cell phone or landline phone. To qualify, you must meet a low income limit. You will automatically qualify if you receive food stamps, SSI, Section 8 housing or other programs for low-income households.
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Get Debt Help to Lower Your Credit Card Bills
There are many ways to get debt help. One way is to use a balance transfer card. This allows you to put all of your credit card debt on a card with lower interest rates, preventing more interest from accruing. If your credit score prevents you from opening a new card, you may instead get a debt management plan, which works similarly: all of your debt gets put into one sum with a lower interest rate and lower monthly required payment.
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Find Help Paying for Your Water Bill
The Salvation Army and other charities can offer assistance to help pay your water bill and other utilities. Additionally, the federal Environmental Protection Agency provides Customer Assistance Programs (CAPs) that may be able to help you. In addition to covering or discounting your bill payment, CAPs can restore your water and get rid of fees.
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Need to Pay Utility Bills? LIHEAP May Have You Covered
The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) helps low-income households by paying for cooling, heating and electricity in times of emergency. Additionally, LIHEAP offers the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP). WAP makes improvements to your home that lower your energy costs in the long run.
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Get Help Paying Medical Bills
The government offers free and low-cost programs to help you pay medical bills. Medicare is available for people who are 65 or older; Medicaid may be available for low-income households; and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) can help children in low-income households. Don’t qualify for any of these programs? You may still qualify for low-cost health insurance from the Health Insurance Marketplace.
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Need Cash Assistance to Make Ends Meet? Try TANF
The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program provides monthly cash assistance payments for low-income families. The program’s longer-term goal is to help the household become self-sufficient.
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Reach Out to Churches and Charities for Bill Assistance
If you are unable to qualify for government benefits, get in touch with some charities or churches. Charities and churches may be able to provide money, food or shelter. Charities and churches all have different rules and requirements for their programs, so the best thing to do is to contact some in your area.
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Refinance Your Loans and Pay Less Each Month
Refinancing your loans can help you pay less interest over time or pay a lower amount each month. Or both! Some types of loans you can refinance include: Student loans, car loans, credit cards and mortgages.
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62 or Older? Apply for Social Security Retirement Benefits
If you are at least 62 years of age and qualify for Social Security Retirement benefits, applying and getting benefits can help you cover your household bills. Additionally, if you are the spouse of someone who passed, you may be able to get their Social Security benefits.
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Visit a Food Bank for Your Next Grocery Shop
A food bank is a non-profit charity that offers grocery items at a free or reduced cost. In order to get your groceries from a food bank, you may have to have a low household income. Check for food banks in your area, and ask for details.
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How to Pay Less for Internet Service
There are several ways to lower your internet costs. You can look for promotional sign-up deals when you change providers. If you want cable, you can bundle cable and internet to save. Or, if you have a low income, you may qualify for the Lifeline program, which provides government-subsidized internet.
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Save on Entertainment With Streaming Bundles
If you love watching movies and shows, consider bundling your streaming service subscriptions. Some services, like Hulu, Spotify and CBS All Access, offer military or student discounts. Additionally, streaming can be a more affordable option if you want to get rid of your cable subscription.
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Look for Auto Insurance Discounts to Save $$$
There are many ways to lower your auto insurance! You can look for discounts for seniors, students and safe drivers. Or, you can bundle your car insurance and homeowner or renter insurance to save. If you are a military member or veteran, you can find discounted auto insurance for veterans.
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Lost Your Job? File for Unemployment Benefits
If you lost your job through no fault of your own, you may qualify for unemployment benefits. File a claim with your state’s unemployment agency. If you qualify, you may get payments that can keep you afloat until you find another job.
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Look Out for Veteran and Military Benefits
Are you a servicemember or veteran? If so, be sure to take advantage of military benefits and discounts! The Department of Veteran Affairs offers benefits like health insurance, scholarships, home loans, life insurance and more! You can also find discounts at private companies, including auto insurance for veterans.
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Seniors: Take Advantage of Great Senior Discounts
Senior discounts are everywhere! You can seriously save with discounts on auto insurance, travel costs, groceries, restaurants and more! The age to qualify for senior discounts can vary from place to place, so be sure to ask.
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Keep More Money by Claiming a Child Tax Credit
If you have children in your household, don’t miss out on a Child Tax Credit. This credit offers a deduction from your income taxes for each dependent child you have. Currently, the maximum deduction is $3,600! By claiming your credit, you will pay less in taxes or get more money in your tax refund.
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SSI & SSDI: Cash Assistance for People With Low Income or Disabilities
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) provides cash assistance to people who have a low-income and are also elderly or disabled. Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) pays you cash assistance if you have a qualifying disability and a qualifying work history.
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Sell Your Unneeded Items Online
You may be surprised what people are willing to buy from you! You can use Facebook Marketplace if you wish to sell locally, or eBay or Amazon if you want more exposure. Consider selling things like electronics, kitchen appliances, clothing and more.
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Look for Inexpensive Child Care Options
If you have a low household income, your children may qualify for the Early Head Start or the Head Start programs. Other child-care providers may have sliding scale fees based on your income, and some may offer discounts for military personnel.
At one point or another, we have all struggled with our finances. Sudden situations such as unemployment or emergencies can occasionally lead to hard-working people having to choose between paying the bills or putting food on the table. During these trying times, knowing how to find help paying bills is crucial.
Charities and church-based organizations are available to help. There is also government assistance available for paying phone, water and electric bill expenses. Read on to learn several ways to get help paying bills through several different agencies and programs.
Churches and charities play an active role in local, regional and national communities by providing food, temporary housing and occasional cash relief to people in need. Applying for this type of assistance is not a regulated experience and is therefore potentially different for each organization.
The first step involves calling churches in your area and asking what type of assistance they provide. The next step is utilizing online searches to find various local, regional or other charities offering bill-paying assistance to qualified applicants.
Qualifying factors are mostly based on income and location. Approvals are often also based on the urgency of needs. Funds for church and charity organizations are most often provided by donations, so availability is frequently limited. Church and charity organizations available to help pay bills include:
• The United Way.
• DoNotPay.
• Catholic Charities USA.
• American Red Cross.
• Lutheran Services.
• Various Community Action Agencies.
There are also government-funded programs that provide cash assistance. Some programs also provide assistance with directly paying bills and living expenses. The federal government often funds bill assistance programs, even though most are actually facilitated by individual U.S. states.
Begin seeking help by contacting your local Social Services office. Social Services offices provide information about state qualification requirements or refer you to other offices/organizations with better information. Qualifying requirements are predominantly based on household income and residential history. Residential history is important to many state-facilitated financial assistance organizations because the funds provided to them are designated to help people in specific counties.
Federal Government Programs are available to help pay food, childcare costs, heating/AC bills and medical expenses. Government services providing help paying bills for both pandemic and non-pandemic-related purposes include:
• Benefits.gov (financial assistance).
• TANF (money to help low-income families achieve self-sufficiency).
• CARES Act (help with paying bills during the pandemic).
• Regular state unemployment benefits and pandemic unemployment provisions.
By Admin –
