Dh and I have run into a position that we are unable to pay our bills on time lately. For the past two months we have been paying a majority of our bills a week late.  I feel like we cannot get caught up.  Even though all the bills are technically paid, I hate paying them late.  I like to follow our budget, but feel like I cannot because we are one-two weeks late on our bills. 

 I was wondering if I could call the utility companies and see if they would allow me to pay them weekly in smaller increments until we are caught up. 

 Does anybody have any suggestions on what I should do?

Have you thought of calling them and see if you can change the payment due date to one that works?  I know that I have been able to do that with some of my bills.  It's worth a try!

It sounds like a good option to look into would be debt consolidation.  Debt Consolidation involves merging all of your bills into one easy to manage, monthly payment.  It sounds like every time you think you're caught up on one bill, you are thrown another one and this, in turn, is throwing off your budget.  By consolidating your payments, it will be much easier to keep track of your budget and you will be able to plan for your monthly payment.  Some Debt Consolidation Companies can even lower your repayment plan and interest rates.

 Now, that being said, there are definitely drawbacks to debt consolidation.  On top of having to pay back all of your bills and 1005 of the interest fees, you may have to contend with other hidden fees the debt consolidation companies charge.  Some debt consolidation companies have also been known to be late on their payments to your creditors or miss payments altogether.

All in all, it's definitely an option you should check out.

If you find yourself falling further behind on your payments -- even struggling to keep up with minimum monthly payments, a different relief option may be called for.  Debt Settlement can help with your debt by negotiating with creditors to lower the amount you pay back to a mere fraction of the entire balance.  But, I guess we're getting ahead of ourselves.

This is just something to think about.  Hope it helps.

Andy McShane www.debtshied.com

bugout69:

I was wondering if I could call the utility companies and see if they would allow me to pay them weekly in smaller increments until we are caught up

Yes, by all means call them and explain your situation. I am sure they will work with you. Don't wait until you get a disconnection notice, sometimes they will want the full payment or they will shut off your utilities.  If you qualify,look into any energy assistance programs that will help you out this coming winter. The two main utilities here in Oregon are announcing huge rates increases are coming soon. There will be ALOT of people that will not be able to pay their bills this winter.

Yes, call the companies and explain that you need your bills due in the week you are now paying them. When my DH stopped getting paid bi-weekly and went to monthly, the bills due after the 22nd of the month were really hard for us to pay since we were only paid on the last day of the month. I called several of our companies and they changed the billing cycle so that our bills are due in the first 10 days of the month. We only have 1 or 2 due after the 10th and I can budget for those (or we just pay early online).

If you are paying, the companies should be willing to work with you. I don't know if any will allow you to pay weekly, though. You could set aside the amount personally each week and then at bill time, send in the extra with your bill.

Check with your local Salvation Army, they pay utilities.  This may give you some breathing room.  Catholic Charities also pays utility bills.  Check for other charities that pay utlities when you talk to your local Salvation Army.