Suffering a financial emergency can signify an incredibly difficult and stressful time in your life. Depending on the cause and the potential avenues for success, you may be more or less impacted and concerned. For example, having your wallet stolen, while highly inconvenient and certainly victimizing, can be ameliorated by contacting the police, calling your bank to cancel cards, and reversing any fraudulent charges.

But not all financial emergencies are that simple. You need only look to the F1 Driver payday loan scandal to see how quickly and easily people can be left in the red due to impropriety on behalf of companies and services. Maybe you’ve just budgeted slightly incorrectly, or have lost access to your funds. 

There are all kinds of financial situations that might cause deep stress. In this post, then, we’ll discuss a few measures you can use to correctly move through that emergency financial situation. With that in mind, please consider the following:

Clearly Define The Situation

The worst thing you can do in any emergency is panic, because that prevents you from taking action. A financial emergency that doesn’t threaten your personal health or wellbeing is more than survivable, and it’s important to sit back, take a few breaths, and look at your options with clarity.

If it’s a large gambling loss, this might signify the need to block access to gambling apps, to contact professional support and counseling services to help you avoid spreading the damage further. If you’re behind on your priority bills and have just lost your job, making sure you know exactly how much you owe, what your budget/savings and income are now, and contacting a debt charity is a good place to start. There’s always a step forward you can take. You feel much more capable of reclaiming the situation when those opportunities are in your hands.

Exploring Financial Assistance Programs

You may find that there’s help out there to guide you in situations like this. Odds are, you’re not the first one who has encountered such a problem. For example, a social security disability lawyer may be able to fight in your favor and figure out why payments have stopped, while reclaiming all the compensation you missed out on.

If you’re a veteran or health worker, you may have access to particular stipends depending on needs .If you’re being unfairly evicted, you may be able to delay the process before your case is heard at court, which certain funds may help you work with. Financial assistance programs aren’t always there, but when they are, they can be invaluable. You have nothing to lose by reaching out.

Consider Your Primary Needs

Shelter, food, security, access to hygiene, a person can live in stark conditions provided they have access to these. If your primary needs are about to be threatened, raising the issue with relevant authorities is important. 

An equivalent to a citizen’s advice bureau in your country can help guide you regarding where to apply for temporary housing, how to connect to emergency help or access resources like food banks in your city. Your primary needs are more important than any creditor, and it’s important to remember that. Don’t spend money you need for your upkeep. 

Ask For Help Where Needed

Depending on the scope of the issue, asking for help could be important to help tide you over. For example, if you’ve been a victim of identity theft, it’s important to work with your bank and the authorities to help you overcome that and retain access to your funds. This can take a little while however, in which case you might ask for financial help from relatives to be paid back at a later date. While it can be a tough point of pride to ask for help for many, it’s not as if you asked for this outcome, and a focused, attentive effort to a solution can help tide you over in the meantime. 

There may also be limited considerations you can use in particular situations. For example, if you’re new to a city, have little money, and have just started working, you might ask for an advance on your first paycheck so you can set up your first flat as appropriate. When you ask for help where needed, you also feel less alone and worried.

With this advice, we hope you can find some route forward even in a financial emergency. If you need help with mental health during this time, make sure to contact your medical authorities.