GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – April is Financial Literacy Month, and it comes as many people are trying to reconfigure their financial outlooks. The goal of the month is to bring awareness to financial issues and to help educate consumers about all kinds of money issues.
The pandemic left many people in economic distress. Susan Bach of the Better Business Bureau says if you need help covering anything from rent to student loans, you should be able to find it.
“A lot of them have gone into debt, been laid off, furloughed, and the bills are probably piling up. One thing that’s important to note is that you should ask for help as soon as possible,” Bach said. “There are all kinds of financial resources available to you if you’re behind on your rent, utilities, mortgage student loans. All kinds of resources are available for use.”
Bach says it’s important to not lapse on those payments. If you’re behind, she recommends reaching out to creditors to ask for assistance or a new payment plan.
“Creditors do not want to send you to collections. They would rather work with you to figure out how you can pay them,” Bach told WTAQ News. “If you are looking for some kind of debt relief reach out to a reputable consumer specialist about that.”
Meanwhile, Bach says to watch out for potential payment scams from people claiming to be debt collectors. If they tell you to cut off communication with creditors or pay with gift cards, those should be obvious red flags.
If you’re one of the many people also looking to save more money or spend less, Bach says budgeting is the key.
“Make a budget so that you do have a handle on all of the income coming in and the expenses going out every month…People are often surprised how much they spend on takeout food or entertainment or things like that. So this is a great way for people to actually see what they’re spending their money on,” Bach said. “Once you list all of those, you can find ways that you can trim your expenses…Without doing that first you’ll never be able to trim your expenses and get out of debt.”
For more ideas and information, check out the Federal Trade Commission website.
Comments