Tough times for making hard choices - especially when it comes to prioritize which bills get paid, when what you have is not enough to cover all your costs. But there are some accounts up to you to keep on top of the list. Tennessee One owner found out the hard way this month when his house caught fire and firefighters arrived.
All he could do was stand there and watch as their home burned to the ground - with their pets inside. The owner lived outside the city limits and had "forgotten" to pay a service fee $ 75 annual fire, which would have earned him the services of the Fire Department, in what has been dubbed the "pay for" spray "of agreement.
This presents an extremely bizarre, but also serves as a serious reminder of the disastrous results that can arise from non-payment of various expenses criticism. We're not talking about a ding on your credit report here - there are eight items that, if unpaid, may evolve into a world of pain for you and your family.
1. Home and risk of automobile insurance.
As you discovered in Tennessee, the consequences of not paying for fire protection may be severe. Most Americans live in areas where firefighters will do their best to extinguish a fire in your home, if called, no matter what. But what happens if you have a fire, but the risk of the insurance has expired? The cost of rebuilding a house or even repairing damage caused by water and smoke from a relatively minor fire can be astronomical, and frankly prohibitive without insurance coverage.
If you have a mortgage, let your insurance lapse will simply make their mortgage company to buy a policy that covers you, not you, and costs several times as much as his original contract. (Rest assured, the mortgage company will charge you.) Your lender may also impose an "account of learning", where you will be required to pay taxes and insurance rates for them monthly, instead of the payment terms more favorable than those can get from the county tax assessor of property owners and insurance companies.
Car insurance covers for a variety of things you can not predict, from accidents with the car being stolen altogether. Plus, it also protects you from their fellow citizens, that cause injuries when his insurance expired.
2. Life insurance (if you have dependents).
If you are a breadwinner for his family, it behooves you to maintain life insurance for those who depend on you not left in poverty if you pass. If you can not afford life, consider a term policy until your income recovers from recession. If even this is a fight, check out whether your employer or credit union offers a group policy at a discounted rate.
3. Utilities.
Lest you scoff that this is a no-brainer, hear this: utility shut-offs for nonpayment skyrocketed during this recession is not so great. While there are no good national state utilities, and regional numbers reported annual increases of up to 68 % from 2008 to 2009, the number of families who lost power and gas, because he could not pay the bill!
"Energy poverty" as it is called, can be deadly in areas with cold winters. When families can not heat their homes with electricity and gas, they become desperate and turn to gas and kerosene heaters, fires and heat - can also be lighting their homes with candles at the same time. Carbon monoxide poisoning and house fires from unsafe heating in homes without utilities killed eight people in Detroit - only from January to March this year!
And even if you live in a more temperate climate, living paycheck to paycheck (or check-check unemployment unemployment) that you do to have utilities disconnected several times, companies can start imposing huge deposits of reconnection, which makes it difficult for you to restore the service. If times are tough, that we know that most Americans do utilities offer programs that reduce or eliminate the utility costs for those who can document an difficulty of income.
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