Coping Financially With A Short-Term Disability
Quick action and solid planning are key to avoiding long-term problems
For Immediate Release: January 30, 2003
ROCKVILLE, Md. — Experiencing a short-disability can dampen your financial outlook and add a great deal of unwanted tension to an already stressful situation. But before panicking about your circumstances or avoiding your financial picture altogether, it's best to determine a plan of action before creditors come calling.
"Procrastination in any financial situation never helps things get better," said Steve Rhode, president and co-founder of Myvesta, a nonprofit financial management center. "As soon as you're well enough to think, you're well enough to plan how you are going to get through this financial hiccup in your life."
Rhode advises to first take stock of your financial situation. "Gain a clear understanding of your financial picture by creating a history of your spending," Rhode said. "Go through a month or two of old receipts from everyday purchases, bank statements, credit card bills and anything else involving your finances to figure out your expenses. Remember to add in any new medical bills that you might have to pay in the future. Then write down all your sources of income including savings, disability pay from your employer, home equity or assistance from friends or family. Prioritize your bills putting housing, utilities, transportation and food above everything else and work on a plan to use your, now lower, income to cover your expenses."
If you cannot make ends meet after addressing your expenses and income, it's time to take quick action and contact your creditors.
"Contact your creditors at the first sign of trouble so you can make arrangements to stay current on your bills," Rhode said. "While being in this situation it's easy to over promise what you can actually pay just to appease your creditors. Be careful not to agree to any payment plan that you're not going to be able to stick with."
Experiencing a short-term disability is often a complex, stressful and confusing situation to work through. For help in dealing with the financial aspects of short-term disability read the Myvesta publication "Coping Financially With a Short-Term Disability." It can be downloaded from Myvesta.org online.
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MyvestaSM is dedicated to helping people create healthy financial lives. The organization provides a wide range of materials to inspire and inform people so that they can break down their barriers to financial and personal success. For more information visit Myvesta.org online.
