I Can't Pay My Bills — What to Do Next

01I can't pay my bills: what should I do today?

List the bills due in the next seven days, the cash available now and any income you can rely on. Mark payments linked to food, housing, health, essential services or an immediate serious consequence. Contact those providers first to ask what arrangements may be available; request any agreement in writing.

• Write down each due date, amount and what happens if payment is missed.
• Identify one essential expense you can protect today.
• Ask a provider or a reputable local free debt-advice service about realistic options before promising a payment you cannot make.

02Start with the numbers you know

Write down the money available today, any confirmed income and every payment due in the next 30 days. Do not include hoped-for income, unused credit limits or an expected job offer.

This first calculation does not need to be perfect. It needs to show whether the gap is measured in days, weeks or months.

• Check bank balances and accessible savings.
• If you recently lost work, confirm the date and amount of any final wages, unused leave or severance.
• List reliable household income and official support you already receive.
• List bills by due date, amount and consequence of non-payment.

03Use a practical payment priority order

Priorities depend on your household and local rules. This is a practical survival order, not a universal legal ranking: protect immediate safety and food first, followed by housing, essential utilities, medicine and care, essential transport and required insurance. Then address secured obligations and unsecured consumer debts according to their consequences and local advice.

• Safety, basic food, medicine and necessary care for dependants.
• Housing: rent, mortgage and essential property charges.
• Electricity, water, heating, essential telephone and internet.
• Transport required for work seeking, medical care or family responsibilities.
• Required insurance and obligations whose non-payment creates an immediate serious consequence.
• Unsecured debts: contact the provider early and ask about formal hardship options.

04Make these calls today

Silence reduces your options. Contact the lender, landlord, utility or creditor as soon as you know a payment may be difficult. Ask for the hardship team or the person authorised to change payment arrangements.

• Housing provider: explain the income change and ask what hardship process applies.
• Essential utilities: ask about payment extensions, hardship plans and protection from disconnection.
• Bank or lender: request the specialist hardship team rather than a general payment line.
• Official benefits or employment service: check eligibility and required evidence.
• Reputable free financial-counselling or debt-advice service: ask for help ordering competing payments.
• Request written confirmation and do not promise an amount you cannot maintain.

05Stop the financial bleeding carefully

Pause subscriptions, discretionary shopping, entertainment and non-essential upgrades. Review automatic payments so an avoidable charge does not consume money needed for food or housing. Avoid cancelling essential insurance or services without understanding the consequences.

• Separate essential from optional spending.
• Cancel or pause what can be reversed later.
• Avoid payday loans and high-cost cash advances.
• Do not make a major asset sale under panic unless the timing genuinely requires it.

06If you can't pay your bills because you lost your job

Check confirmed final pay and any support available where you live. Protect essential expenses while you search for work. Suitable temporary income can help without defining your longer-term career. The existing job-loss guide and planning tool can help you structure that search.

• Check official unemployment benefits and emergency assistance.
• Tell trusted people specifically what kind of work or practical help would be useful.
• Contact relevant recruiters and former colleagues with a clear role target.
• Consider realistic temporary, contract or adjacent work if your runway is short.

07Make a seven-day and 30-day survival plan

For this week, request realistic payment arrangements, pause reversible non-essential spending and check the cash left after essential costs. For the next 30 days, note reliable income, upcoming bills and possible temporary support or work. Review the plan weekly rather than checking anxiously throughout every day.

• Set a date to follow up on each hardship request.
• Review recurring expenses and keep essential cover or services in mind before cancelling.
• Update the plan when income or payment terms actually change.

08Know when to seek specialist help

Debt, tenancy, employment and benefit rules vary by location. Use official government services or a reputable free financial-counselling or debt-advice service before relying on informal online advice. If you may lose housing, food, medicine or essential utilities, treat the situation as urgent and contact local support now.