If you are struggling to catch up or pay off your bills, then you may be wondering which bills you should pay first? These are decisions that millions of people are forced to make each month as they struggle to make ends meet. Before making any decision on which bills to pay, you should take the time to prioritize your bills and consider all of the short and long-term consequences that you will face if you fail to pay your bills every month.

Home Mortgage and Rent Payments Must be Paid Each Month

When it comes to picking and choosing what bills to pay first, it is always important to pay your home mortgage loan or rent each month. This is true even if you can get away with making a late payment or two. Before you decide not to pay rent or your mortgage, you need to consider how it may impact your future. Even if the consequences will be minimal at first, paying your rent or mortgage late has both short and long-term consequences.

Millions of renters and homeowners fall behind on their rent and home mortgage payments only to realize that they will never be able to catch up. Even if the initial consequences are just a lower credit score and the imposition of late fees, the impact of your decision may be much more severe down the road. Renters who pay late and miss rent payments often get evicted from their apartment or have trouble finding an apartment in the future. In addition, homeowners who fall behind on their home mortgage payments often go into default and foreclosure because they never had a chance to catch up with their payments.

Both owners and renters who make late payments may also see their credit scores go down significantly as well. Banks, home mortgage companies and landlords report late payments to all the credit bureaus. In addition, missed and late rent payments often lead to court and eviction proceedings. These are just a few of the short and long-term consequences that both homeowners and renters who fail to pay their rent on time can face.

Auto Loans Are Equally Important

When prioritizing which bills need to get paid and which ones do not, it is important to make sure all of your auto loan payments are taken care of each month. This is especially true if you rely heavily on your automobile to get to and from work. Whether you have a car loan or some other type of loan, failure to make your car payments each month can lead to repossession and loss of use of your vehicle. In addition, failure to pay your car loan on time each month may make it difficult for you to get a low interest auto loan in the future should you need one. As such, it is always important to make sure your auto loan payments are paid each month.

Credit Card Bills Must be Paid Each Month

Credit card bills are also at the top of the list of bills that need to be paid each month. Whether you can afford to pay off the balance or make the minimum monthly payment, it is important to make a payment each month. Failure to make a monthly payment can have both short and long-term consequences on your credit score.In addition to having your credit card account closed by the company, missed and late credit card payments can lead to the imposition of late fees, higher interest rates and other fees.

In addition, many credit card companies who do not receive payments often make the decision to close a person’s credit card account without advance notice. If your account is closed in the future, then you will have trouble getting approved for another credit card. This is why it is always important to make sure you make plans to pay your credit card bills each month.

Student Loans Are a Top Priority

Although student loans may not be at the top of this list, they are just as important as your credit card and auto loans. This is true because most student loan payments are reported to all the credit bureaus. Payments that are made on time can have a positive impact on a credit score. Whereas, late payments can lower your overall credit score for many years to come. In addition, late and missed payments may lead to the imposition of late fees and have other unforeseeable consequences. These are just some of the reasons why student loans are on the list of bills that need to be paid each month.

If you are one of the millions who are having trouble making ends meet each month, then you should take the time to consider which bills need to be paid each month. Paying bills late or missing payments can have both short and long-term consequences on your credit score. Whether you rent or own a home, make payments on your car, have one or more credit cards and student loans, your rent or home mortgage should always be paid on time each month. After taking care of your rent or mortgage payment, then you should make plans to take care of your auto loans, credit cards, student loans and any other bills that can have both short and long-term impact on your future.

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