5 Ways to Handle a Financial Emergency

Here’s what you need to remember about life: it is unpredictable. You will be hit by an emergency sooner or later, and you’re more likely than not to need money to resolve it.

And dealing with financial emergencies in modern-day American can be hard. Especially when we’re stuck in the midst of a pandemic that has been directly hitting our economic abilities for over a year now.

In situations like this, you might be tempted to postpone handling the financial emergency in question. We’d advise against it – it won’t disappear on its own, and has the potential to get even worse and cost even more money down the line.

Here are our suggestions on how you could get the money together to deal with it.

How to Get Emergency Money

1. Dig into Your Emergency Fund

Of course, handling a financial emergency is easy if you already have an emergency fund set up. After all, it’s for these exact cases.

If you’ve yet to be hit by an emergency and are simply looking at options – set up an emergency fund. It’s one of the easiest ways to ensure financial hardships won’t catch you off guard.

2. Cut Your Spending Down to Bear Bones

If you’ve been hit by a financial emergency – and you’ve yet to set up an emergency fund – try to come up with the money on the go before you try anything else.

For this, you’ll need to review your bank statements and carefully revise your spending when it comes to your current paycheck.

Separate your spending into two categories: 1) the “necessary” – i.e. expenses you cannot cut (rent, utilities, groceries, etc.), and 2) the “unnecessary” – expenses that you enjoy or make your life easier, but you can do without (subscriptions, takeout, cigarettes, etc.). Then throw the money you’ve saved by skipping those unnecessary expenses at the emergency.

3. Find a Side-Hustle

If your emergency isn’t exactly pressing (i.e. you can postpone dealing with it for a week or two without accruing extra spending) then try to deal with it by making money from other avenues on top of your regular job.

If you’re a talented writer, you can take up some freelance writing tasks on Upwork or Flexjobs. If you’re into graphic design, try to get your hands on some projects on Fiverr, if you’re a car owner and your evenings are free after work, try working for Uber or DoorDash, and make money ride-sharing or making deliveries (thankfully that industry seems to be thriving amid Covid-19).

But keep in mind, while this option may potentially be more lucrative than others on the list, calls for you to invest your time and effort first, will not result in immediate payout.

If your emergency needs to be handled right here, right now, this is not the option for you.

4. Ask for a Salary Advance at Work

A salary advance is when you ask to receive your partial (or full) paycheck before your designated payday.

It is, essentially, a form of loan from your employer – and you’ll be repaying by working full hours with partial (or no) paycheck down the line.

Here’s the thing: while salary advance can be a lifesaver for an employee in a pinch, not every employer will be willing to give it. Some have no policy regarding advances at all, and some will only consider specific cases, like health bills. So, before asking, you’ll need to carefully review your company’s policy to find out if your case fits the requirements for an advance. If so, submit a formal request. Or talk to an HR officer about it beforehand, if you can.

And do remember that you’ll need to budget with substantially less money for your next pay period.

5. Take Out a Loan

If your emergency is pressing and you need money as soon as possible, taking out a short-term fast payday loan, like a payday loan, can be the most optimal option.

Why A Payday Loan?

There are only a few requirements you need to satisfy for a payday loan: the lenders will accommodate all kinds of income and they don’t pay attention to credit scores, so you can get approved even if your credit is bad or non-existent.

How do I find payday loans near me?

1. Contact cashcowlouisiana.com by either phone or filling out the online form on the website.
2. Wait for a store representative to contact you and set up a meeting.
3. Bring your valid government-issued ID (you must be over 18), your most recent pay stub, and a blank check from an active checking account in your name to the meeting.
4. Have your application assessed by the store representative who’ll walk you through the rest of the process.
5. Get approved and get the cash in as little as 30 minutes.

Handling a financial emergency may seem next to impossible, especially during a pandemic. Our economy has certainly taken a hit, and financial institutions have become even harder to please, but there are still ways to get the money you need. If you live in Louisiana, you can try Cash Cow of Louisiana payday loan online for same day payday loan cash without any hassle.

Note: The content provided in this article is only for informational purposes, and you should contact your financial advisor about your specific financial situation.