Many seniors today are faced with overwhelming unexpected expenses. Perhaps it’s sky-high medical bills or the loss of a spouse or higher than expected costs for assisted living facilities – whatever has taken you by surprise, we have some suggestions for helping you deal with your challenges.

If the situation is too emotionally upsetting for you to handle it alone, seek help from a trusted friend or relative who might be able to sort through the issues with you.

First, take a moment to figure out exactly what your financial situation is. If you cannot answer some of these questions, make the appropriate calls and ask the right questions until you can fill in all these answers.

• How much money do you owe?
• Who do you need to pay?
• What timeframe do you have to repay this debt?
• Is there any kind of payment plan available?
• What will happen if you do not pay?
• Is this an ongoing expense, or a one-time expense?

Make a plan based on the options available to you.

• If the bills you need to pay are relatively small, call each creditor and negotiate a compromise. Utility bills can be skipped for a month and usually only incur a small late fee as long as you can catch up again soon. Whatever you do, try to avoid expensive short term credit options such as payday loans where you may get caught with a high fee that compounds if you can’t pay it off immediately. Hospitals may negotiate a low, long-term payment plan.

• If the bills you can’t pay are significant – like your mortgage – contact the bank or mortgage company immediately and ask for a hardship deferment or forbearance. Paying your mortgage is your top priority, so do your best to figure out a way to pay this on time and in full (mortgage companies don’t count partial payments as good enough.) You may need to borrow from family or consider your long-term living situation.

• If the debt is mostly credit card debt, pay the minimum payments on time and add in whatever extra you can, but only after you’ve paid your mortgage and utilities and grocery bills. Stop charging on the credit cards and try to pay the ones with the highest interest rates first.

• If your bills are primarily medical bills, you should contact your insurance company and medical center often and discuss payment plans and even the possibly of negotiating a settlement or reduced payment option.

Emergency Credit Options:

• Credit cards can be a cheap, quick way to get a loan.

• Personal loans are often available from your bank. The interest rates might be high, but you can often borrow up to $15,000 and can sometimes take up to four years to pay it back.

• Use your home equity line of credit, if you are a home owner.

Remember, it’s never wrong to get help from a trusted friend or relative if you financial situation is overwhelming. Hopefully this primer helped you sort through your credit challenges.