I would call the electric company and tell them what you can give now and ask them to help with stretching payments out in payment arrangements.....hugs bill

I am going to have my husband do that and get the paperwork in from my doctor also. There is the cold weather rule here so I do not think they can turn it off while below freezing anyway. We do not have any money to pay anything if we want to eat.

Back in the day when we had problems with utility bills, they were able to negotiate with us to break up the past payments and add a little to each of the next bills. They knew we tried to pay them, thus they were reasonable to us. Perhaps, your electric company will do the same with you.

Thank you for the advise but here they will not do that. My mother tried that last year and she was never late before that. They told her that it is bad for business. I am probably going to have to see if we can find an agency that can help us.

Do you belong to a church? Some churches have funds set aside for helping those in need. There is a federal program for low income people who need energy assistance. Typically, you have to apply through the county offices. You can Google the information and find out. Also, what about food stamp assistance? It seems that with your low income you may qualify for food assistance. Your electric company should be able to put you into contact with the energy assistance program.

Good luck to you.

I think I have problems until I read some of the stories here. Now I realise I have it much better than others.

My next main goal is to get private accommodation in order to become more Employable. Few obstacles along the way;

1. My Internet/Phone Contract. I'm with PlusNet and areas outside Magherafelt may not be covered by them. (my contract is for another 14 Months)

2. My Mental Health state. I have had a few psychotic episodes recently.

3. Will the accommodation have parking space for my car?

I just have to keep knocking on doors until I get the desired outcome.

When I was at the point where I had more bills then income I started not paying some of them.

I knew I had to have a roof over my head. I knew I needed transportation for work (at the time I was 20 miles from my job). I knew I needed food and I knew I needed heat and water. Everything else could wait.

I fell behind on credit cards. I fell behind on doctor bills. Yes, I got nasty phone calls and threatening letters but I had to survive.

When I would get a nasty letter I would send them some money along with an apology and also saying I hoped to get better with payments.

I did this for nearly ten years. I did end up paying a ton of late fees and interest but I always had food and a warm place to sleep at nights.... and eventually things turned and everyone got paid...

I just believed that even though I had debts, some debts just had to wait. At the top of that wait list were doctors. If owed a $1,000, I would pay $20 a month or even less. They didn't like it but they were getting paid and in reality no doctor will refuse to treat someone over a past due bill...

Communicating with Creditors is vital. There is a DA guy from NYC who paid off $35,000 worth of debt between 1990 and 2003 after beginning with an annual salary of just $23,000. He increased his income and began to handle the abusive calls from the Creditors.

All of that is good advise. I am not is a position where I can work which is why my husband does. We get food stamps but only $94.00. WE do not have anything else besides our normal bills. Rent, Electric, Gas, car payment, insurance, phone bill, water and food. This is all we have.We actually pay all of our bills every month. We are just behind because we can not pay the full bill. After paying just the bills we only have about 200 every two weeks for gasoline and food. There is no public transportation where we live. Also there is only one church in our county that helps with bills and they only do it every other year. This is why we are struggling. Even if I could work there is nothing within walking distance that I can do. There is the cold weather rule here but we have to pay 75% of the bill to get it started. I know that the county I live in the the poorest in the state. There is no help for people which is mostly farmers and prison workers.

I'd pay rent, the 75% of the electric and send what I can to everyone else. Is there a food pantry around/ The less you spend on food, that cash can go to something else. Lot's of churches have pot lucks. Also, try to spend less on food. It can be done. Our generations before us survived on a whole lot less. don't buy it if you don't have a coupon or if its not on sale. Can friends help? Also, check with social services and see if they have a list of food banks. good thing is...is that there is a paycheck coming in... Praying for you.