If you’re having trouble paying your bills, watch this video for tips from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on how to look at your situation and make decisions about your budget.

Remember: You are responsible for paying your bills. If you miss payments now, you may have to pay late fees and interest, and you’ll still have to make up the payments later. 
But -- If you don’t have enough money to cover your needs and obligations, you can make a short-term plan to get through the month. Sometimes your plan may involve paying some bills late, or even missing a bill.
Here are some tips to help you think through your options.
Tip number one:
Make a list of all your bills, how much they are, and when they are due. Which ones help you do important things like…
Protect your job, such as transportation, car insurance, equipment, and childcare;
Protect your housing, such as rent or mortgage payments, property taxes, home or renters insurance, and utilities like gas, electricity, and water;
Protect your health, such as health insurance;
Don’t forget about obligations that can get you in legal trouble if you don’t pay -- like child support, and court-ordered fines and fees.
If you can’t pay all your bills at once, think about the order you pay them in. Weigh the risks of not paying each one, then number them in the order you want to pay them, based on priority.
Tip number two:
Many companies offer hardship programs to customers facing financial strain. Check with your service providers, such as phone, internet and other utilities; mortgage servicer; landlord; and insurance companies. You can dial 211 and 311 to find help in your community.
Tip number three:
It might be helpful to see if you can change the due dates on some of your bills. That can help spread out when you need to pay your bills and improve your cash flow over the course of the month.
For some bills, like credit cards, you may be able to adjust the bill’s due date by contacting your credit card company.
For others, like rent, you may be able to split a large monthly payment into two smaller payments.
Tip number four:
Don’t ignore bills you can’t pay. If you must miss a payment, call the company you owe and explain that you will miss a payment and the reason for it. Suggest a plan for how you might repay the bill or catch up.
Tip number five: 
When bill collectors are calling or you’re trying to decide which of your obligations to pay first, it can sometimes just seem easiest to pay the “squeakiest wheel”—but this might not be the best approach. Sometimes you may need to ignore the squeaky wheel for a short time while you pay for necessities and build a plan for repayment.
Ready to get started prioritizing your bills? For more helpful tips, visit consumer finance dot gov slash bills.