There are many ways to lower your expenses or debts. You may be able to negotiate with your creditors to lower what you owe. Most companies have programs to help customers experiencing COVID-related hardship. Tell your creditors and other companies to whom you owe money if you are experiencing a COVID hardship.

Homeowners: If you are having trouble paying your mortgage, contact a housing counselor and/or your mortgage servicer to talk about your options. If you have a COVID forbearance already, you may be eligible to extend it. Find a housing counselor near you here. Contact information for your mortgage servicer is found on your monthly mortgage statement. Call 888-995-HOPE (4673) to be connected to free, comprehensive, foreclosure assistance 24/7.

Renters: Information about rental assistance options and eviction protections are available at Housing Action Illinois and are updated as they become available. Another site, rentervention.com, focuses on Chicago residents, but can assist any Illinois resident.

Housing Counseling: Housing counselors can provide advice on buying a home, renting, loan defaults, foreclosures, and credit issues. Many housing counseling organizations do financial wellness education at no cost to the participant. Local Chicago examples are Spanish Coalition for Housing and Chicago Urban League.

Prioritize Essential Expenses First

Pay for essential needs before anything else. Essentials include shelter (mortgage or rent), food, and utilities. Before an unpaid bill can be reported to the credit bureaus, which would harm your credit score, it must be at least 30 days late. A single late payment fee is preferable to a high-cost loan, which will cost you much more in fees. If you are uncertain about which option might be preferable, you can always call Capital Good Fund’s financial coaching hotline.

Contact your lender. Options may include changing the due date of your payments, creating a new repayment plan to lower your monthly payment, or deferring (postponing) your payments.

Each major Illinois utility has its own bill assistance program: ComEd, Peoples Gas, North Shore Gas, Nicor, and Ameren. Explain that you are experiencing a COVID hardship. This will help you access funds and policies set aside for COVID support.

If you are lower income, contact both your utility provider and the state utility assistance program. Visit the State of Illinois Utility Bill Assistance website or call 877-411-WARM (9276) for assistance with your electric or gas bill (Mon–Fri, 8 am–5 pm).

President Biden extended the COVID-related loan payment suspension on certain federal loans to January 31, 2022. If your loans are not covered by the President’s order or if you are unsure, contact your student loan servicer and explain your hardship.

Ask about an income-driven repayment plan (making your payments affordable based on your income), a deferment of payments, or a forbearance, which is a temporary pause making loan payments. A new, free online service called Summer can help you simplify your loan payments and maximize savings.

Many people pay their bills through automatic, recurring payments (e.g., subscriptions, gym memberships, loans, credit cards). Contact the companies that deduct money through autopay to request COVID-hardship relief. They may be willing to temporarily freeze your account. If that’s not an option, you have the right to revoke your authorization for the company to deduct money. You will probably still owe the company money, but you can manually control the timing of the payment and make the payment only after you have paid for essential items.

Major credit card companies have COVID assistance programs. Visit the credit card company’s website. If you cannot find one online, call them to request COVID relief. Most companies will allow you to postpone paying your bill for a time without incurring late fees.

Prefer Talking to a Live Person? Ask a Financial Coach.

Capital Good Fund’s financial coaching hotline provides one-on-one financial advice to any Illinois resident. Starting at $15 per month, the nonprofit can create a plan with you and can advocate on your behalf with creditors. They also offer a credit-builder program for $5 per month. Call 866-584-3651 (English or Spanish)

The City of Aurora’s Financial Empowerment Center provides free, high-quality, one-on-one financial counseling to low-and moderate-income residents of the Aurora region. Learn more here.

Contact the medical provider/biller and explain that you are unable to pay the bill due to a COVID hardship and request a payment plan. If you do not have success with one representative, ask to speak to a supervisor who may be able to help more. Medical providers would rather put you on a payment plan than refer the account to a collection agency.

If you owe child support and are unable to make the payments, first notify the person who receives the support. The State of Illinois also provides free child support services. Find an online application for services here. You can also call 800-447-4278 or visit any Department of Child Support Services office. These services can also assist you if you are owed child support.

If you cannot afford to make your child support payments, the court may modify your obligation if you have lost your income or have another major hardship. The Greater Chicago Legal Clinic has a helpline to learn more at 312-796-3070. Illinois Legal Aid Online has an online guide to help you with paperwork.

Request a payment plan. If you already have a payment plan but are unable to afford the monthly payments, ask to adjust the plan.

Collection agencies would rather you pay something than refer it to their lawyers to collect through the court system. Staying in communication with them is most important. If a creditor or collection agency has sued you or is threatening to sue you, call legal aid.

• In Northern Illinois, call Prairie State Legal Services at 888-966-7757 (Mon–Thurs 9 am–1 pm).
• In Chicago or suburban Cook County, call Legal Aid Chicago at 312-341-1070.
• In Central or Southern Illinois, call Land of Lincoln Legal Aid at 877-342-7891.

Many charities provide free food, free clothing, and other essentials. Catholic Charities locations across Illinois offer assistance regardless of your religion. A financial coach can also help direct you to resources.

Many people turn to a high-cost loan for a large one-time expense. This section includes ways to access additional income without increasing your debts. Before turning to a loan, consider taking these steps.

Even if you missed the May deadline to file, you could still be eligible for thousands of dollars in tax refunds by filing taxes. Even if you don't normally file taxes, you can still file. There is no penalty for filing late if you don’t owe the IRS any money. File as soon as possible to get your refund. Most programs to help people file taxes for free are available from January to October.

If you have children, you may be eligible for monthly, advance payments of your Child Tax Credit. These could be as high as $300 per month through December 2021. These advance payments only cover part of the Child Tax Credit, and you can receive the rest of the credit by claiming it on your taxes in 2022. A simple filing tool is available at GetCTC.org for individuals who earn less than $12,400 a year ($24,800 for couples). However, this tool is best for people who earned little or no money this year. If you earned some money, you’ll receive more money by filing taxes.

If you haven’t received your stimulus check yet, you may claim the Recovery Rebate Credit on your taxes to receive it. Many low-income people are also eligible to receive money from the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). Learn if you are eligible for the EITC here.

Filing your current year taxes online and using a bank account number for direct deposit will help you get the money much more quickly. If you didn’t file taxes in the last two years but think you might be eligible for these tax credits, you can still file a paper return for those years to receive your past refunds.

• Many Americans are eligible for free, online tax-preparation services. This article explains How to File your State and Federal Taxes for Free in 2021.
• Visit GetMyPaymentIllinois.org to learn more about how to file your taxes for free, get your Recovery Rebate Credit, or how to get a higher EITC if you earned less in 2020 than in 2019. They have a hotline (888-553-9777) for people without computer access or more complicated tax questions.
• In Chicago, Ladder Up offers free tax assistance to eligible families. Ladder Up also has pro bono attorneys available for more complicated tax situations.

The federal government now has a program to reimburse the costs of funerals for deaths attributed to COVID-19 (according to the death certificate). The maximum benefit is $9,000 per burial. To be eligible, the funeral must have occurred after January 20, 2020. For more information, including required documentation, go to their website. To apply, call 844-684-6333 (multilingual services available). They are not accepting online applications.

If you are employed, ask your employer for an advance on your next paycheck. There are companies and apps that also offer this option. However, terms and fees vary widely and they can become a debt trap. At this time, there are no companies we recommend for early paycheck access.

Many churches provide financial and other assistance. For example, Catholic Charities agencies across Illinois have financial assistance programs for families regardless of religion.

Tap into your savings. Chances are you have already exhausted any money in a savings account, but you may also have retirement savings (401k, IRA, etc.). It is never ideal to deplete your savings or tap into retirement accounts, but it is one way to boost your income in a major financial emergency. There are tax consequences, and you may have to adjust how you save for retirement going forward. You may want to consult with a licensed accountant or a certified financial planner.

If you’re willing to part with an item (i.e., gold jewelry, designer clothes, or antiques) consider selling it rather than getting a pawnshop loan to avoid paying financing charges. Poshmark is a widely used app for this.

If you have taken all possible steps and still need help, you should consider a lower-cost, short-term loan. Here are some affordable loan options—all of which charge 36 percent APR or less.

Visit your bank’s website or call to find out whether they offer emergency loans or loans specifically tailored to those experiencing a COVID hardship. If you don’t have a bank account, visit Bank On Chicago if you live in Chicago. If you live outside Chicago, visit Bank On Illinois. A financial coach can also assist you with opening a bank account.

CIBC Bank has an affordable (12.45 percent APR) personal loan called the EasyPath Personal Loan. You can apply for the loan by visiting one of CIBC’s branches.

Huntington Bank offers a line of credit to eligible account-holders called Standby Cash. The line of credit is up to $1,000 and is interest- and fee-free if the customer enrolls in automatic payback of the loan.

Consider a loan from a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) or credit union:

• Capital Good Fund, a non-profit CDFI, offers a crisis loan that charges 5 percent APR, with no payments of principal or interest for the first three months.
• Great Lakes Credit Union serves Lake, Cook, McHenry, Kane, DuPage, Kendall, Will & Kenosha counties. They offer a Cash-in- a-Flash loan, a $500 personal loan with no credit check at 33 percent APR. Call 800-982-7850.
• Self-Help Credit Union offers a variety of different banking and loan products for people with good credit or those who want to build their credit. Call 800-966-7353.
• Community Plus Federal Credit Union serves Champaign, Ford, and Piatt counties. Borrowers who have been members for six or more months may qualify for their emergency loan with no credit check at 18 percent APR. They also offer free financial counseling. Call 217-893-8201.
• Members “First” Community Credit Union serves Adams, Brown, Pike, and Schuyler counties. They offer personal loans with APRs as low as 7.99 percent. Call 217- 223-4377.
• SIU Credit Union serves 26 counties across Southern Illinois. They offer a personal loan with competitive interest rates. Call 618-457-3595.
• Unified Homeowners of Illinois Federal Credit Union serves all homeowners in Illinois. They offer personal loans up to $600 at 18 percent APR on a 12-month term, available to new and existing members. Call 773-283-9340.

Not all online lenders are affordable. However, members of the American Fintech Council (AFC) adhere to responsible lending standards that include charging at or below 36 percent APR. All of the following are AFC members.

Compare different loan products at Nerd Wallet.

Personal Loans

• Lending Club offers business, auto, and education loans. Online or call 888-596-3157.
• Avant offers loans from $2,000-35,000 and credit cards. Online or call 800-712-5407.
• Prosper offers loans up to $40,000 for emergencies, major events, debt consolidation, or purchases. Online or call 866-615-6319.
• Best Egg offers personal loans for major events, purchases, or debt consolidation. Online or call 855-282-6353.
• Upstart offers loans from $1,000-50,000 for debt refinancing and consolidation, help with purchases, businesses, auto loans, and auto loan refinancing. Online or call 855-438-8778.

Banking and Loans

• SoFi offers accounts, personal loans, credit cards, student loans, home loans, business loans, and investment options. Online or call 855-456-SOFI (7634)

For Purchases

• Affirm offers financing for smaller and larger purchases.

Business Loans and Lines of Credit

• Allies for Community Business for business loans, credit lines, and coaching. Online or call 312-275-3000.
• Funding Circle offers loans or lines of credit. Online or call 855-385-5356.
• Lending Club for business loans. Online or call 855-846-0153.

In a lending circle, a small group of people chip in every month and lend money to one another at no interest. Lending circles are formed between 6-12 people and loan amounts range from $300-$2,400. Each month, a new member of the lending circle receives the loan until everyone in the group gets their chance. Loan payments are reported to the credit bureaus to help participants build credit.

This option is not suitable for immediate needs or emergencies. A lending circle requires group planning, and you may not be able to predict when it will be your turn to get the loan. However, it may be helpful for large, planned purchases. You can learn more and apply here.

Cash advances from credit cards can be easy but are expensive unless you pay them back soon. Check the credit card’s website or contact the credit card company to find out about available options.

Watch Out for Scams!

Scam artists are always looking for ways to cheat you, but COVID-relief programs have triggered an avalanche of scams and rip-offs. If you receive a call or text from someone you don’t know about COVID relief or other benefits, such as Social Security, there is a high probability the caller is a scammer. Look up the number for the company or agency on your own and contact them directly if you are concerned about whether the call is legitimate. Also highly risky are e-mails that want you to click on a link, open an attachment, or provide personal information. Beware any company offering “credit repair,” “debt management,” or “debt settlement.” These types of services are frequently rip-offs. Legitimate nonprofits that can help build your credit and offer financial coaching are listed at the beginning of this guide. For more information about scams, visit the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s website.