Must pay bills vs have to pay?

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-12-2004
Must pay bills vs have to pay?
2
Fri, 06-24-2005 - 1:00pm
Hi, Danni, Shannon, et al. I cant find the article or discussion, but somewhere, there was a rule of thumb that outlined what bills must be paid vs what you can pay minimum payments on. l) Always pay mortgage and utilities first, right? Then, the car payment. Finally, credit cards and medical bills. 2) Other miscellaneous bills can come later if you have to make minimum payments--i.e., gas credit cards, cable/DVD, phone, dentist, etc.??? DH & I are thankfully not in this scenario anymore, but what is the order and to whom do you pay first(besides yourself). Thanks, all. Confused Whiz.
iVillage Member
Registered: 05-30-2003
Fri, 06-24-2005 - 1:48pm

OK, I know you aren't in this situation, but here's what I know...According to what I learned in Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University, it is best to take care of the '4 Walls' first, then everything else can be on a pro-rated kind of deal.
Pay housing, utilities, transportation, food,and clothing FIRST. Then, everything else gets on a pro-rata plan.

To do this, figure out what percentage each remaining debt is of the grand debt total. Then, with the money left over after paying the 4 walls, use those percentages to figure out what to send the pro-rated bills. That's one way to do it. Another is to just to pay down the list until you're out of money. Be sure to keep in contact with all of your creditors-for good advice on that, I'd recommend the Jerrold Mundis book, or Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace Revisited.

As to what you choose to do this plan on, well, that's a personal choice. It could be argued that any bill could be treated like this, but I wouldn't recommend it!

Hope that's what you're thinking of-
Lisa

Avatar for cl_phocid
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Fri, 06-24-2005 - 2:21pm
Hey there - I'm not aware of an official wording on this, but it seems to me that the biggies are food, shelter, heat/water, clothing.

All my best,
Danni