1. Housing: rent, electricity and water 2. Other essentials (food, telephone, day-care, insurances) 3. Then rest of the bills
It is advisable to pay small bills and debts first, because they accrue comparatively more additional expenses during debt collection.
Find out about possibilities to receive social benefits. Be prepared for the fact that benefit payments may not be on your account immediately. Kela (The Social Insurance Institution of Finland) Social services Church aid (church social fund)
Many public services benefits, as well as taxes, are calculated according to your income. Ask if they can be adjusted to your income. For instance, Tax Administration Housing benefits
Dealing with financial difficulties is routine work for the bank and company personnel nowadays and co-operation is appreciated. Request a longer term payment plan and freezing the interest for late payments.
If paying the bills and debts seems totally insurmountable, talk to your debtors about possibilities to re-organise your debts. It's advisable to negotiate a new payment plan for your credit before the debtor has a right to call in the loan.
If you cannot pay the bill,
The council finance and debt advisors help, for instance, with mapping out the financial situation and negotiations with debtors.
The Guarantee Foundation offers a guarantee for a restructuring debt borrowed from a bank for private persons who are in debt and financial crisis. With this loan you can manage your debts and put an end to indebtedness.
The last alternative to solve the excessive indebtedness is to apply for debt management for a private person from your local magistrate's court. Finance and debt advisors help with arbitration negotiations and with planning a proposal for settlement.
Publications: Guide to using money in plain language (in English) (in French) (in Russian)