No Food, No Heat, No Electric, No Home: What to Do in a Bad Situation

If you are in a situation where your electricity is cut off, and you have gas-you have a problem indeed if you intend to stay warm. Your furnace is run by electricity-it has a motor. This is why I stress that if one must go, I would rather see it be the gas being shut off.  You’ll be fine if you have a woodburning stove or fireplace, but then again you will be reading by candlelight, and entertained without the luxury of tv and computers. Your food will need to be pre-packaged, or kept in coolers. Again these things can be done, but it’s going to be harder. You will need to plan for your activities long before the sun goes down so you can use the sun (it’s still free). You can also go to the public library and read, study, or use the internet, and it’s a great place to stay warm until it closes. You can go to the mall and window shop, walk for exercise, and keep warm that way too.

While using these creative skills to survive, you can also utilize food pantries and soup kitchens to save some money on food, leaving you with the resource you need to turn the utilities back on-money. You can negotiate with utility companies sometimes to pay your outstanding bills in monthly increments, in addition to your monthly bill. Sometimes you can go to your local county or city township office and ask for assistance, and maybe you’ll qualify. You can check with the Salvation Army to see if they have any help available. If you need food, this might be a good place to start as well.

Food isn’t as much of a problem as utilities, as there are many food banks, pantries, and soup kitchens across the country for those in need. Your survival depends on your creativity during tough times, and creative thinking is critical thinking. If you have any income at all, you need to save it to get your utilities turned on, and make your rent or mortgage payments. Just because you have income doesn’t mean you can’t get help from Peter to pay Paul. If you feel one ounce of guilt using the free help that is given to you, wait until things are better and pay it back with donations, or helping at your local pantry or food drive.

If you find yourself homeless, evicted from your apartment and still have a source of income, you can always check into a cost efficient hotel or motel for a short period of time, rather than going to a homeless shelter. It might seem costly at first-but realize that you get electricity, heat, a bed, TV, pay channels and free internet at even some of the least expensive hotels and motels. I would pay 1000.00 a month in a hotel for all of these things, rather than waiting for the possibility of a cot for a night-which isn’t guaranteed. I can make that with a minimum wage job-and minimum wage jobs are still available. You won’t live like a Rockefeller, but having a warm place to sleep and a nice hot shower in the morning can’t be all bad. Plus-in a hotel or motel you will still have a place for some belongings. Homeless shelters generally don’t house your belongings, and what little you do take with you is subject to being stolen by others in worse situations. If you split that room with one other person in a bad situation-you can both save for deposit and rent in an apartment when things get better.

Things do get better, if you have an action plan. Put your plan into action early and keep your eyes and ears open for better opportunities. Will you hear opportunity knocking when it’s at your door?