The Best Way to Prevent Foreclosure? Increase Your Income!

I could tell you that the best method of preventing foreclosure is to pay your mortgage payments on time, but that wouldn't make for a very useful article. Here are some foreclosure prevention tips that you can really use if you are in danger of falling behind on your mortgage payments or even if you are already a little behind.

First, you need to cut out all of the extras. You already know this without me telling you. If you're like most people, there are things in your budget that you really don't want to cut, but they just aren't necessary. Yes, we're talking about satellite TV and Dominoes Pizza. Maybe even beer and cigarettes. Now, I know that's rough but there have been times I've had to cut the Mountain Dew out of my budget to pay the important bills. It was hard but I lived.

On the bright side, if you follow the advice in the next tip, you might not have to do this for very long. Before you know it, you'll be able to afford the things you want as well as those you need.

Sure, that's easier said than done, right? Maybe, maybe not. There are many things you can do to earn extra income. Do you know someone who needs a babysitter in the evenings? Maybe there's someone on your street who can't seem to keep up with mowing their yard. Would they be willing to pay you to do it?

Beyond the typical odd jobs, it's time to think about really increasing your income. Have you ever thought about running a business? What skills do you have? Is there something you could do in the evenings to earn extra money using the skills you already have? Could that eventually be turned into a business, maybe even one that pays more than the job you have now? Embrace this country's entrepreneurial spirit and take a stab at the American Dream.

Here are two suggestions for businesses that are easy to start. The first is cleaning houses. Oh yeah, I can see you rolling your eyes. Well, guess what? People who clean houses usually make a pretty decent amount of money for doing it. For that reason, it's worth considering, even if you don't like cleaning.

The other suggestion is right in front of your face, literally. I'm talking about writing articles for Hubpages. You don't have to get approved or anything, just sign up and start writing. Oh yeah, make sure you sign up for Adsense too, so you can get paid. You can do that from the My Account page after you sign up. I'm too tired to try to walk you through it right now, but if you have trouble, comment on this article with your question and I will answer it.

So how much can you make on Hubpages? Like anything, it depends on how hard you are willing to work. It also depends on your subject matter. I got lucky when I started writing about foreclosures. It's just something I know something about, but it also happens that the ads in this niche pay pretty decent.

If you decide to start writing for Hubpages, try to focus on a niche that is well-advertised. Companies don't continue to pay for advertising if they are not making money. What do you see advertised a lot? Insurance and lawyers are two that jump right out at me. How many Geico Gecko commercials are there now? I rest my case. (A little lawyer humor there, if you didn't get it.)

Well, this was supposed to be an article about foreclosure prevention tips but I kind of got off-topic. I guess I'm more tired than I thought. I usually focus better than that. Anyhow, the advice I gave you is the best thing you can do. But to recap, preventing foreclosure is as easy as temporarily reducing the amount you spend on non-essentials until you can increase your income enough to add them back into the budget. In other words, make more money and learn how to manage it better.

Here are some more tips for preventing foreclosure:

Always pay your house payment first (well, right after food). Your house is your most important asset. Make it your priority.

If you know you can't afford your house and you don't think you will be able to increase your income enough to pay the payment, list the house for sale as soon as possible even if it's no longer worth what you owe on it. You may be able to get the bank to do a short sale (accept less than what is owed as a total payoff of the mortgage) if you can convince them that the house is not worth the amount that is owed on it. You should list your house as soon as possible if you think you might have to sell it because it can take a long time to sell a house.