Hopefully, after reading my segment on budgeting, you have at least thought about how a budget could help you. If you have or you haven’t, today I’m going to help you make your budget all that it can be. This may even be a topic you enjoy reading about: Options for increasing your income. There is help that is built into the government for those who have fallen on hard times.

 The Earned Income Tax Credit provides people whose income falls below a certain line with an extra tax credit. To determine your eligibility, it is best to ask a tax professional.

You should also keep unemployment compensation and food stamps in mind. These assistance programs may provide you the extra money you need to get your budget in the positive. There also may be other food programs available in your area (and it is worth checking into considering how expensive a grocery store trip can be!)

States offer help for families with a program called TANF—which stands for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. And that is the only help that is available for the public—there are also emergency programs to help with basic needs and disaster relief programs from government agencies and private charities.

There also may be Social Security benefits or disability benefits based on your age and status. If you were injured on the job, you may be eligible for workers’ compensation. You would be well-advised to contact a workers’ compensation attorney to help you with your case.

Depending on your situation, you may also be able to rely on family support for income. Child support, alimony, or property distribution can increase your income. And, of course, there is always education and specialized training. If you are looking to change careers, a degree or certificate may put you into a higher paying position.

As with many things, researching your local programs will provide you with the best information. If none of these programs will help you, you may want to start looking at other options to get your income back to a level you can handle.

Tags: bankruptcy attorney, budgeting, chapter 13, chapter 7, disability benefits, Earned Income Tax Credit, education and specialized training, food stamps, government assistance programs, income increase, Options for relief, social security, Unemployment compensation, ways to increase your income, workers' compensation

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 1st, 2009 at 8:49 am and is filed under Budget. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.