Financial Stress Turns Up the Heat in the Summer

Florida may call itself the Sunshine State, but the muggy Everglades, where the alligators can always slide into the water to cool off, and the single-family homes where a chill sets in during the daily lightning storms, have got nothing on the likes of Death Valley, where there is no shade, no rain, and no waterways. If the reptiles of the hottest parts of California know what is best for them, they aestivate, the summer equivalent of hibernating, until temperatures cool off.

Unfortunately, you cannot aestivate. Even if you try to keep your energy costs low by taking cold showers and then sitting in front of the rotating fan, wearing your flimsiest pair of pajamas, eventually you will turn on the air conditioning, and it will cost you dearly.  Running the air conditioning is not the only summer-specific stress. If you have elementary school-aged children, you must pay for childcare when you are at work; many parents of this age group coordinate their work schedules with the children’s school day as much as they can.  California has public schools, but it does not have free summer care. 

If your children are in middle school, they can stay home alone while you are at work, but this does not please you. Everyone who can possibly afford it enrolls their preteens in summer activities, while those who cannot afford it shudder to think of the trashy, mind-numbing, or downright hateful brain rot content their middle schoolers are watching on their phones. If you cannot enjoy the spring because you are too busy worrying about how you will make it through the summer financially, contact an Oakland lawsuits, collections, and creditor harassment lawyer.

Keeping Your Cool When Air Conditioning Costs Skyrocket

The summer heat is miserable, and the air conditioning bills only make it worse. Sometimes it gets so hot that money is the least of anyone’s worries; people die every year from exposure to heat. The good news is that you live in California, where state law incorporates shutoff protections. When the temperatures are above a certain level, energy companies cannot turn off residential customers’ air conditioning service because of nonpayment of bills; they can, however, turn it off when temperatures fall below the legal threshold, which is unpleasant if not dangerous.

If you find yourself having to choose which bills to pay each month and which ones to let pile up until the next month, you should do something to address your debts. Yes, the energy company might keep your air conditioning on until the temperatures are no longer in the triple digits, but you will still owe those bills and all your other bills.  You should apply for assistance, settle your debts, or borrow a debt consolidation loan if you can get one, or consider filing for bankruptcy protection.

Contact the Law Office of Melanie Tavare About Getting Out of Car Loan Debt

A debt relief lawyer can help you if you are among the many consumers for whom summer air conditioning bills push your budget over the limit.  Contact the Law Office of Melanie Tavare in Oakland, California, or call (510)255-4646 for a case evaluation.