Some Uses for Your Structured Settlement Payments

July 12, 2012 sarah Fitness

Are you currently receiving or have been awarded structured settlement payments? If you are or have been, have you thought about what you should be doing with those payments right now and in the future? Many people who tend to get awards these annuity or structured settlements don’t really have a plan.

When you are awarded these payments the first thing you need to do is sit down and determine the best uses for the money you will be receiving. This settlement can be a long-term solution for you and your family or it could mean freedom to do something you would have never tried.

Selling Your Structured Settlement Payments

Many people who are receiving structured settlement payments have never thought or even known that they could sell them. If you need money and the monthly payments don’t cover the expenses you can call a structured settlement buyer to get a quote.

What will this do? This will allow you to get a lump sum of cash that can be used to pay off debt, buy a new home, and even go on vacation or travel if all those other things are in order. We know that with this economy a lot of people are strapped for money. If you have a need to free yourself for the stress of not having enough money to pay your bills you may want to consider paying off most if not all of your debts using the settlement funds.

What about Buying A New Home or Paying Rent

Of course it is everyone’s dream to own their own home. However now you are mostly required to come up with a 20% down payment. So that means if you want a home that cost $100k you will need to have $20K cash for your down payment. Do you have that amount already saved? Maybe you will be able to sell some of your structured settlements to cover all or what you don’t have saved up to purchase your home.

Selling your structured settlement payments could also be a great way to catch up if you already own a home but are behind on mortgage/rent. Say you lost your job and you just cant come up with the money to pay current rent plus months you were late or didn’t have the money. You can take some of your settlement payments and pay off the past months and even some months in advance to give you a cushion.

Using Your Settlement Payments for Travel or Vacation

This is not something I would normally recommend but in some cases if you have your job, bills are paid and the payments are just extra each month something like saving extra and vacations would be something to consider. Maybe you have everything paid but you simply don’t have money to do something nice for your family or for yourself. Well consider taking some of those payments and planning a small trip so you can relax.

The thing is to really understand that you have a lot of options to choose from when it comes to how you use your structured settlement payments. Look at your own personal situation and consider all options carefully.