Behind on your title loan and other bills? Here’s how to decide what to pay first.

When you can’t pay everything, start with the bills whose consequences hit fastest and hardest: your housing, your utilities, food, and whatever keeps you earning, which for most people in Dallas-Fort Worth means the car and the insurance on it. That is the approach in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s own guide for people who are behind on bills: weigh the risk of not paying each one, call the companies you owe before the due date, and treat rotating which bill gets paid as a last resort. A title loan sits in an uncomfortable spot on that list. Missing a payment can put your car at risk, but paying only the renewal fee every month can leave the balance exactly where it started. This guide walks you through deciding, bill by bill, and then shows you how to see what options you may have for the title loan itself.

You’re not alone

If you’re behind on more than one bill right now, you have a lot of company. The Federal Reserve’s newest Survey of Consumer Finances, released in October 2026, found that 19.6% of families were late on a payment in 2025, up from 12.2% in 2022, and 8.2% were 60 days late or more. The same survey found that among the lowest-income fifth of families, vehicle ownership fell to 59.4%, the lowest rate for that group in 20 years. WBUR’s Here & Now walked through what the survey says about how families are doing, and The Auto Wire looked at what it means for people trying to keep a car: higher prices, longer loans and more households falling behind. None of that is a personal failing. It’s a wide problem, and the people getting through it are the ones who make a plan instead of hoping the next check covers everything.

Step by step: how to decide what to pay first

1. Write down every bill, its due date and what happens if it’s late. Rent or mortgage, electric, water, phone, insurance, groceries, gas, childcare, the title loan payment, anything else. Next to each one, write the real consequence of missing it this month: a late fee, a shutoff notice, a lost shift, a car you can’t drive. The CFPB calls this weighing the risk of not paying, and it’s the whole game.
2. Sort by consequence, not by who calls the most. The loudest collector is not automatically the most urgent bill. The CFPB’s guide puts housing, utilities, car insurance and the costs of keeping your job near the top, because losing a place to live, the lights or the way you get to work costs far more than any late fee.
3. Be honest about where the title loan goes. Read your agreement and find two things: what happens if you miss the due date, and how much of your payment actually lowers the balance. If you’re on a single-payment loan, the monthly payment may be mostly or entirely a renewal fee, which means paying it keeps the car safe for another month but doesn’t move you closer to done. Our guide on why a title loan balance never goes down explains how to tell.
4. Call before the due date, not after. The CFPB’s advice is simple: if you know you’ll miss a payment, call and explain why. Ask whether a due date can be moved closer to payday, whether a late fee can be waived, and what a short-term arrangement would look like. The FTC lists “ask your creditors for more time” as one of the first alternatives to high-cost borrowing. Here’s how to talk to a title loan lender when you’re behind.
5. Look for help that doesn’t add a new bill. In Texas, dialing 2-1-1 connects you with local electric, rent and food assistance, and a nonprofit credit counselor can help you build the plan. Both are covered below.
6. Decide the order for this month and write it down. Then look at next month. If the title loan payment is the thing that makes the plan fail every single time, that is the bill to change, not just rearrange.

A worked example: one paycheck, five bills

Say you bring home $1,400 every two weeks and the first check of the month has to cover these:

That’s $1,480 against $1,400. Something has to give. Using the CFPB’s approach, the rent, the electric bill and food stay at the top, because those consequences arrive fastest. Insurance stays high too, because it protects the car you need to earn. The title loan is where the hard question lives. If that $250 is a renewal fee on a single-payment loan, paying it buys 30 more days with the same $1,000 balance. Skipping it can put the car itself at risk. Neither choice is good, which is exactly why the goal isn’t to pick the least bad month over and over. It’s to change the one bill that resets every month.

Pay by consequence, not by who calls the loudest. Then fix the bill that keeps resetting.

Why rotating bills around a title loan gets so expensive

The CFPB’s guide mentions rotating payments, paying one bill this month and a different one next month, as a way to avoid losing a car or a home, and it’s honest that this is not ideal. With most bills, rotating costs you a late fee. With a single-payment title loan, every month you can only cover the fee is a month the loan starts over. In its study of single-payment title loans, the CFPB found that more than four in five were renewed on the day they came due because borrowers couldn’t pay them off, and that about one in five borrowers eventually had their vehicle seized. The FTC’s example makes the math plain: roll a $1,000 loan with a 25% fee over once and you’ve paid at least $500 to borrow $1,000 for 60 days. If you’ve been juggling for a while and the balance hasn’t moved, that isn’t a budgeting failure. It’s how the product works. Get your exact title loan payoff amount in writing so you know the real number you’re working against.

Where a title loan refinance or buyout fits in

If you’re trying to refinance your title loan, or you’ve seen the phrase “title loan buyout” and wondered what it means, here’s the plain version. A title loan buyout is when another company pays off your current title lender directly, the lender releases its hold on your title, and you then work with the new company under a new written agreement. A title loan refinance means replacing your current loan with a different agreement. The point of either, when you’re juggling bills, is to turn the one payment that resets every month into something you can actually plan around. Whether it changes your monthly picture depends on your numbers: your payoff amount, your income, your car. Nobody can promise that from the outside, and you should be careful with anyone who does. Our title loan refinance & buyout guide explains how it works, and what it takes to qualify covers what gets looked at.

Help that doesn’t add a new bill

• 2-1-1 Texas. Run by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, 2-1-1 Texas connects you with local programs for electric and gas bill assistance, eviction prevention, food pantries and more. Dial 2-1-1 or (877) 541-7905; chat is available in English and Spanish.
• A nonprofit credit counselor. The CFPB’s guide points to the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, a network of nonprofit agencies that can help you build a budget and a plan for your debts. You’re under no obligation to buy anything.
• Local charities and churches. The FTC lists them among the alternatives to high-cost borrowing. Many across Dallas-Fort Worth help with a utility bill or groceries, which frees up money for the bills only you can pay.
• Your employer. If your hours changed, ask whether extra shifts or a different schedule are possible. If that’s your situation, read what to do when your hours get cut and the title loan is still due.

Where ReDrive fits in

If the title loan is the bill that keeps breaking your plan, that is the one worth looking at first, and you don’t have to figure it out alone. Our team in Plano, TX works with people across Dallas-Fort Worth who are juggling exactly this. Bring your list of bills, your title loan agreement and your payoff amount, and we’ll go through it with you and help you see what options you may have with ReDrive, including our title loan refinance & buyout program. There’s no judgment here. Falling behind in a year when one in five families did is not a character flaw. Making a plan is the next step, and it’s a good one.

Quick answers

Should I pay my title loan or my rent first?

The CFPB’s guide for people behind on bills puts housing, utilities and the costs of keeping your job near the top, because losing your home costs far more than a late fee. That doesn’t mean ignoring the title loan: a missed title loan payment can put your car at risk. Call the lender before the due date, ask what a short-term arrangement looks like, and get your payoff amount in writing so you can look at options for that loan instead of rotating it month after month.

What happens if I pay only the renewal fee on my title loan every month?

On a single-payment title loan, the renewal fee buys another month but usually doesn’t reduce the balance. The FTC’s example is a $1,000 loan with a 25% monthly fee: one rollover brings the cost to at least $500 for 60 days, and the $1,000 is still owed. The CFPB found that more than four in five single-payment title loans were renewed on their due date. If you’ve been paying for months and the balance hasn’t moved, that is the product working as designed, not a budgeting mistake.

Can a title loan refinance or buyout help when I’m behind on other bills too?

It can be worth exploring. A title loan buyout means another company pays off your current title lender directly, and you then work with that company under a new written agreement; a refinance means replacing the current loan with a different agreement. The goal is to turn a payment that resets every month into one you can plan around. Whether it changes your monthly picture depends on your payoff amount, your income and your car, so gather those numbers first and be cautious of anyone who promises a result before seeing them.

Where can I get help paying bills in Dallas-Fort Worth?

Dial 2-1-1 or (877) 541-7905 to reach 2-1-1 Texas, which is run by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission and connects you with local electric, rent and food assistance. The CFPB also points people to the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, a network of nonprofit credit counselors, and the FTC lists local charities and churches among the alternatives to high-cost borrowing. Help with a utility bill or groceries frees up money for the bills only you can pay.

This article is general information, not financial or legal advice. Programs, rates, and eligibility vary by lender and change over time. Always confirm the full terms in writing before you sign anything.