If you need to get money, understand your options for paying bills or replacing important documents, this list of contacts and practical steps may help you regain your financial footing.

Credit card companies, lenders, financial institutions, landlords, utilities and others may offer help to people affected by disasters. Contact them, and ask for help. They may be willing to: defer your payments or offer extended repayment plans; extend grace periods; waive late fees; raise your credit limit; refrain from reporting delinquency; and postpone collection, repossessions and foreclosures.

Protect your credit cards

If your credit, ATM, or debit cards are lost or stolen, call the card issuer as soon as possible to report the loss and get new accounts. If you don't have the phone number, call 1-800-555-1212, a toll-free phone number for US-based companies.

Contact your credit card companies. If possible, change your billing address to your temporary address. Ask if you can defer or skip some payments in the short-term, and for a different payment schedule in the long term. Ask to waive late fees, over-limit and other fees and any increased interest rates. If you need an increased credit limit or cash advance limit, ask for it. And ask them to waive reporting any delinquency to the credit reporting companies.

NOTE: Federal law protects you from loss for unauthorized use of credit and debit cards. For debit cards, your protection depends on how quickly you report the loss.

Contact your bank and financial institutions

Contact your financial institutions. Ask them to waive ATM fees, overdraft fees and their reporting on your overdrafts to the credit reporting companies. Ask them to waive any penalties on early withdrawal of certificates of deposit.

For your mortgage, auto or other loans or leases: ask to defer your payments for several months. Some companies may permit mortgage payment reductions or extended deferred payments. You may want to ask to waive any late fees and any reporting of delinquencies to the credit reporting companies, and ask for an extension on your loan to reduce or defer your payments until you are back on more solid financial footing. You also can ask to avoid any prepayment penalties if you pay off your mortgage early due to the emergency.

Contact your utility companies

Contact your utility companies, including your wireless phone services and financial institutions to make sure they know you have lost your belongings in the disaster. When you call, ask them to waive their fees and allow you to defer your payments, or put you on a different payment schedule.

Talk to your employer

Stay in contact with your employer. Ask if you can continue to get your paycheck and health insurance, and for how long. If you are in another location due to the situation, ask if you can access your direct deposit paycheck from a branch of the bank in the temporary location, or if you need to redirect it to a bank in the new location.

Don't forget about your benefits

Contact your retirement company, social services office, the Social Security Administration at www.ssa.gov or 1-800-772-1213, the Veterans Benefits Administration at www.benefits.va.gov/benefits or 1-800-827-1000, or other benefit offices. Tell the offices your new location, and find out if benefit payments are made available by check, direct deposit, or payment card. The Department of Labor (1-866-4-USA-DOL) works with state and local governments to issue unemployment insurance and other assistance.

Make sure you protect your credit rating

Communication is more important than ever. Call your creditors and ask for help. Ask about programs in place to defer your loan payments, waive late fees, or raise your credit limit temporarily while you get back on your feet.

Get a copy of your credit report. If you've lost your financial records and need help identifying your creditors — or want to check on possible tampering with your accounts — get your credit report. It's free from www.annualcreditreport.com or 1-877-322-8228.

Avoid financial scams

Many people will ask you for your personal information. Ask them for appropriate identification before you give it out. Scammers sometimes pose as government officials, asking for personal financial information or money to apply for aid that you can request on your own for free. Government officials will not ask you for money in exchange for your information or the promise of a check.

If you've lost your financial records

If you've lost your financial records and need help identifying your creditors — or if you want to check on possible tampering with your accounts — get your credit report. It's free from www.annualcreditreport.com or 1-877-322-8228.

NOTE: Of course, when talking with these financial entities, asking for a fee waiver or change in the terms and conditions of your account doesn't guarantee that a company will agree to it. Company policies and legal obligations can vary. Some companies have information available on their websites; others require you to contact them by telephone.

Source: Federal Trade Commission / Consumer Information