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Aside from being fired suddenly, most financial problems can be seen coming weeks, sometime months, in advance. I can attest to the effectiveness of keeping in touch with the folks I owe money to. I have been able to ask for, and get, elimination of late and overlimit fees on my credit cards and bank accounts simply by keeping all these folks informed of my troubles. I have also foung that telling everyone what I'm doing, even week to week if I feel necessary, plus what I intend to do to get back on payment schedule is often enough to keep me in their good graces. In many conversations with CSR's, I've discovered that they are authorized to be flexible with customers who try their best to either pay their bills or work out some arrangement, in addition to keeping the creditor informed. I was ignorant, once, and did what many people do, bobbed and wove my way to try to avoid bill collection. It didn't work and when I discovered that and tried the alternative, life became far easier. Oh, and keeping a log book of debts and phone numbers, by the way, is essential. Taking note of who you call, when and a brief synopsis of the bill discussed helps jog everyone's memory if it has to be discussed again. Plus, you can always ask that notes regarding the conversation be placed in your file as well, which helps later referral.
Plan your life, don't let someone do it for you; you won't like the result, generally.