MSNBC has this report Government aid need rising – as economy tips into recession, more families struggling to make ends meet.

A snippet:

Asking for help has been its own struggle for Bill Davis. He grew up with an Army dad who taught him to pull his weight since he was 11. Davis found it even harder to request assistance from people he knows: He recently went to his church for help to pay the utility bills.

“I’m not the self-help type person. I hate admitting defeat,” Davis said. “At some point, you have to, or they turn your power off.”

Yes, I know. The traditional advice is to save up funds in an emergency fund so you can get through rough spots. Having even one week’s paycheck parked in a bank account helped my husband and I with cash flow during a layoff situation.

But what do you do when that emergency fund runs out – or your fund got eaten up by the stock market bear or housing market collapse?

If you get to the point where you are thinking about applying for formal financial aid, don’t wait too long. It can take time to research the programs you qualify for, locate the required documents, fill out the paperwork, meet the application deadlines and such. Here is my sidebar called Do you need assistance? Tips to read first.