The latest research has revealed that four-in-ten British adults are concerned about the amount of their personal debt. One of the biggest areas of worry is credit card debt with over half of respondents expressing serious concerns.

Nearly one-third thought of their overdraft as their biggest financial worry with one-fifth concerned about loan and mortgage repayments. In the largest cities such as London, Manchester and Newcastle debt worry was much higher than in rural areas.

Debt has become a way of life for far too many people. Even those with relatively meagre lifestyles find it hard to manage with the high cost of living in the UK. However panicking and worrying too much about debt is not the answer.

Even low levels of debt can cause concern and sleepless nights. In these cases it may only take some small changes to household budgeting in order to get back on track and free from debt.

The answer to debt problems is to seek help early and get on top of them.

Anyone who is worried about debt can get free debt advice and in almost every case there is a solution which will lead you to becoming debt free in the future.

Categories: Debt, General

Having run through step 1 to becoming debt free you will now know your total debt. Step 2 will have shown you how much you can afford to spend on debt repayments. It is almost certain that the amount you are currently spending to service your debts is greater than the amount you can afford. So what can you do about it?

Whilst it is possible for you to try and resolve your debt problems yourself, by contacting all of your creditors, negotiating with them to freeze interest, write off a proportion of your debts and reduce your monthly repayments it will take you a lot of time and effort and is not guaranteed to produce results.

By utilizing a debt solution service like ours we do all of the hard work for you. Whichever debt solution is best for your individual circumstances, be it a consolidation loan, debt management program or IVA we walk you through every step of the way ensuring the best result for you.

To obtain our free debt advice all you have to do is complete our online enquiry form (it will only take you a couple of minutes). We then analyze all of the relevant factors to determine the best debt solution for you.

By filling out our enquiry form and contacting us you have taken the first major step to becoming debt free. Providing you stick to the proposed solution for the full length of time the debt will have been repaid and you will be back on the road to recovery.

Whilst some debt solutions, such as an IVA, will have an effect on your credit rating, by making the repayments and getting debt free you have demonstrated your commitment to repayments and it is possible to repair your credit rating reasonably quickly.

Categories: Debt, General

If you have followed step 1 to becoming debt free you now have a total debt figure calculated. Now we need to know more about your income and other outgoings. This will give you an idea about how much money you have to spend each month to service your debt repayments.

Using your bank statements make a note of all credits on your account. This will include:

· Wages/Salary

· Benefits (eg. Tax credit/child benefit)

· Any other regular income

Add this up to give you a total monthly household income. Now make a note of your regular outgoings which will include:

· Mortgage/Rent

· Food

· Utilities (gas/elec/water/telephone etc.)

· Council tax

· Insurance

· Other (TV licence/subscriptions etc.)

This second figure should EXCLUDE any repayments made to service debts. Hopefully the first figure will exceed the second and the difference is the amount you can afford to repay to your creditors.

Taking into account the amount of debt you owe, the number of creditors you owe to and the amount you can afford to repay we can now calculate the best debt solution for your individual circumstances. There is a simple debt solution calculator on our website which will give you an initial idea.

Now we move on to the third and final step. Getting professional debt advice.

Categories: Debt, General

The first step to becoming debt free is to calculate your debt. The amount of debt you have will fluctuate on a daily basis as interest is added and further spending is made. However you do not need to know to the exact penny how much your debts are. A rough figure will do.

Start by looking at your bank statement to see where money is being paid out. This should show you where debt repayments are being made. Focus particularly on credit cards, store cards and loan repayments. Then dig out your last statement from each and write down the total outstanding in a list.

If you have access to online banking you may be able to log-in and find out a more exact figure. In this case make sure you note down the figure outstanding on that day. Some of the debts you may currently have include:

· Credit Cards

· Store Cards

· Personal Loans

· Car Finance

· Catalogues

· HP Agreements

Many of these type of debts attract high rates of interest so each month you leave a balance outstanding your debt problems will get worse. Replacing them with a lower interest loan over a longer period could save you money each month. However you need to make sure that once they have been repaid you don’t take out any more credit until your loan has finished. This will leave you debt free.

A debt consolidation loan is just one way of solving your debt problems. There are others including debt management or an IVA. Step 2 to becoming debt free is to identify the best debt solution and we will cover this topic in our next blog post.

Categories: Debt, General

It is not going to surprise many that recent research has confirmed debt problems have an adverse affect on people’s health, relationships and their ability to do their jobs. Anyone who has ever had money problems or worries at any time (and that must be most of us) will know that they can dominate every waking moment.

The inability to pay bills and the impact this has on your thinking, particularly when you think about the future and how you are going to survive/get out of your debt problems, means that it is an extremely stressful time. Not wanting to worry your partner or family leads to many keeping the problems to themselves, hoping than an answer will turn up. This is unlikely.

The best course of action is always to be open about it and to seek help as soon as possible. We know this is difficult to do and that talking to people about your problems can be embarrassing, particularly for men, who tend to be in charge of the family finances.

However, it is unlikely your problems are any different to the many others who suffer with debt and often talking about it, particularly with a sympathetic counselor, lifts the weight off your shoulders. Knowing that you have started to take the first steps towards dealing with your debt problems will help you sleep at night and relieve at least some of the stress.

Professional debt advice can offer you a solution to your money worries and you could even be debt free within a few years. Don’t leave it too late, debt will increase if left to its own devices. As soon as you notice a problem seek help.

The best solution for you depends upon your circumstances. This might involve debt consolidation, debt management or an IVA. A trained debt counselor will be able to give you advice about which will save you the most money and allow you to be debt free as quickly as possible.

Categories: Debt, General

We have updated our debt calculator (above) to show debt management solutions where appropriate. Debt management is available for any amount of debt, however if your debt is more than £10,000 and you owe 3 creditors or more an IVA is likely to be the better solution as it will usually involve writing off more of your debt.

Debt management consists of a process whereby all of your existing creditors are contacted to settle their loans with a reduced figure. At the same time interest is frozen on your debts. Once a new schedule of payments has been agreed you continue to make those payments until the end of the term in order to clear your debts.

Reductions in debt via a debt management programme will typically be around 40%, although it does depend upon individual circumstances. Whilst you are in the process of debt management you will not likely be able to get further credit, however once you have successfully completed the programme and cleared your debts you are on the road to repairing your credit record and becoming creditworthy again.

We offer a full range of debt solutions together with free debt advice. By contacting us you are taking a positive step to getting your finances sorted out and improving your life. Whatever your individual circumstances, no matter how bad they may seem, get in touch to see how we might help you.

Categories: Debt, General

Recent Government figures have revealed a ninth consecutive quarterly rise in personal insolvencies. This takes them to the highest rate since records began.

35,682 people entered into personal insolvency in the first three months of 2010, a near 18% rise on the same period last year, as consumers continued to struggle with personal debt, despite the UK economy starting to recover.

This figure includes over 18,000 bankruptcies and nearly 12,000 IVAs.

Falling incomes during the recession is one reason why so many people are struggling to make ends meet, and with tax rises and public spending cuts on the way to ease the country’s debt burden the worst may still be to come.

People struggling with debt should seek professional debt advice sooner rather than later. Options such as a debt management plan can then be considered before insolvency becomes necessary.

Categories: Debt, Economy, General

Welcome to the IVA Debt Problem website Blog.

Categories: General