Don’t Let Debt Get You Down! Knowing When To Get Help

Debt is a word that we’re all hearing a lot at the moment. With the ever present reports about the state of the economy, the knock on effect this has had on available credit and the rising cost of living, debt is effecting more and more of us every day.

Whilst being in debt may feel a very personal problem and most of the people we work with have very personal feelings about how they’ve allowed themselves to get it to the problem, here are a few facts that may surprise you....

In 2007, 400,000 people entered into Debt Management plans or IVAs and this number is expected to rise sharply during 2008.
UK personal unsecured debt currently stands at £25 billion.
In Jan 2008 consumers spent £2.4 billion on credit cards.
Around 1 million people in the UK have debts of £25,000.
Total UK consumer debt stands at £1.4 trillion.
5 million people spend more than they earn on a monthly basis
UK debt rises £1 million every 5 minutes

Past ease of availability of credit has compounded the issue and the recent changes in the economy have left 100,000’s with little chance of being able to meet their monthly financial commitments. In a recent survey 1 in 5 UK adults spend more per month then they earn on a regular basis. As personal debt grows, so does the worry, stress and anxiety which can lead to illness, relationship breakdown and depression.

Many people we speak to have left it late before contacting us, choosing initially to ignore the problem, hoping it will go away or they come into some unexpected income that will relieve the pressure. Few do and eventually they are forced to take action. The irony of the situation is that the earlier you take action about your debts, the more effective the solution can be.

What is a debt problem?

Debt becomes a problem when you can’t meet the agreed payments on that debt or you are borrowing more money to pay off existing debts - often referred to as robbing Peter to pay Paul.

How do people get into Debt?

There are lots of reasons that people get into debt. The availability of easy credit has help most people get into a situation of large unsecured loans and credit which can build and build over time or a single event can trigger debt problems including;

• Redundancy/loss of income .i.e. reduction in overtime, health problems
• Parenthood
• Large unforeseen expense
• Growing cost of living
• Relationship breakup

How do I know I’ve got a debt problem or heading for one?

• You are borrowing more and more every month
• You’ve started to miss monthly payments
• You have unsecured debts that are greater than 6 month take home salary
• You’re paying bills using credit from other sources
• You’re being chased by creditors, perhaps ignoring the phone or not opening letters
• Your health and happiness is reducing through worry and stress relating to money and/or paying bills

Take a deep breath and relax. Help is at hand...

The first thing to do is face the problem and seek help. This is probably the single hardest step that most of our clients go through. Usually because they believe that they’ll be judged for getting into debt. This simply isn’t the case. We care more about getting you out of debt and that you want to get out of debt then how you got in debt in the first place. We will help you reorganise your finances and payments. We’ll step between you and your creditors, meaning that you won’t have to deal directly with them anymore if you don’t wish to and we’ll also advise you on how not to slip back into financial problems again.

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