Living in debt

The government have been putting some really great articles on the direct.gov.uk website for over a year now and they have a great resource dedicated to dealing with debt.

The main points they cover as as follows:

•  Mortgage arrears or payment difficulties
• Council tax
• CCJs (county court judgements)
• Bankruptcy
• Consolidating your debts

The site actually offers quite a bit of advice on all of these topics and many more as it happens. The great thing is that you know the information on the site should be accurate and reliable since its written by/for the government. The first thing I’d say for people to do is to read up on how to do budgeting, again making the most of your current income!

Consolidating your debts into one larger loan can make your monthly payments a lot more manageable and if you sit down and do the maths you may find that the interest rate is lower overall and could therefore save you money. Anyway check out the government site and let me know what you think

I have had emails since my first posts from people who really do insist they cannot handle the debt they’re in and to be honest accepting that fact is sometimes the first step. Before you make a bold decision such as selling your possessions then consider talking to the national debt helpline.

If you feel like you’re becoming isolated by debt and are feeling intimidated by big organisations then it can be a huge relief to hear a friendly voice and become informed about your different options. They use straight forward language with no confusing mumbo jumbo! If talking isn’t enough then they can provide you with a personal budget sheet which you can fill out to help keep an eye on your finances.