DEBT is a common problem in today's society. An innocent loan here and there can turn into a nightmare when money gets tight and repayments are missed.
The best solution is to work things through in a discplined and logical fashion to get yourself out of trouble. But you have to want to get out of debt and be srious and focussed to ensure you get free from your debts.
Making a plan about how to get out of debt is critical. If you have no plan and no goals you'll never get there. You have to have a target, make a plan to achieve and follow it through - no matter what.
If you borrow more and more, teh debt problem will get worse and worse. You first of all need to stop relying on credit cards and loans to fund your current expenses. Stop teh borrowing habit and you'll be well on your way to freedom from debt.
To get started, you need tow ork through all your income and expenses. Make teh time to work through what's coming in and what's going out every month. Organisations such as teh consumer credit counselling service can help you if you are struggling. One easy nd effective way is to go through all your statements and receipts for a month, or keep a diary of all income and expenses for a month. At teh end of te month, you'll have a good idea of what's coming in and going out - but don't forget any expenses that are incurred quarterly or annually - you'll need to include these too.
Once you've worked out where your money is going you can stat analysing areas to cut back on. Thereare some excellent money saving tips on moneysavingexpert.com - where you can identify savings without having a major impact on your lifestyle.
With each of your expenses it's important to prioritise. Give priority to those items that are essential, such as mortgage and utility bills and council tax. Then you can ensure these are paid and dealt with before looking at other loans and credit cards.
Talk to you lenders..and don't lose your temper.
Lenders are not allowed to threaten you or turn up unannounced. The worst that can happen is that they can place a court order to repay the money. You won't be sent to jail.
In fact lenders make more money by having people pay debts off over the long term than they do by evicting people or making them bankrupt. The court process is costly and time concuming for lenders and most will be sympathetic to your problems if they can see you are taking positive action to repay them.
The courts will also look on you a lot more favourably if they can see you have been proactive and tried to contact your lender to work out a repayment plan to clear the debts off over time in a way that is acceptable to them and affordable for you.
Many lenders may allow you to freeze interest, spread the payment over a longer term, take a payment holiday or convert to interest only on a temporary basis. All of these options should be explored to help you manage your finances while you work towards getting yourself free of debt.
However, sub-prime lenders have been known (especially in my experience when negotiating on behalf of other people) to be rude at best and very threatening at worst. Ultimately if they are just not listening, keep notes on calls and conversations and show that you have tried to address things head on. This will help if/when things reach the courts...ultimately lenders have to take you to court to recover the debt and this is your opportunity to explain what you have done to negotiate a revised plan of repayments. Do this and the judge will see things much more favorably and will frown on such behaviour of lenders, thereby swinging decisions in your favour.
Get free help and advice
Warning. There is no miracle cure. Beware of lenders promising you an end to all your problems with debt managment plans and consolidation loans. Generally these companies charge very high fees and extend the term of your debt, which can end up actually making you worse off - despite all their claims.
You can get better FREE advice from organisations such as the following:
Citizens Advice Bureaux
Contact your local office for all sorts of advice help and guidance regarding your options and legal standing.
National Debtline
This is a free national advice line. There is telephone support and advice and information packs that can help you understand your options. They are available on 0808 808 4000.
Consumer Credit Counselling Service
The CCCS is a charity. It is funded by the financial services industry and offers phone-based councselling and debt help including free advice and assistance with plans to manage your way out of debt. Case managers at the CCCS can also negotiate with creditors on your behalf free of charge. You can then pay teh CCS direct and they will pay the creditors the revised amount on your behalf, so you only have to deal with the CCCs and not the lenders. Contact them in confidence on 0800 138 1111.
Me!
I don't charge any fees to discuss your situation and what you might do about getting yourself out of trouble. If you are a homeowner, there are a couple of things to consider. One is to remortgage your property but be careful which lenders you choose, some charge extremely high fees and interest rates. The other is to sell your property and rent it back - and this is what I specialise in through my company www.FasterPropertySale.com. If your debts are secured on your property and you are struggling to meet them then take a look at www.RepoHelp.info - there you can download a free report all about the repossession process and the action you can take.
So get out of the debt club. Be patient, get help and work through it.
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