About Debts

Various kinds of organisation offer debt advice, usually for free. You should be able to find somewhere to get free debt advice by searching online or looking in your local phonebook.

It's good knowing that there's free debt advice available, but what form might that debt advice really take? And how could a debt adviser actually help you?

Here's a look at just two of the ways a debt adviser could help you.

Debt advice - budgeting tips
When you seek free debt advice, the adviser you talk to should be able to offer you tips on how to draw up a realistic budget and how to manage your finances more effectively.

Budgeting is all about controlling and understanding your finances. When you can successfully keep track of where your money is going each month, it will be easier to plan ahead - and work out where you are spending money you could be using to make payments towards your debts.

You should start by working out how much money you earn/receive each month and then subtracting the amount you spend each month.

However, this may be more difficult than it sounds. For example, although some costs may be fairly easy to calculate, such as mortgage or rent payments, other things may change from month to month, such as the cost of petrol, utilities or food.

Debt advice - negotiating with your creditors
If, while you are repaying your debts, your circumstances change and you find you can no longer afford the repayments, you should speak to your creditor(s) and explain your situation.

Creditors are well aware that anyone's circumstances can change with very little warning. So if yours do change and that means you can no longer keep up with your debt payments, you may be able to negotiate with your creditors to reduce the amount you are paying each month. A professional debt adviser should be able to offer you a few tips on how to negotiate successfully with your creditors.

If you are finding your debts difficult to manage, you may find that some free debt advice could make a real difference to your finances.