Welcome to Debt Advice Trust Blog

We live in the times, when children expect a Nintendo Wii for ‘one’ of their Christmas presents, anything less just will not do. Research shows that the average Christmas shopper spends £384 on Christmas presents. Those aged 35-44 years-old are likely to spend the most with an average present bill of £570.

Other average costs are as follows:

My friend Kerry has recently had her first child. This four month baby has designer footwear clothing, hundreds of toys, while her Mother is dressed in worn and torn clobber that you are more likely to see a hobo dressed in. Due to her obsessive spending on luxury items for her offspring, she is now behind on her council tax, and now has to face up to the hundreds of pounds spent on her credit cards.

Consolidation Loans are one way of becoming debt free, but not the only option to consider. Get Debt Advice from a company or organisation you can trust.

I am a smoking; ironically I am also in debt. I have always thought of smoking as an expensive habit, but until today, I never realised the extremity of wasted money. I t really is in comparison to reaching into my pocket, pulling out a five pound note, and setting it on fire.

I scoured the internet for a calculator to inform me of the
cost of my addiction and the results, based on one packet of twenty a day, average price of £5.20, were £1898 a year.

To start getting out of debt, I need to become smoke free. There is help out there to stop smoking, but there are also little known debt charities. Debt Helpshould come in the form of free impartial advice. Stopping smoking is one of the first steps to becoming debt free and continuing to be so.

If you have the constraint not to spend it, how about putting the money every day, that you would spend on a packet of cigarettes in a jar, and watch the money mound up.

First step: STOP! Look at your outgoings. If there’s something you are spending that you can stop, then stop it. Cut down your spending as much as you possibly can before taking any steps to consolidate debts.

As an option for people in serious financial problems, Consolidation Loans is a valid - and sometimes lifesaving – method.

Seek professional Debt Help advice, don’t just jump in because the adverts claim you will save a fortune. They spend a lot of money making the numbers fit in the best way for them; they’re not really interested in your best interests.

Be cynical! Caution is ALWAYS the best option with your money. Make the most of every opportunity. Get your finances in hand. Start knowing, where every penny is spent.

As house prices continue to scale upwards, the middle class are faced with two options, debt from an over-inflated mortgage or a council house.

London Borough Council has been flooded with applications for social housing as families seek accommodation options that they can afford.

Many middle class professionals are finding it more and more difficult to cope with Debt accrued from a lengthy mortgage. Add to this the increases in council tax and stamp duty and even more are handing in the towel and seeking alternative accommodation.

As the housing market demands more and more from buyers, those with their hearts set on owning their own home can expect mortgage rates to increase, and by 2026 a foot on the property ladder will demand ten times the average salary.

London’s increasingly high prices are making it impossible for people to live and work in the capital, as the country becomes divided between the ‘have-nots’ and the ‘have-lots’. The only way to keep the country balanced is to increase the number of homes available for social housing.

London Councils calculate that at least £1.3 billion is needed to supply additional homes for families in the capital. This price will cover 70% of accommodation needed for social housing. Compared with 2006-2008, the amount needed to help curb homelessness has increased by 50%.

For many of us, debt is just a way of life but for others, the fear of debt entering their lives can be a nightmare.

Introvert spenders are often embarrassed by their carefulness with money and fear that people will label them boring and unadventurous.

Many are just born with an inbuilt tendency to be careful with money and, as children will often save their pocket money rather than blow it on magazines, sweets or toys. As a child, Laura said “My uncle would often become upset with me because he would give me money to buy myself a treat but I would always save it.” Maybe, even as a child, Laura new that frivolity with money could lead to debt.

Laura says that deep down she knew that saving would buy her the things that she wanted. She dreamt of owning a posh home and nice clothes. When she grew older, she purchased that nice home but never overstretched her mortgage.

Laura describes herself as someone who is not interested in taking huge gambles with money and her self-discipline helps her to stay out of debt. She says that she only purchases the things that she absolutely needs and will shop around for the cheapest and best bargains. She is always aware of the cost of living and will even end phone calls quickly if they are running up the bill. She also uses energy wisely and efficiently and every electrical appliance is turned off if it is not being used.

People have described her as being ‘stingy’ but she likes to think of herself as a solvent person in an insolvent world.

Debt can take the shine off life. Getting debt help is the first step to becoming debt free

Total UK personal debt at the end of December 2007 stood at £1,409bn. The average Joe in the UK now sees over half (53%) of their monthly income swallowed by debt repayments. Repossession leapt 30 per cent in the first six months of this year compared with the first half of last year. County court judgments rose 32. 5 per cent and personal insolvencies in England and Wales 33 per cent to more than 62,000 last year.

A spokesperson for MoneySavingExpert.com has advised the public to use balance transfer deals, giving them an interest-free year to pay off credit card debts This is all fine a dandy if you are just in debt with credit cards, but if you are any thing like me and owe money to:

1. Credit Card companies
2. Loans
3. Utilities
4. Catalogues
5. Mortgage

Then a debt consolidation loan may be the answer. A Consolidation Loan can help reduce your repayments and make your overall debts more manageable. But it will also extend your repayment period.

Below are quotes from people who found light at the end of the tunnel with a debt consolidation loan:

“My debt by this point had ballooned to around £25000 including the car financing and I was starting to find things difficult getting ends to meet so I arranged a consolidation loan with which eased some of the pressure”

“Things just started to get out of hand. I owed money for five credit cards, unpaid utilities, vets bills; the list goes on and on. I got a Debt consolidation loan and my monthly outgoings were literally cut in half”

There are many ways to apply for a debt consolidation loan but which is the best option?

The internet is crammed with a range of debt consolidation companies who lay down their terms and conditions online. You can literally pick out the weeds from the chaff and weigh up the different options available to find the perfect loan for your needs. It is very easy to apply for a debt consolidation loan online, you simply fill in the questionnaire and a representative will contact you to take you through to the next stage. After careful analysis of your debt and a review of your credit status, the consultant will give you debt consolidation loan advice and work out a Consolidation Loan which is appropriate for your needs.

A debt consolidation expert can also mediate with your creditors to find the lowest interest rates and monthly payments for you. Creditors are often keen to accommodate as they want to retrieve their money. As a result, they will often lower their interest rates.

If you prefer to take out your debt consolidation loan offline, a good way to find a reputable company is from word of mouth or a colleague, bank or debt management company.

Many people are looking for ways to reduce their debt and have fallen behind with payments or missed a month or two. As a result, they are repaying their debt along with hefty interest charges. If you are looking for a debt solution which will make paying a multitude of creditors as easy as just paying one monthly bill, then do not hesitate to seek professional Debt Help.

People are struggling with debt for many reasons whether it has accumulated from loans and other forms of credit or whether they just want to rid the guilt associated with a mountain of bills

At the end of the day, the only way to relieve the burden of debt is to remove it as easily as possible. This is where debt consolidation can work its magic and integrate all of your outstanding debt into one monthly affordable loan

Debt consolidation is an excellent alternative to Bankruptcy
as it will not leave a bad stain on your credit rating for many years. It will also leave you free to be able to apply for loans and credit cards in the future. Anyone thinking about bankruptcy as a way of alleviating debt should consider debt consolidation and other forms of debt help before embarking on this option.

As everyone has different types of debt, there are many forms of debt consolidation available such as;.

Many of us are facing up to the harsh realities of Christmas spending and are worried about the amount of debt that we have accumulated.

During the first few weeks of 2008, consumers were bombarded with demands for payments from creditors and the ‘wake up call’ for debt advice started to ‘ring in’ the New Year.

As people struggle with regular utility bills, larger credit card debt is starting to take its toll and people are struggling with spending amnesia as they try to work out where all of their hard-earned cash went! Many have faced the New Year with a bleak financial future ahead of them. It is now time for them to seek debt help and face their debt demons head on.

It is not possible to undo all of the debt that was accumulated during the holiday season but the New Year is a good time, to get to grips with a debt mountain and put your finances on a more even keel.

But how can you get rid of that Christmas debt?

A consolidation loan is an ideal way to stop the barrage of demands from creditors. You simply gather up all of last years debts and consolidate them into one, affordable low interest loan which is simply paid off each month. Any money saved could be used to build up a savings plan so as spending habits can improve and consumers have an account with something to show for their hard-earned weekly wages and a more improved credit rating.

Tina Johnson desperately wanted to own a car and was thrilled to bits when she obtained finance for a £7000 Rover but this sum turned into £21,500 worth of debt before she had even driven it away.

Tina was unable to take out a standard loan as her credit record had been damaged by an old catalogue debt so her car dealer referred her to a finance company specialising in loans for people with adverse credit ratings.

The finance company informed Tina that she would have to take out payment protection insurance, guaranteed asset protection and a warranty for her car.

These three additional costs along with a whopping 42.5% interest rate elevated the five year loan. The price of the car was £7,080 but £3,228 was added to this figure in payment protection insurance.

It was these add-ons, coupled with the 42.5% interest rate that pushed the cost of the 62 month finance package to an enormous £21,540.

Several months after purchasing her car, it was involved in an accident and considered a ‘write off’. Tina recouped the value of her car through her insurance but the guaranteed asset insurance did not cover the amount of money that she owed to her lenders who were still demanding £13,500 for payment protection insurance and the credit agreement.

Anyone who is considering taking out a car loan should check exactly what they are being charged for to avoid driving into debt. Don't end up paying more in interest than what your car is worth, as you could find yourself seeking an IVA or Debt Management Plan once the repayments start getting to hard to keep up with.