Welcome to Debt Advice Trust Blog

You have left this world and stepped through the golden gate in the sky, your family are grieving your loss and after stumping up a on your funeral, they receive a call from your creditors asking for the thousands you have accumulated over the years.

No, debt doesn’t follow you to the grave; your poor next of kin is burdened with the debt. It is all too common for people to accumulate debt with little or no thought for the future. A great number of people believe that when you die, your debts will be written off. This is, not the case. In fact, the death of the debtor has little effect on the debt itself.

Being confronted by debt after losing a partner is particularly difficult to cope with because on top of their financial problems they are suffering from emotional trauma.

If you are in debt now start looking how to rectify the problem, before you pass it on to someone else. Maybe look at an IVA. IVA stands for Individual Voluntary Arrangement. It is one of the most popular Debt solutions being used in the UK. The benefits of an IVA when compared to Bankruptcy are many, but you should talk to a trained expert to find out which debt solution is best for you.

I have discovered that debt and spending is a never ending spiral that can get out of control. When you are feeling depressed or a bit low, it is a very common pattern to treat yourself to a shopping spree. Debt is a very disheartening circumstance to be in.

A shopping addict will apply for several credit cards and store cards, will not think of them as ‘real money’ and go out on a compulsive spend, often purchasing many items they do not need. They will then receive the bill, become low and go out again to combat the depression.

Compulsive shopping or spending is also known by the scientific term 'oniomania'. Debt can take the glimmer from life. Getting Debt Help is the first step to becoming debt free.

Being able to curb your spending is the first step. If you was on a diet, you would stop going to MacDonald’s, the temptation is to overwhelming, so it is probably a good idea restrict yourself from going anywhere near a shop.

Debt Help should come in the form of free impartial advice. There are 'not for profit' organisations and charities that want to help you find the right Debt solutions.

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.

Following up on Lou Lou’s excellent post about giving children debt advice, I noticed this great newspaper article talking about the huge expectations that UK teenagers have about their lives after university.

Essentially, the article says that a long-term study of 8,500 teenagers showed that they all believed that by 25 they would be earning GBP 31,000 a year and would own their own homes and cars. In reality, the average salary for 25-year-olds is GBP 17,817. On top of that, they actually owe around GBP 12,363 in student debt.

One of the main reasons identified for this is that teenagers are actually quite ignorant about money – many of them questioned in this study could not say which of four possible loans was the best deal. Presumably, they are also not aware of the causes of debt or how best to deal with the debt they currently have without ending up owing more.

Clearly, it’s time we started talking to our teens about money!

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.

Debt can be a de-motivating factor in a person’s life that can keep one from getting a good night’s sleep. It doesn’t mean that debt should be never ending spiral. There are several methods to escape from debt. Here are some important starting points towards Reducing Debt:

1. Discover you’re Budget,
A breakdown of the monthly outgoings and income is the excellent starting point to reveal the root causes of where your money is going. The first thing it will tell you is how much actual money you are actually pulling in (or losing) every month after you take away all the expenses. If there is a net gain, you can use this net gain to pay off debt. If there is a net loss, then you’ll need to go back to your budget to figure out what expenses are drying up your income.

2. Differentiate between ‘Core’ expenses and non-essentials
Now that you have a breakdown of all your expenses, you need to scrutinise the need for each and every one of them. One way of doing this is to categorise them, into essentials, such as food, mortgage, water, utility bills, etc and non-essentials, shopping, eating out, etc. This first pass allows you to identify where you don’t need to spend money on. The next step is to slim-down your expenses. Now that you know what you need to spend to survive, find out if there are ways to cut down on those numbers (eg: cut-down on phone bill by getting a better deal?). Keep in mind that the objective of this step is to come up with the highest possible monthly net GAIN rather than a loss.

Just when you thought the cost of your energy bills couldn’t get any higher; Debt looms on the horizon as the cost of gas threatens to rise.

A demand for over £12 billion has been requested for upgrades or improvements to our gas supply, from the National Grid who control half of the country’s gas mains and three other companies who own the rest.

Ofgem are currently replacing all medium-pressure, ductile iron gas mains which are within 30 metres of people’s homes, as they are more likely to fracture and corrode thus, causing major accidents and in some cases, even death. This is a massive project comprising of 78,000 km of cast-iron and 13,000 km of low-pressure ductile iron mains. Add to this the labour charges and the country has a massive debt on its hands.

We already donate 20% of our gas bills to these companies which works out at around £100 per year, but the increasing cost of replacing and maintaining the pipes have increased, thus pushing customers into even further debt to keep warm this winter.

Householders in the UK could be left with a debt in the region of £1.3 billion thus adding an additional £50 to each householder’s gas bill within the next five years.

Gas companies such as British Gas have already come under public criticism for their inflated prices. Companies are finding it difficult to compete against each other, as customers try to combat debt by
switching to suppliers who offer the most economical plan.

Recent bad weather has had a significant effect on our everyday lives, including food prices, which already contribute to Debt on a weekly basis.

The great traditional fish and chips have also taken a battering as recent floods have destroyed crops, thus pushing up prices. During harvest time, many farmers were unable to reach large amounts of their crops due to appalling weather. This has left huge amounts of food to just rot

At present, Britain is facing a 50,000 tonne shortage of peas as farmers suffered problems operating harvest machinery on land which was waterlogged by torrential rain. As a result, potatoes and others vegetables will rise in price by up to 30%. This may cause you to think twice about adding mushy peas to your takeaway order.

Fish are also increasing in price as global warming inhibits their reproduction and decreases the size of their offspring thus, making them more difficult to catch. Global warming has affected marine life very badly and some of our most popular fish are disappearing to the point, where they may not appear with your chips and mushy peas in ten years time.

Just the average chip butty could add a dent to your wallet as the cost of a standard sized loaf of bread is estimated to increase to over £1, due to bad weather causing significant damage to wheat crops.

This shows that the sheer cost of living is forcing the public into even further debt as the weekly shop becomes even more difficult to afford.

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%.

The only way to reduce debt for the elderly is to increase their state pension by at least 50%. Debt help should come in the form of free impartial advice. There are 'not for profit' organizations and charities that want to help you find the right
Debt solutions.

At present, a retired couple need at least £208 a week to survive and a single pensioner needs a weekly sum of £131. This is a stark difference to the £139.60 for a couple and £87.30 that a single pensioner currently receives. These figures show that one in five pensioners are living way below the poverty line, and this figure will continue to increase over the next five years.

Although pensions have increased slightly, this rise does not fall in line with the personal needs of an elderly person. It has been estimated that a single OAP needs to budget around £33.20 per week for food and a couple need at least £63.70. Add to this the cost of travel, special diets, energy costs, housing repairs and other personal needs, and there simply isn’t enough money to cover all of their expenses.

It is estimated that 40% of pensioners have a disability and these would require an even higher increase than those who are fit and able.

With the situation as it currently stands, pensioners will not be able to enjoy the relaxation and peace of mind that they so rightly deserve. They will not enjoy a good quality of life in their golden years, and will spend their retirement worrying about Debt and how to make the pennies stretch.

The British state pension is one of the lowest pensions in the developed world and for many; it is simply not enough to live on.