CreditDebt advisers - what help could they offer me?
Debt advice is available from many organisations, often for free. But what form might that debt advice actually take?
We will now take a look at just two of the ways in which a professional debt adviser could help you manage your finances more successfully.
Debt advice - budgeting
Budgeting is all about controlling your finances - something which starts with understanding them.
You should start by adding up your total monthly income and subtracting your total monthly expenditure, to find out how much of your available money you're using on a monthly basis.
However, this may be harder than it sounds. Some costs, such as mortgage/rent payments or council tax, should be easy to work out, but other costs, such as petrol, utilities and food, may be harder to predict as they'll change each month.
A professional debt adviser should be able to offer you pointers on how to draw up a realistic budget and how to keep track of your finances more effectively. Once you can confidently track where all your money is going each month (on average), you should be able to plan ahead more effectively. You should also be able to figure out if (and where) you're spending money you should be using to repay your debts, among other things.
Debt advice - negotiating with creditors
Your creditors are aware that anyone's circumstances can change. If your financial situation deteriorates and you can no longer afford to make payments to your debts, then you should contact your lenders at once and explain to them what you calculate you can actually afford to pay each month.
You may be able to negotiate with them, asking them to accept lower monthly repayments until your situation improves. A professional debt adviser should be able to offer you tips on how to negotiate successfully with your creditors.