Don’t leave financial problems to get worse, says expert
May 4, 2008 by admin
Filed under News, News-Credit-Cards
People concerned about their financial situation should not simply leave the problem to get worse, warns a personal finance writer.
Cliff D’Arcy has said that tackling financial problems early will help people stay on top of their debts.
According to research by Monilink, 22 per cent of people have built up too much debt and are finding the repayments from month to month a strain.
Mr D’Arcy advises people to get in touch with their bank and credit card companies if they are facing financial problems as they may be able to freeze the interest or relax payments to allow customers to try to balance their budgets.
Another option for people who are worried about their debts is to contact a free debt counselling charity, such as the Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS) or seek advice from a personal finance website.
Commenting on the help such organisations can offer, Mr D’Arcy said: “They have some very good advice written in plain English that will help you to deal with debt.”
Spenders need to work out their budgets
January 11, 2008 by admin
Filed under News, News-Credit-Cards
Sitting down and working out your personal budget is the best way to begin reassessing your money, according to financial experts. 
The Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS) said that the most accurate way of accounting for spending is to make an annual budget and then divide it by 12.
Frances Walker, spokesperson for CCCS, said: “It is also a good time to look at income maximisation; making sure you are getting all the benefits and tax credits you are entitled to. There is lots of help out there, particularly online.”
She added that consumers in need of financial advice would be better off going to a debt advice charity rather than a bank.
“With banks they may just say ‘we’ll just give you one consolidatory loan‘”, she concluded.
According to Credit Action statistics updated on January 4th 2008, the total debt for the UK stands at £1,400 billion with the average household owing £56,234.
