General Loan Advice For Managing Debt

Debt is a really easy thing to get stuck in. Even if you are not extravagant monthly costs can spiral out of control, especially if you take your eye off the ball. So what can you do to avoid getting too far into debt and if you are there already how can you get out of it?
Income Verses Expenditure

How does somebody get into debt? Few do it intentionally, but many of us find ourselves unable to pay off the loans and credit cards we have run up. Credit cards are usually the worst, because they allow us such easy access to money.

To avoid debt in the first place, always work out exactly how much you are spending each month and what you are spending it on. That includes all the cash withdrawals that you make. One thing is for sure when you first list out your expenditure you will be surprised at just how much you spend and what it goes on!
Think Twice Before Spending

Work out from your monthly income exactly how much you have got coming in. Very few people have any spare and this is why things called “savings” are also very rare. But that is what you want to aim for: to run your finances in the best way possible you want to aim to have a little to put away in a savings account each month.

Once you’ve got over the shock of how much you spend, you will need to go through the next month making another list this time write down exactly what you spend your money on as you spend it. This is a useful exercise as it will vary from the list you made when you were simply thinking about what you spend that money on.
Saving Advice -- Advice on your savings from a resource that your can trust, the UK government
Getting Familiar With Your Habits

Now that you’ve become a bit more familiar with your spending habits and you can see where you money is going you can start to work out ways to cut back on your outgoings.

If you are having trouble actually covering all your current debt repayments then a debt consolidation loan may be the answer. This will tidy up your debt repayments into one and if you take out the loan over a long enough period you should be able to substantially reduce your monthly spend on your debt each month.
Cost

Clearly a debt consolidation loan may cost you more in the long run, but this is an exercise in debt management, not saving money. If you are really struggling then you may have to talk to the companies that you owe money to and come clean about the fact that you are in trouble. You can then agree a figure with them that you can pay each month perhaps a little lower than their standard minimum repayment figure.
Take the debt test - from the new FSA site, money laid bare
Don’t Lose Your Rag

Don’t be scared about talking to these companies, the person you will talk to won’t be overjoyed that you are having the conversation but they won’t shout at you and neither will they insult you. It is their job to speak to people that are having financial trouble and they do so everyday. It is also their job to make sure that something, no matter how small, is paid to the company they work for. Above all, don’t lose your temper out of frustration when speaking with them: that is only a sign of your despair and not helpful to anyone.

The Light and the Tunnel

There is always light at the end of the tunnel no matter how far away it might seem. If you are really unable to cope with managing your debt problem on your own then speak to one of the debt management companies that you can either find in Yellow Pages or online. They will charge you a fee, but they make all the calls to your debtors and you will at least feel that somebody is on your side.