There have been some very gloomy predictions when it comes to personal debt levels and problems for 2011 recently. Many industry experts are predicting that the number of people becoming insolvent will increase sharply this year, with a number of factors being blamed for the ongoing financial issues that consumers and households are set to face.
With money already tight in many households consumers have had to cope with soaring living costs, and hike in VAT, which came into force at the start of this year, government cutbacks affecting benefits and other costs, and continued uncertainty about jobs. On top of all this many people are still struggling to cope with the debt that they accrued over the Christmas and New Year period, which has placed even greater strain on their finances.
With many people expected to be tipped over the financial edge this year consumers should take whatever action they can to avoid becoming a debt statistic in this challenging climate. Consumers who are struggling with debt are being advised to seek advice now, particularly given the fact that over the coming months interest rates may increased, resulting in many households having to cope with increased mortgage payments.
Several weeks ago there were dire concerns over whether enough debt advice resources would be available to consumers due to government cutbacks. However, the government has now found the money to fund these services for an additional year, buying consumers more time within which to try and sort out their debt problems and issues. Anyone that is experiencing problems, or is likely to do so in the near future, should take advantage of these services whilst they are available, as the ongoing cutbacks could mean that resources could be pulled at any time.
The CCCS recently announced that its online debt counselling tool was proving very popular, and that there had been a surge in use of this online resource since the start of this year. Consumers have a number of ways in which they can get the help that they need in terms of debt advice, but they should take action as soon as possible in order to avoid spiralling debt problems that quickly go out of control.
The Citizen’s Advice Bureau and various debt charities can help to point those with debt issues in the right direction, and can look at a number of different options to address the issue as quickly as possible.
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