Taking Control of Short Term Debt Problems

Before contacting your creditors, make a comprehensive list of all the outgoings and a realistic amount that you can pay each month. After you have completed a list of out goings, make a list of all creditors remembering to prioritize from most important to least important. Upon completion of this list, prepare a formal letter explaining your situation and proposing your payment plan.

When you receive confirmation/acceptance of your proposed plan (or something close to it) always keep your creditors informed of your progress. This process is a long drawn out process and you will have to prove to your creditors that you are struggling with the upkeep of your payments.

Cut backs

You will be surprised on what you can save on when you cut back. Make a list of all of your current out goings, this includes all your shopping, hobbies, magazines, news papers, treats, everything. When you have produced your list, take a look at it and remove all essentials

From this list also look at the brands of shopping you buy, you can save money buy using a cheaper brand.

The items you have left on your list are obviously non essential to you, therefore can be excluded from your weekly/monthly expenditure. You will be surprised to see how much you can save from this simple money saving technique. However you do have to be tough on yourself when excluding non essential things, think to yourself "do I really need it."

Choose the best rates

If you still have a good credit score and still have the ability to be accepted for a loan, then try switching your outstanding credit to a new loan or credit card.

Search the internet, local papers and magazines, even keep an eye on the adverts on your TV, there are hundreds of creditors offering 0% interest on credit cards. Try doing the same for loans too. It is very unlikely you will find a 0% interest loan, however there a lot out there with rates from 5-9%.

Switching credit cards and loans will save you money on increased interest rates. Look at the big picture over the long term; you will save £100s on interest.

Consolidate through your mortgage

It is possible for you to consolidate your debt on to your mortgage. However doing so does increase the interest you will pay drastically. Imagine you have debts of £10,000 over a five year period. You wish to add this to your mortgage over a period of twenty years. The interest accumulated over five years will be significantly less than the accumulated interest over twenty years.

You must also be sure that the value of your property is significantly more than the amount of your mortgage. Negative equity on your home can lead to problems.
Consolidate with a loan

Consolidate through a loan. Quite like putting all your eggs in one basket so to speak. Then there are a few scenarios you may want to consider:

• How much do I want to pay out?
• Do I want to take the loan over a shorter term and pay my debt back faster?
• Do I want to take my debt over a longer term, pay more interest but take a lower payment?
• Am I going to stick to the loan and not get into more debt?
If you are aware of these simple scenarios then a consolidation loan is recommended. It is cheaper due to one amount of interest paid instead of multiple amounts. Also you will find your money easier to manage due to the one single payment every month/week.

Do pay particular attention to the term of the loan you require, it is better to pay the loan back sooner rather than later. Try to find an amount you are comfortable with. It is easy to take the lower payment over the longer term, which allows you to have more expenditure. However, is this option a sensible one? More interest, longer term, more to pay back. You would be better with shorter term, less interest, less to pay back.

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