With the budget due to be revealed on March 24th, I was wondering what effect overall, it would have, if any at all, on the general situation of consumers suffering financial difficulty. What assistance can the country expect as a whole to help with the trade deficit and the economy? Of course, although the UK is now beginning to rise from the ashes of economic decline like a phoenix spreading its fiscal wings, the budget will hit the general populace in the pocket, as always.

Preliminary expectations are not looking good really.  From what we can gather so far, as well as the usual and expected raise in prices for cigarettes, alcohol, petrol, etc there will be some cuts in general spending on much needed public service although the government has pledged support in this regard.  I understand how this is all designed to line the coffers of the politicians, sorry, reduce the overall debt of the country and I can fully understand how this is all longer term going to assist us in definitively reducing the trade deficit but does it affect the man on the street in a good way? I mean financially, does it mean anything for the average family?  In my experience most, if not all budgets have only assisted in making the overall picture look as gloomy as it does today for man, woman and 2.4 kids.  No tax breaks, no increases in tax credits or income support and certain increases in prices, along with the recent return to the 17.5% VAT rate all combine to increase the misery and the general feeling that the Government has no idea as to what the average voter actually wants.  Oh well, as long as middle and upper class Great Britain are OK.

Most budgets are designed as a sop to the voting, middle class masses anyway and many of the incentives and good things that have come about in recent budgets have been designed to win votes but with this pre election budget Alastair Darling has decided that Labour can't look any worse than they do now anyway and any grand gestures will be seen as clearly trying to curry favor so don't expect much. With the fault of the economic crisis in the UK lying firmly in the lap of the Labour Government any big gestures would be futile in any case, it would simply be seen as too little, too late.  For the average working family this budget will hold very little in the way of making things look better and I can only see additional pennies on the pound coming out of your pay packet, stealth tax's on general living expenses and the obligatory price rises on the simple pleasures in life such as a good glass of wine! I will certainly be surprised if we come out of this budget financially better off than we are now.

Have you ever taken a look at the actual remedies or potential cures for debt issues that are available? I'm sure that you probably have and if you're like me you will undoubtedly have come into contact with the phrase debt consolidation loan.  I, like many of the consumers suffering financial difficulty in the UK have taken on a debt consolidation loan in my debt afflicted past.  When I was in a worse situation than I am now, I managed to get myself a debt consolidation loan from my primary creditor and to be fair, it was a good way to manage things.

A debt consolidation loan pays off all your debts.  that basically means that it frees you from the burden of making repayments to credit cards and unsecured loans mostly. These can be on an unsecured basis but in most cases they will be secured on your home and you should never forget that it will become a much bigger issue if you default on making repayments to a debt consolidation loan as well.  It could be considered that you are loading yourself with another debt and there is obviously the danger of losing your home if you default repayments on this loan, however, it will give you one affordable monthly payment on one amount and that will quite often give you the breathing space you need to look at things differently.

A recent survey has confirmed a dramatic increase in the amount of the average non mortgage debt in the UK, particularly over the last 15 years, a symptom of a credit sodden society.  The average amount for every single person in the UK now stands at over £4,000 in unsecured finance.  This seems relatively small but when you consider that this is for every single person in the UK you begin to get an idea of the scale of the unsecured lending undertaken in the UK on a yearly basis. In terms of secured lending, mortgages secured on an almost 100% basis have also contributed greatly to the huge amount of personal financial difficulty suffered by a large percentage of the populace.

Imagine the interest accrued each month on say, a £200,000 mortgage? It is this very interest, every month, that adds to the burden of repayments of your debts. It can take many years to pay-off even a relatively small loan along with thousands of pounds in interest. In such a case, if you’re finding it difficult to pay-off the existing loan amount or struggling to cope with even your minimum repayments on loans and credit cards, a debt consolidation loan will most definitely help you.

A debt consolidation loan, whether from your bank or another lender, pays you a lump sum that can usually be paid back over an agreed period of time, often longer than usual. Most reputable debt consolidation companies also usually charge a lower interest rate than other loan providers. This lets you pay more on the actual debt amount each month.  However, as with everything financial there are the good and the bad. Debt consolidation companies haven't, to be fair, received the best or most credible media attention lately and mostly because of the actions of a few bad eggs, such as companies that promise you lower repayments and eventually just end up increasing the repayment term by reducing the amount needed to be paid each month and thereby charging more interest over the longer term.  It also pays to know the APR offered by the company as there is no point considering the loan if the APR is higher than the loan you already have!

Debt consolidation could be for you, it might not be, but it will certainly be worth considering as you look at the ways you can reduce your overall debt.

This video is the weekly debt and money management news round up from a site called Eurodebt.  A fantastic idea highlighting recent news and events relevant to the financial situation now faced by millions in the UK, particularly after the credit crunch and last years economic crisis.

A series of short videos posted on a weekly basis by a very knowledgeable, relevant and informative source, I would highly recommend taking a look and seeing if any of the stories posted impact on your own financial predicament. I will be trying to keep up to date and post these videos on a regular basis as I feel that they reflect closely the subject matter of this site and are most definitely a worthwhile addition.

Why not watch the latest video posted for an up to date look at the latest financial and debt management stories.

Having thought recently about taking the bull by the horns and perhaps taking my driving test in order to get a car, I thought I would have a look around at some of the car insurance products out there and try and get an idea as to where I could potentially make some savings, hey, I'm not well off by any means!  Anyway, what I did discover is that potentially it could be quite expensive for me to get car insurance on what would be my first vehicle.  The average car insurance premium in the UK is actually 497GBP and for a man, its actually a little higher at 525GBP.  


There are ways you can make savings and just by being a new customer you can sometimes get a better deal than someone wanting to renew their policy.  the insurance companies are all fighting tooth and nail for your custom so they can quite often be prepared to go a lot lower than you think, offering you a more competitive deal.  As a customer, even if you've built up your no claims, going back to renew your policy you shouldn't accept a renewal quote fro your existing insurer.  As explained above customer loyalty means little in this industry and its quite easy to go to a new insurer.  Most big insurance companies will often charge you less than half of the price offered to existing customers.


The best way to research and take a look at what is on offer as a new customer is to take a look on the comparison sites.  Make sure that you look at different ones because they don't all link to the same insurers and it pays to get as wide a view as possible. The average saving is as much s 217GBP jut by shopping around.  Make no mistake though, the comparison sites are the best way to research for car insurance on the web, I know, I've tried it!


Of course, another way that you can save money is to use security devices such as alarms, immobilizers, tracking devices, etc.  They can all hold some value in decreasing your insurance premium particularly if they are rated against the UK insurance industries criteria.  They do obviously cost money in the first place but again, shop around for cheaper products.  They also hold the added benefit of protecting your car from theft as well.


The last thing and something to warn against is making modification to your car.  Body kits,  and alloy wheels might look good in Fast Car Magazine but insurers don't seem to like them. Presumably because modified cars are more likely to be targeted for theft and I suppose the image of a modified car is one that will be driven fast and therefore more likely to be involved in an accident.


Have a look around and see what you can do, and by the way, the best way to save money is to drive safely and not claim on your insurance!

An interesting video I found when searching for information on avoiding mortgage arrears.  With more and more consumers suffering with financial difficulty, the problem of mortgage arrears and repossession is looming large in the collective consciousness of the  UK populace.  The economic uncertainty shows no immediate signs of relenting and consequently, in the short term, certainly, the number of consumers losing their homes will continue to rise.

Having immediate knowledge of how losing a home effects a family, its not a situation I would wish on anybody. The devastation wrought by the lenders foreclosure is huge and has both psychological and physical impact, particularly if left in the position of having no home or immediate place to move into. It can seem an awfully callous decision to throw a family out of their home for being in financial difficulty or debt that in a lot of cases, economic circumstance has dictated and the majority of repossessions come about through no immediate fault of the consumer.

If you are having difficulty making repayments on your mortgage or you think you are about to be in difficulty, do one thing today and watch this video, it could help ease your situation.

With the economy still in a precarious position despite what the government tell us, its somewhat prudent to discuss what can happen if your worst nightmare actually comes to fruition and you get yourself into arrears on your mortgage.  Although there has been slight growth in the economy over the last two quarters it is still too small to make a significant difference and the numbers of people in financial trouble with difficulty paying their mortgage have increased substantially over the last year. So what can actually happen.

The first thing to realize is that although it can seem like the end of the world, it needn't be. Even if your financial situation is so dire that you can't see an end to it, there are things you can do to cope. Mortgage arrears are what is classed as a 'priority debt', a debt seen by county courts and financial institution that take precedence in any repayment plan so its hugely important for you to start doing something as soon as possible and don't hide your head in the sand. Contact your lender and see what can be done or at least get some advice from an impartial debt counseling service. Its also important that you try to keep making some sort of token payment if you can in order to show good faith.

Most people consider keeping a roof above their head the most important aspect of modern life but the recent economic crisis, rising unemployment and increases in other bills and overall debt have made it increasingly difficult for consumers to keep on top of regular repayments. One of the first things to do when asking a lender to accept a token payment scheme is to fill in an income and expenditure form. This form will give the lender a detailed overview of your financial situation and give them an idea as to what you can afford to pay back on a regular basis, legitimizing your offer of a token repayment.  Also let them know about any change in circumstances, unemployment, marriage breakdown, decrease in wages because it can all have an effect on your capacity to make repayments. Also, the lender will, in most cases want you to make some sort of additional payment on the arrears in addition to the agreed monthly sum and some will want the arrears cleared over the next 1 to 2 years.  If you can't manage that, don't worry, just start paying what you offered.  It will at least give you something to bargain with when you go back to the table. 

There are ways you can get assistance with your repayments such as a mortgage rescue scheme offered by the lender, any insurance you might have, even the DWP if you are unemployed and claiming jobseekers allowance or income support. Even taking in a lodger or tenant might assist in the short term by getting some extra cash in, however, it can be a difficult decision to take someone into your home, especially if you are suffering from a debt problem or are in financial difficulty.  The final thing you can do if you are really in an unescapable position is to hand the keys to the lender and let them sell it. The bd thing about this decision is that not only have you lost your home but you will also have to make the repayments until its sold, thi should be avoided at all costs,.

In reality house repossession is on the increase and until the economy picks up in a really beneficial form there will still be large numbers of people struggling to make mortgage repayments.  It is however, vitally important to address the issue as quickly as possible.

An interesting aside to the debt crisis is that the Ministry of Justice in the UK have recently stated their intention to look into the possibility of setting a minimum amount of debt before a court can order the repossession and sale of a home, after a series of quite high profile cases where consumers have been ordered to sell their family homes after defaulting on relatively small credit card loans or other forms of unsecured debt.

This is a frightening prospect for any family facing a debt problem as not only do they have the possibility of perhaps losing their home after defaulting on mortgage repayments but also via somewhat callous creditors requesting repayment of what is essentially fairly small amounts of money in some cases. The creditors are often managing to secure a charging order against what was an unsecured debt, making the family home liable if the consumer fails to make repayments.  The charging order can lead to the court ordering the sale of a property, ensuring that the consumer can pay off their debts and meaning that in most cases the creditor will get their money back a lot quicker than is usually possible.

This callous and unfeeling approach by an admittedly low number of lenders has meant that a number of consumers that had no idea that their house was at risk and wouldn't have borrowed against it in any case if they did, are finding themselves the subject of a repossession order, a horrifying situation for say, a young family with nowhere else to go if pushed out of their home. Unfortunately, the economic downturn and credit crisis has meant increased numbers of consumers facing difficulty with making repayments on loans and consequently, lenders have quite often become more 'creative' when it comes to getting their money back.

This isn't a scaremongering post and shouldn't be read as such, this situation has only happened to a limited number of consumers, even if it is enough to make the Ministry of Justice consider an investigation, however, their proposals, if pushed through, should protect the most vulnerable.  As we all know though, the best way to protect yourself is to borrow responsibly and never more than you can afford to repay.