Monday 18th of January 2010
If you have children below school age then you may have always wanted to stay at home and look after them while your partner brings home the wage.
But if your unsecured personal loan repayments appear to be eating up more and more of your income, then you may have had to give up being a stay-at-home parent and been forced to go back into employment.
A survey by Scottish Widows has revealed that 60 per cent of UK households with dependent children are reliant on two or more salaries, although an individual voluntary arrangement (IVA) could answer this increasing demand.
If you have gone back into the workforce because of personal loan repayments of more than £15,000, then an IVA could merge these different borrowings together and freeze the different interest rates, which should allow your income to stretch further.
And while you may at first have to go back to work, as you gradually find meeting repayments easier, you could be able to eventually become a stay-at-home parent again if your partner’s wage is increasingly able to meet repayments.
"The days of one parent going out to work while the other takes care of the family is just not an option for many people," says Scottish Widows’ protection director Clive Allison.
By Rachel Powell
- House price rise 'may not indicate recovery'
- Equity release 'needs to be increased'
- Need for IVA help could increase as expert predicts reduction in lending
- Government announces 'breathing space' for those needing IVA help
- Lack of subprime lending creating need for IVA help, expert suggests
- Credit Action: Home repossessed every 14 minutes
