Thursday 9th of September 2010
Individual voluntary arrangement (IVA) FAQs could be of benefit to Brits who are strapped for cash and are worried about how they would cope if they suddenly lost their job.
According to new figures from the Money Advice Trust, unemployed people in the UK appear to be struggling more and more with the burden of debt.
The data shows the number of calls to the National Debtline - which is run by the organisation - has more than doubled over the past two years, highlighting the fact those out of work seem to be in desperate need of getting their finances back on track.
Commenting on the numbers, chief executive of the body Joanna Elson states: "There can be no doubt that continuing high levels of unemployment are contributing to the personal debt problems faced by the British public."
However, the situation may become much worse for those who are racked with debt and unexpectedly lose their job - and income.
If you owe more than £15,000 on unsecured financial products and are concerned about your employment stability and the state of the economy in the country, now might be the ideal time to start getting yourself out of the red.
IVA FAQs could show you it is possible to become totally debt-free, as long as you can demonstrate sufficient discipline to complete the measure.
You may find, though, that it will give you much more control over your bank balance, as an IVA merges all of your repayments into one, manageable monthly outlay, while also freezing the interest on the money you owe in the process.
And this could leave you in a much stronger position to deal with unexpected job losses that may occur further down the line.
"We have grave concerns that households witnessing a fall in income due to unemployment will start to default on debt repayments and that we may start to see a sharp rise in personal insolvencies," Ms Elson adds.
By Hayley Jones
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