Tuesday 20th of July 2010
Individual voluntary arrangement (IVA) questions could help Britons shore up their finances without turning to emergency credit.
According to figures from Sainsbury’s Finance, close to £12 million was taken out in personal loans in 2009 to help pay for surgery.
This is made up of £4.8 million on cosmetic surgery and £6.8 million on other procedures.
Questions on IVAs may, though, offer support to those of you who find yourself taking out personal loans to fund a whole host of payments - from the essential to the luxurious - and have consequently ended up in serious debt.
An IVA might have you debt free after around five years - as long as you have the means and discipline to meet the reduced-rate, monthly repayments - and free to spend your own money on whatever you like without worrying about falling further into the red.
"Although the majority of personal loans are taken out for the usual domestic reasons such as home improvements and buying cars, a significant number … are used to fund more unusual expenditure such as cosmetic surgery," says Steven Baillie, head of loans at Sainsbury’s Finance.
By Kimberley Parsons
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