Debt awareness week…How will this help me
Let’s get straight to it most people would rather do or talk about anything else rather than DEBT.
As the same with any other issue, professional advice is a good way to start.
The debt awareness week is about helping those who are in debt.
This also is to manage people so they don’t get into it.
The usual response to talking about debt is ‘I don’t want to talk about it or ‘I’m ok thanks
It’s not an easy subject for some and even harder to talk about for most affected by it.
There are many ways in which you and help get yourself out of debt or just avoid it completely.
I will also provide helpful links at the bottom of Foundations which can help you if you need it.
Tracking
You’ve probably heard this term before when it comes to money, it’s also used in the health industry when it comes to food.
You track all of your outgoing spendings for a month.
That includes rent, mortgage, debts (yes them), bills, travel, food, and snacks (yes, even that cheap chocolate bar) keep a note of all of it.
At the end of the month, you can compare this to your income and see where your money is going.
This can be done with a notepad, app or a spreadsheet. Whichever suits you best.
(please note this is only surface level and a professional can go into greater detail)
Adjustments (only small ones)
This can be a bit tricky for most as you make like how things are and don’t want to change anything.
You may want to change where you do your grocery shop to get to spend less for more.
You may want to change utility providers for a year (some offer new customer discounts)
Now I’m not saying you can’t still enjoy life but if you’re subscribed to all the major streaming services you may want to consider reducing the count.
You may find after some adjustments you have more funds than you realised.
Paying
You now have a few decisions to make with the extra money you might have now realised you have.
There’s no right or wrong answer here.
If any debts don’t have an early repayment fee then overpaying each month could lead to eventually owing less the following month.
You could save/invest the extra into yourself to then use later.
There are many other debt management and money strategies that you can apply to your life but the first step is to start the conversation with someone.
Step Change is fantastic when it comes to this. Link to them below along with a couple of other alternatives.
Helpful links
Start the conversation with -
https://www.stepchange.org/debt-awareness-week.aspx
https://www.caba.org.uk/financial/debt-advice/debt-awareness-week-caba-debt-advisor-qa.html
https://www.payplan.com/blog/payplan-blog-debt-awareness-week/