Get Debt Free in 2022

Happy New Year from all of us here at Money Advice.

Now is a time where you may be making resolutions, such as cutting back on alcohol consumption, exercising more or picking up a new hobby. A new year provides a fresh start to make changes to these aspects that affect our quality of life, so there’s also no better time than now to assess our financial situation and consider how this can be improved.

January brings the reality of festive spending from the month before and it can be a time where we really feel the impact of Christmas and New Year. Your financial situation is most likely to have taken a hit and if you were already facing debt before, this is likely to have worsened, inevitably causing more stress for you.

Find the right solution

This year could be the year that you can start to clear your debts – deciding on an appropriate debt solution for yourself can be one of the most effective ways to do so. Being in the right plan can help give you a clear view of where your money will be going, as well as comfort in the knowledge that you’re making affordable payments.

Have a look through our debt solutions page to read about what these entail, as you’re likely to find a solution that’s right for you and your individual situation. It’s worth taking into account what your income and outgoings are beforehand so that you can fully weigh up what might be best for you.

A brief summary of some available solutions include:

• IVA: This allows you to make affordable monthly payments towards your debts. This usually lasts 5 years, after which the rest of the debt is written off. An IVA application is free to make, so you wouldn’t pay anything until this is approved.
• Debt Management Plan: This is an informal agreement where you make monthly payments towards your debts, as well as fees to the DMP provider. This lasts as long as it takes for the debt to be paid off.
• Bankruptcy: Often a last resort, but sees the majority of debts cleared. Your home and other assets may be sold so that the proceeds can be claimed back by your creditors to cover debts.
• Debt Relief Order: This is another way you may be able to get certain debts written off after one year if you owe less than £30,000 and are not a homeowner.

With a drive to get on top of your debts, it’s important not to forget your priority payments too. You must make sure things like your utility bills and your rent / mortgage are covered first, because non-payment of these can land you in serious trouble.

Credit Checks

Not sure what debts you owe? That’s no problem. We can run a free, soft credit check from our side which will bring up outstanding amounts from all the creditors that you owe money to. This will give us a clear picture of your situation.

A benefit of carrying out a soft credit check is that this does not leave a negative impact on your credit file, meaning your score will not change and future lenders will not see this, as this isn’t an application for credit. In addition to this, we can ensure that all your debts can be covered so that there are no surprises. It’s also necessary to know what debts you owe in total for certain solutions, such as an IVA, as entering one of these requires all your creditors to be included.

Start the year with Debt Help

Don’t hesitate to reach out to us here at Money Advice, where our debt experts will be happy to talk you through your options. We believe debt advice should be free, so we don’t charge a penny for any consultations while we work out your options.

Whilst we specialise in IVAs, we also work closely with other carefully screened debt solution providers, so if we’re unable to help then further then we can refer you directly to them.

We’re available Monday to Friday between 8am – 8pm, and Saturdays 10am – 3pm – call us on 0333 242 0013 or request a callback from our team for a time that suits you.