Well you might be thinking, bankruptcy, is it the last resort? Well yes that’s what it is, the LAST resort, it can have a serious effect on your life and make getting credit in the future near impossible.
A lot of people who haven’t encountered debt to such an extreme look down on bankruptcy thinking it’s just a way of getting out of paying people what you owe. It’s a fair point that if you get yourself into debt then you should pay it back, it’s not fair for the lender to be out of pocket but at the same time there are bankruptcy laws for a reason, sometimes there is simply no other option and leaving yourself in debt is just going to run up more and more and get neither you or the lenders anywhere.
Okay so you think you have made the decision to go bankrupt, but how do you actually go about doing it? Firstly you need to go to your local county court and pickup a bankruptcy pack which includes the documentation required. Next you need to pay a fee of £485 (this seems slightly odd to pay for going bankrupt when you quite obviously have no money..). After this you will have a one on one chat with a judge who will ask you a few questions and in a short time decide whether or not they feel you’re a genuine candidate, if all goes well then it will be pushed through.
Your debts may be so bad that you’re scared to tell your wife, family or even friends and this is never the solution. Its never going to be fun or easy telling these people and you may feel embarrassed but if you want help then you need to be open and honest, especially with these people who are so close to you.
People close to you will usually pick up that something is wrong anyway and they may be worrying themselves, trying to work out exactly what’s up with you. You need to sit people down and be open, honest and frank with them and you’ll find that the chances are they’ll have some great advice for you and if not then at least you will have someone there you know you can talk to.
If you have a lot of debt on plastic then you may want to try a comparison website for credit cards such as the one offered by The Motley Fool, you may find there are better deals out there than you currently have.
The majority of students in the UK are in debt. However, there is a huge difference between ‘managed’ debt (for example a student Loan or a student bank account with an interest-free overdraft) and an unmanaged debt (for example unpaid utilities bills, rent, credit card accounts being unpaid and going overdrawn on your normal bank account).
People have problems dealing with spreading out their money and making the most of it. For example if you were to be given 3 months pay at once then the chances are you’d spend it far sooner than you should or would if you were paid per month. UCAS have a very useful budget calculator on their website as shown in the image below which will help you to organise your incoming and outgoing payments.
Fighting debt is my aim for the world! I’m fed up with the lack of information on the internet about getting rid of your debt. Whether you’re in debt on credit cards, your mortgage or just with friends then today is the time to change your life and start getting rid of that weight on your shoulders. If you have got to the point where you’re looking online for advice on your money problems then you know its time to take action.
I intend to post a different tip every week or so which will be simple but effective in either saving you money, lowering your costs and ultimately lowering your debt and giving you some relief.
Thanks for reading and standby for more posts!! x