Ben shares this news from the Citizens Advice, Isle Help Hub. Ed
Citizens Advice Isle of Wight expects 31st of January to be year’s busiest day for debt advice
The last day of January is expected to be the busiest day of the year for people seeking help with their debts, according to local charity Citizens Advice Isle of Wight.
Expecting 700 queries in January
Analysis of national data from the past 12 months reveals that on 31 January 2017 Citizens Advice helped 2,800 people, 30 per cent above the UK daily average. This means one person sought help from Citizens Advice every 10 seconds.
Locally, Citizens Advice Isle of Wight is expecting 700 people to seek advice throughout the first month of the year, which is around 100 more than would normally be seen in an average month.
Wide variety of debt concerns
The charity supported people seeking help for a wide variety of debt concerns, including council tax arrears, credit card debt, rent arrears, and unsecured loans in 2017.
To help people kick off 2018 on a stronger financial footing, Citizens Advice Isle of Wight is sharing its six top tips to help people get their finances in order for the New Year.
Paul Savill, Chief Officer, said,
“There is a surge in demand for our debt advice towards the second half of January. Christmas can take a heavy toll on people already struggling to make their money last and leave them with a debt burden in the new year. But this needn’t become a crisis – problems can be taken care of if you seek advice early.
“The New Year is a good time to get on top of your debts, cut your costs or budget better. Please use our six top tips and Citizens Advice can help you review your situation, so you can make decisions that improve your financial security.”
Top tips
The charity’s six top tips to sort out your debts are:
- Work out how much you owe – Make a list of who you owe money to and add up how much you need to pay each month. If you don’t have your most recent statements, contact your creditor to find out what you owe.
- Prioritise your debts – Your rent or mortgage, energy bills and council tax are called priority debts as there can be serious consequences if you don’t pay them. These should always be paid first. Separate these and work out how much you owe.
- Work out how much you can pay – Create a budget by adding up your essential living costs, such as food and housing, and taking away these from your income. Any money you have spare can be put towards your debts. The Citizens Advice budgeting tool can help.
- Paying urgent debts – You may have several priority debts and can’t pay them all. Contact all your creditors to find out if you can negotiate on how much you pay, or when you pay them. Always pay first priority creditors who are taking action against you.
- Paying non-urgent debts – If you have any money left after paying priority debts, consider getting a free debt-management plan. You’ll make one monthly payment to the plan provider, who will handle paying your creditors. Or contact your creditors and offer them what you can afford to pay.
- If you can’t pay your debts – If you’ve got little or no money spare to pay your priority debts seek advice from us straight away.
For information and advice, contact Citizens Advice Isle of Wight on 0344 111 444 calls are charged at local rate.
