A major insurer has released figures claiming that, in the last year, somewhere in the region of 5 per cent of the UK population have had to take time off their work due to stress as a direct result of their debt problems. Even more worrying, a huge 70 per cent of people freely admit they spend a substantial proportion of their time at work, mulling over their personal finances and struggling with potential debt solutions. Obviously, a lot of these people felt that this was having a noticeable effect on their performance at work, with some even admitting to spending in excess of four on-the-clock hours wrapped up in their debt pressures.

Even though meeting their monthly debt repayments and still having enough money left over to pay the regular bills was at the forefront of their financial concerns, more than a third of those approached for comment admitted to devoting work time to worrying about the state of the global economy. However, even with all of this worrying and the ever mounting levels of stress they were under, more than half of those questioned were quite open about the fact that they spent absolutely no time on the management of their own finances each month.

This is symptomatic of the approach to debt taken by a lot of individuals in the UK and is consistently seen to exacerbate their debt problems. Rather than just worry about it, do something! The sooner you face up to debt, the sooner you can seek advice about the best debt solution for you and take real action, the better your situation will be and the easier it will be to clear yourself of bad debt.

Bankruptcies are a last resort for all concerned. Your creditors reclaim a fraction of what you owe them and you risk your home and other assets, not to mention the stigma surrounding insolvency and its impact on your credit rating. Act early and you will be able to take advantage of alternative debt solutions like a debt management plan or an Individual Voluntary Arrangement.

For more information on these potential routes out of debt or for free advice on the right course of action for you personally, take the 15 second debt wizard at Harrington Brooks.

One of the more subtle signs of potential economic recovery is the increased sales of emulsion paint. This is a useful economic indicator as it highlights the present state of the DIY market, which in turn gives us an insight into the state of Britain’s housing market.

On one hand, if you are facing debt problems then DIY can be a great option in making the most of your home. The old ‘make do and mend’ mindset comes to the fore in times of financial difficulty. However, for those of us with more severe debt management issues, like those facing the threat of impending bankruptcy, then selling your home before repossession can help you pay off debt and hopefully, free up some equity for you too.

The tendency to buy a few tins of emulsion paint to do up the house is a common one. This is understandable as there really aren’t any more cost effective ways of sprucing up and revitalising your home; whether you are intending to sell or not. At the same time though, it can be viewed as a bit of a frivolous expense. If the housing market is in a slump, fewer people are looking to buy, so fewer people are selling. This means that the traditional DIY boom time that follows a fruitful season of house sales has not materialised over the last couple of years.

Sales figures for tins of emulsion have been consistently falling for a while now. From the period between the beginning of 2008 and spring of 2009, for all but two months the amount of paint sold was significantly down on the same period of the year before. However, as of April 2009, we’ve seen much improved sales figures. Between April and June of this year, sales were up by over 16% compared to the same three month spell in 2008.

Essentially, this points to an increased number of people who are willing to invest in their homes. Albeit, in an affordable and relatively superficial manner. This may not necessarily mean that we are about to see a sudden revitalisation in the UK the housing market but it has should be noted that property asking prices in London have broken through the record high set in November 2007. Research has shown that the average asking price for property in London rose by 6.5% in September and October of this year, reaching a high of £461,157. The previous record was £412,731 set in November of 2007.

The improvement in sales has not been noticed across the entire DIY market though. In fact, some areas are still in decline. Bigger ticket purchases, like power tools, which tend to be linked to bigger DIY projects, have not fared so well. So, although we may not be out of the debt woods yet, we can see definite evidence of at least partial recovery. It’s all a matter of confidence. If you’re debt help, it makes sense to make small adjustments to your quality of life and carefully manage your budget. If you want to give your home a new lease of life because you’ve decided to stay put, or because you want to try to sell up, buying paint is a relatively cheap, cost effective method of home improvement.

If you’re facing debt problems and would like some advice in how to solve them, or just some pointers about how you can better manage your finances, get free and confidential debt help from a specialist debt advisor like Harrington Brooks, one of the longest established financial practices in the UK (0800 048 1764).

A recent study by the Learning and Skills Council for their Get On campaign has suggested that some shoppers are actually failing to take advantage of the advertised high-street bargains because their poor maths is letting them down. The government campaign highlights the number of people that are struggling to work out the most basic of discounts displayed in store windows. The survey went further, (more…)