In the last year, a health trust in Cambridgeshire overspent by almost £13million. In response to the colossal financial miss-management in this financial year, a debt management plan has been approved in an effort to solve this ever worsening debt problem. Ultimately, this debt management plan hopes to save NHS Peterborough £20million over the next financial year by striving to ensure that their services are running in as co-ordinated and efficient a way as possible. Obviously the fear is that they will have to limit services in order to meet such a target.

However, Sheila Bremner, the interim chief executive, has attempted to reassure local service users that their level of healthcare will not be affected. Such reassurances are expected to do little to allay public concerns that despite the best of intentions, cut will be felt by those in need. In the best tradition of better debt management though, NHS Peterborough are intending to achieve these targets through improved efficiency, by tightening up on their control methods and striving for more effective processes.

The health trust is aware that this debt from overspending will have to be repaid to the NHS in the east of England. Essentially, this is just one creditor looking for repayment, which is a far easier to manage scenario than that which is faced by many people in the UK. Being chased by numerous creditors, each looking for a different repayment amount at a different date each month is an extremely awkward and high stress situation. That’s why so many take advantage of Financial Management Plans and other debt solutions from Harrington Brooks.

As it does for individuals facing debt, inaction simply leads to a more serious debt problem and limits your debt solution options. For NHS Peterborough, taking no action would result in an increase in arrears to an estimated £33million. That figure takes into account the impact of inflation, a growing population, developments in medication and the rising number of people seeking to make use of their healthcare services.

In order to stretch their budget and make the appropriate savings, the health trust is going to place tighter controls on its management of medicinal waste and try to limit the gratuitous use of the more expensive hospital services. This is naturally worrying to those service users who feel that any hospital service that might help their situation is not gratuitous. The improvement and introduction of further specialist teams who are capable of caring for more people at home has been welcomed though.

There is also a scheme to reduce costs by moving from older buildings to more efficient, modern ones. This is something that will be familiar to anyone who has sought to better manage their debt through downsizing their home. Any equity in your present property can then be released in service of your debt. Talking to a debt specialist will help to illustrate the best solution to your personal debt problem but better money management is at the core of the issue regardless of whether you’re an individual or a local health authority.

A recent study has revealed that almost one in three personal loans that were taken out by people in the UK over the last year were actually for consolidating their debt. Debt consolidation is an understandably attractive proposition for many facing mounting debt problems. As the name suggests, consolidation of your debts should make them easier to manage. This is achieved in a number of ways. For starters, the idea is that you reduce the amount you pay out each month and only make one payment, at the same time and to the same lender. Although you should be aware that it is likely that you will be repaying this debt over a longer period of time.

Another statistic that was highlighted by this research was the worrying number of individuals who, after taking out a debt consolidation loan, continued to build up even more personal debt. Comparison website uSwitch.com stated that over a quarter of those who people who took out a debt consolidation loan would actually still go on to accumulate additional debt to an average value in excess of £2000. Due to poorly advised decisions, 6% of the people who took out an unsecured consolidation loan actually had to borrow more money just to make the repayments on that loan. For the vast majority, their lender failed to ask whether this loan was actually to pay off outstanding debts.

This just goes to show that a big part of any debt solution is the dedicated and professional advice that goes with it. The lender should check that a debt consolidation loan is a suitable debt solution to their customer’s circumstances. Sadly though, even banks have been seen to be failing to properly assess whether the loans they sell are right for the people that need help. You need to know that your needs are being taken into account when you shop around for a debt solution. Talking to a specialist advisor is an essential part of this process.

If you are thinking about consolidating debt, there could be alternative debt solutions available which allow you make a single manageable monthly payment to cover your unsecured debt. For further advice about what debt solutions are available, talk to someone at www.harringtonbrooks.co.uk today.

Financial questions are at the forefront of many people’s minds in the UK at the moment and have been for some time. Due to the recent financial turmoil that has swept over the country like a cloud of volcanic ash, the recent televised debate between Labour leader Gordon Brown, Conservative leader David Cameron and Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg was understandably focussed on such concerns. People in the UK are looking for debt advice from a number of sources and it’s to be expected that we look to our leaders to provide some reassurance of a stable hand on the nation’s financial tiller.

Advice on debt can come from a variety of sources. On a personal level, debt problems can be overwhelming and leave us in a position where we have very little time to think about elections and volcanic ash, so caught up are we in our own financial difficulty. Others facing the burden of mounting debt will be paying particular attention to the political debate, looking to see which potential Prime Minister will have their interests most at heart. There will also be those who are watching the skies, waiting to see if they’ll lose the money invested into that family holiday that has been grounded by an Icelandic volcano.

When you’re looking for debt advice, it can feel like you’re on your own. It’s important to remember that there are people there to help and although everyone’s debt problem is different, there are advisors that have experience helping a huge number of people in different financial circumstances.

Getting debt advice as soon as you find yourself in difficulty is the first step to solving your debt problem. If you are watching the political debates with a particular focus on how the general election might affect your debt, you could be in need of some dedicated debt advice. Likewise, the eruption of a volcano is a notoriously difficult thing to plan for but can still affect your finances. Get debt advice from www.harringtonbrooks.co.uk if you’ve got any concerns.

Flying in the face of those green shoots of economic growth and recovery, startling statistics have shown that the number of landlords making an insurance claim against their tenants’ failure to pay rent has soared. Reflecting on 2009 has shown an increase of a third in the number of claims on the previous year but more surprising, in the second half of 2009, this increase was actually 58%. That suggests the trend in unpaid rent is increasing.

This trend in the increased number of insurance claims points to a general weakening in the financial position of tenants. The vast majority of these tenants will have taken up their residence long before there was any sign of credit crunch, which just goes to show how quickly your circumstances can change. Through no fault of your own, your financial situation can be upset by any number of factors, leaving you facing serious debt problems. Losing your job or being forced to work fewer hours can throw your entire budget out of balance and before you know it, you’re struggling to meet payments that were once comfortably affordable. The growing number of landlords and letting agents who are being forced to make insurance claims against their defaulting tenants is obviously a problem for the industry but it’s also a sure fire sign of more deep rooted financial problems for the UK.

This is one of the national indicators that the average person’s financial situation has been profoundly affected by circumstances for which they’ve not planned. When life becomes difficult for companies, it does not take long for this to be felt by the workforce. Some will be made redundant, others will be compelled to work fewer hours; circumstances will be getting more difficult and funds getting more limited. This sudden change in your financial situation can leave you financially vulnerable and an unforeseen expenditure can lead to serious debt problems. This has a direct effect on the availability of funds to pay your rent, resulting in the increased number of tenants defaulting on their payments and the number of insurance claims against it. This situation can affect anyone. Everyone’s circumstances are different though, so the debt solution best suited to them must also be different. That’s why you have to talk to an experienced debt advisor.

It’s not all doom and gloom though. The number of new tenants applying to lease also went up in 2009, with nearly one in ten fewer being declined. A quarter of those declined were found to have too small an income for the rent, with almost as many turned down due to their credit report. In tough times, tenants are less likely to overstretch their finances and instead go for something more realistic. Agents and landlords are going to greater lengths to ensure their prospective tenants can afford the rent too, stopping them from letting above their means. Dealing with your debt is therefore key to being approved for a lease and not adding to the default statistics. Talk to a specialist at www.harringtonbrooks.co.uk for the best debt solution to suit you

For those who are looking at the different ways in which they can cut their monthly outgoings or lessen the burden of mounting debt pressure, a debt consolidation loan could prove to be the answer. Firstly, it is important to remember that this is a new loan. With it though, you should be able to merge all of your existing unsecured debt in to one single monthly payment. This can offer you a number of benefits, such as only having to deal with one creditor and having their one repayment going out once a month, on the same day, letting you build a stable budget around it. Also this loan could have a lower rate of interest than you were previously paying.

So, consolidating all your existing debts into one monthly payment can make it easier for you to handle the repayment schedule. There is something that’s far less stressful about this kind of consistency. Also, since you only have one lender to deal with and unlike the other creditors that were chasing you for payments, working to different repayment schedules and all taking different amounts, this new creditor is far easier to manage and keep a dialogue open with.

Obviously, the major attraction of this kind of debt consolidation loan is the prospect of paying out less money each month. If you consolidate your unsecured debt with a secured debt consolidation loan, you are likely to be afforded a better rate of interest. As the loan is secured against an asset, like your home, the risk to the lender is greatly reduced and they are able to offer you a far better rate of interest as a result. Naturally it is essential that you understand the added risk that comes along with consolidating your debt against an asset of value, which is that failure to maintain the repayment schedule could result in repossession of the loan collateral. That means that missed payments could cost you your home.

Another way that a debt consolidation loan can save you money each month is by extending the repayment period. So, on one hand you’re better off each month but on the other, you’ll be in debt longer. The right way to go depends on your financial situation and is essentially a matter for you to decide. You should get advice from a dedicated debt consolidation advisor to assist you in making this decision.

Everyone faces different financial circumstances, different pressures and different factors influencing this decision. Remember, there is no quick-fix debt solution to the burden of personal debt. That’s what makes it personal. The factors that brought you into this situation were particular to you so the solution to the problem should be tailored to suit you too. There could well be similar causes, in that a sudden change of circumstance is the most common cause that leads people into debt problems. Unforeseen expenses resulting from loss of employment, illness or loss of a loved one are the all common causes of serious debt problems. Often, in these difficult circumstances, people will resort to their credit cards.
Visit www.debtconsolidation.co.uk for more information.