One in two people struggling with personal debt are too embarrassed to ask family or friends to help out, a survey has found.
One in two people struggling with personal debt are too embarrassed to ask family or friends to help, a survey has found.
And one in three would rather keep their financial worries a secret, stating if they would keep the problem to themselves rather than look for support from their partner or family.
The survey by professional debt management service, Money Village, found more than 80 per cent of households had suffered loss of income or loss of employment.
A third of those surveyed said they had never completed a realistic budget for their household.
“Few people realise that you can negotiate your way out of debt and, in some instances, your debt can be reduced by as much as 60% if you use a professional debt management company who specialise in this type of negotiation.
“We see specific patterns emerging when it comes to people’s approach to situations of personal debt. Reacting too quickly to creditors who ‘shout the loudest’ as opposed to dealing with the most serious debt, i.e. mortgages, is just one example of a serious problem. MoneyVillage Ltd is there to help people rectify this problem when they find themselves drowning in similar situations,” said Eugene McDerby, chief executive of Money Village.
He has had clients appear on the RTE Consumer Show in the past including one young couple who had lost their jobs shortly after acquiring a mortgage 13 times their personal income.
Their case story is one of five in this RTE article
People who struggle with debt are advised to try the Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS) who have experts in citizens information bureau throughout the country. Their details can also be found by clicking on the links section in this website here.
MABS and people like McDerby always advice those in debt to take steps including prioritising debt payments, drawing up a budget and then seeking to negotiate a new payment plan with creditors.
Working out what are known as priority debts and what are not is one of the first steps. For example a mortgage payment is a priority debt because it is secured against your home. A credit card company does not have that security and is not a priority debt.
RTE has prepared easy-to-follow guides to personal debt with the help of MABS to help consumers work their way out of debt.
These guides are on the right hand panel at the top of this page.
