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A Pragmatic Approach To Debt Problems
By: Mike Curry
When most people think of how they would feel if they were in debt, they imagine
experiencing despair and fear. However, new research shows that a large
proportion of debtors actually adopt a pragmatic approach to their situation.
Being faced with debt does cause many people to feel stressed and unhappy. In
fact, a quarter of people in debt receive treatment for stress, depression and
anxiety from the NHS. Furthermore, the despair caused by financial problems is
also a key reason why many couples break up.
However, there is another large group of debtors who adopt a pragmatic attitude
to their predicament rather than struggling with feelings of fear and being out
of control.
New research carried out by the Clear Start Consumer Debt Service suggests that
living with increasingly high levels of debt has become an accepted and normal
state of affairs for many people. For these people, debt is considered to be an
inevitable and likely permanent feature of everyday life.
The Clear Start studies suggested that 47% of UK consumers say they are happy to
have short-term debt to allow them to buy the things they want.
One of the main reasons for this increasingly prevalent attitude to debt is the
disappearance of the Puritan Work Ethic. This stressed the importance of saving
over spending and its erosion has led to the social acceptability of debt.
The good thing about this is that people with a pragmatic attitude to debt are
less reluctant to admit that they have problems and to seek help. After all the
reason most frequently given by debtors for not getting help is that they were
embarrassed and ashamed about their problems. And when it comes to debt, getting
advice from impartial sources as quickly as possible is crucial in resolving
problems speedily.
These days there are so many debt solutions; such as the government introduced
Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA). The IVA is an alternative to bankruptcy
which allows people with debts of over £15,000 to make affordable monthly
repayments and have the amount they owe reduced. This means that there are
solutions to meet nearly all situations.
By adopting a pragmatic attitude towards debt, people in financial difficulties
are able to get the help they need so that they can identify the best solution
for them and make a fresh start.
About the Author:
Clear Start is a free UK consumer debt advice line. Please visit the website
(http://www.clearstart.org) for free and impartial debt advice or telephone 0800
138 5445. |
