TAKE ACTION ON DEBT

The Money Revolution encourages you to review where you stand with debt of different kinds. Start by making a list of the debts you owe, and your monthly repayments.  If you feel you've overstretched yourself, or that it's a struggle to keep up with your borrowing repayments, here are some do's and don'ts :

DO take debt seriously.  The longer you leave sorting it out, the worse it is likely to get, particularly if you are not managing to pay your monthly payments.

DO speak to your lender.  The first thing to do if you are getting into difficulty is to speak to your lender. It's often best to go and see them and take along a list of your income and outgoings. Your lender may agree to help you by reducing your monthly payments or letting you stop making payments for a short while, if you are just in a temporary fix  If your problems are longer-term, your lender may be able to help you restructure your borrowings, so you can pay the money off over a longer period of time and reduce your monthly payments.

DO seek advice. The box on the right gives three places where you can access free advice from people who are independent, and aiming to help you, rather than sell you something!

DO check you are receiving all of the help you are entitled to. Check to see if you are entitled to any help from the government. Depending on your circumstances you may qualify for certain state benefits, like unemployment benefit, housing benefit or disability allowances.

DON'T automatically assume the worst. Reputable lenders are always willing to discuss your situation, and will often try to help. After all, it's in their interest as much as yours.

DON'T leap to an easy pain-free solution such as taking our an additional loan to cover your shortfall. Consolidating your loans to one provider may make sense, but only after careful evaluation, and never extend the loan at the same time just because the opportunity is there!