Teaching children the basic precepts of financial responsibility at a young age can serve them well in later life. Unfortunately most school programmes are geared towards academic skills and consequently life skills such as money management may be neglected. Consequently it usually falls on parents to teach these skills.

First and foremost kids tend to learn by observation and imitation. Its not enough to say do I as I do not as I say, ideally what parents do and what they say should be consistent otherwise children will not learn the correct behaviour, so if you are constantly preaching about the importance of living within your means but behave in a spendthrift fashion you are obviously sending a confusing message to your children.

Simple things like making children do chores for their pocket money rather than just handing them their allowance can inculcate a better appreciation of the value of money. Discussing basic financial matters with your children and the importance of saving regularly can help them develop beneficial habits that will last a lifetime. If there is an item that they particularly want you can develop a savings plan with them so that they set aside a portion of their allowance each week until they have reached their target. Giving in immediately to a crying child in the supermarket or toy store may bring respite in the short term but this type of instant gratification is not good for the childs long term development.

Most of the suggestions above are just common sense however implementing them consistently is not an easy job but if you can manage it you can look forward to a stress free retirement courtesy of your wealthy offspring!

I think kids should get told to manage their money as money is an important part in people lives as they use it for anything they need. It would be better for people to stay out of debt and have a comfy life rather than get into debt and be paying them off for a majority of your life.

It would be a good idea to have some sort of lesson when kids get taught about how to handle their money and how to budget for when they have their own houses and flats. you should tell them about situations where others have been in debt and where things have gone wrong which would make them think they don’t want that happening to them.

It would be helpful if kids new more about debt also, because i didn’t really know about managing my money which gets me not having any til i next get paid. so it would be a good idea for kids to learn more before they have to do this kinda stuff to.

I lied about my debts and charges I was getting, I hid it out of veiw of myself and all, with the thought out of sight out of mind. Until the cracks grew and grew. I was getting stresed at the thought of some debt collector knocking at the door but it was more of the problem trying to get out of it that i started borrowing more to pay it off and getting further into debt, my partner wondered why I was getting angry and upset all the time and my family was suffering as i fell further and further into the hole i created.
i managed to tell my partner and family which released abit of the pressure. I started looking for help and phoned the citizen advice for help they guided me through it and now I am slowly taking the first steps in the long steep road of getting debt free.

Debt is a very serious issue. It has taken centre stage in the news now for a couple of years now. One reason is that more and more people are getting into serious financial difficulties.

Many people hide the truth from their partners and families, thinking they can get out of the situation. Some become ill and this in turn leads them to shove it under the rug and hope it goes away. It doesn’t and it doesn’t do any good, most likely, only make matters worse.

I haven’t lied about it. But I didn’t say the problems I have had. I waited a long time before talking it over with my girlfriend. I think this is a case for most people.

It really does help to talk, just to get things off your chest and as the saying goes, “a problem shared is a problem halved”. Talking can help with stress and give you ideas. And there are places out there that can help.

So, don’t clam up. If you are in trouble, look around, there is always someone out there who can help you.

When debt comes in the door love flies out the window. Or maybe the other homily of:_ money isn’t everything - usually said by those who have plenty or enough to cover their bills and debt will never happen to them - or they think it won’t, although they are probably on the first slippery slope allready!.

Fear is the usual reason to lie to a partner, what will they do, what will they say. If you do not like confrontation then do not get into debt or deception will be used to avoid it - at any cost.

Its the age we live in - credit cards, loans. Right now it has been realised what problems its all causing and the banks and loan companies are pulling back, in fact they are now in trouble and trying to borrow to keep themselves afloat, which in itself is causing huge problems for ordinary people with mortgages - the circle of debt!

In today’s society debt is on the increase. If you have reached a point where you are struggling to make your money stretch and are having to miss some monthly loan or credit repayments just to stay afloat, then it is vital you seek out someone who can help you.

If you choose to ignore your current problems then your debt WILL begin to spiral out of control; as the logic follows that if you are skipping repayments now then you will continue to do so and your problem will only get worse.

Depending on the size of your debts, you may want to speak to your friends or family members first to see if they can help you. Other alternatives are to speak to a representative at your local Citizens Advice Bureau who will be able to point you in the direction of the best place to seek advice for your debt. Alternatively, there are many debt advice companies that offer free advice and will assist you in negotiating new repayment terms with your creditors.

Essentially, the bottom line is that if you are struggling to meet your repayments now, then you will continue to struggle to meet your future monthly repayments. Before your debts get out of hand it is vital to seek professional advice to stop your debts getting out of control.

Mounting debt is a huge worry and it can soon spiral out of control if you are not careful. The odd missed payment could soon turn into one of many; there may not be enough money going into the bank account each month to cover debts like loans, credit cards and worse: the mortgage either. When you are getting more sleepless nights than peaceful ones, you know that it’s time to sort those finances out and it can be tempting to seek help from one of the many advice websites on the Internet.

Be warned, however, many of these companies might promise that they can get your debts written off for you, but they do actually charge for their services and you may find yourself taking them on as simply another creditor, which you can do without.

The Citizen’s Advice Bureau, however, offers free debt advice.

For small debt problems, teach yourself to budget and whittle down that debt by yourself. For the more serious debt problems, go to the Citizen’s Advice Bureau and let them help you help yourself for no cost at all.

Rule one and the most important rule of all with growing debts is confront them, concede that you need to do something about them and wherever possible stop them from growing any bigger. Keep together all the letters and statements you receive from your creditors and get together a list of all those to whom you owe money and how much.

If you have no money left after considering your budget there are very few options, either applying for bankruptcy or asking your creditors to write off the debt. Whatever you do, debts will not go away they will merely get worse, the most important step is confronting them and starting to work towards a solution and a debt free life.

I think the first most important step to take is to accept that you have a problem and not bury your head in the sand and hope that it will go away. You need to gather all your information together into one place and see how bad the situation is. You then need to do a statement of affairs setting out all your income and then all your necessary expenditure not forgetting anything. You will then see how much you have left to actually pay off your debts with.

The next step is to contact your debtors and inform them that you have a problem and see if they can help you in any way either short-term or longer. If you feel that you need more help than this then there are non-fee paying companies to help you such as CCCS or Payplan. They do not judge you and will act on your behalf when contacting the companies you owe money to. Most importantly admit that you have a problem.

The best advice that can be given to anybody in trouble with debt is to consider ‘debt management‘, ideally with a recognised body such as the Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS) rather than small company which may advertise on TV and is usually only interested in profiteering. This comment however, will discuss the comparison between the two options above.

IVA or bankruptcy? An IVA is a great alternative to bankruptcy, not just for the indebted individual involved, but also or the majority of creditors, who in general receive more than they would from bankruptcy proceedings.

Think hard about the implications of bankruptcy. Besides the stigma that is avoided by not having a bankruptcy order on your credit file for the next six years, making it nigh on impossible to obtain a bank account, there is also an element of privacy to an IVA that is not otherwise afforded. An IVA is not advertised in the local paper, leaving no threat from an observant mother-in-law or line manager.

Although a debtor’s credit file will likely be about the same in terms of a rating, obtaining credit isn’t legally off limits as it is during a bankruptcy, and there are even mortgage lenders who will lend to applicants with satisfactorily conducted IVAs from day one.

The main advantage however, the one which allows consumers to avoid a lot of heartache, is the law with regards to the debtor’s property. Whereas in bankruptcy all assets are turned over to the trustee, an IVA allows you to settle debts without the threat of a forced house sale, meaning there is no need to move and release any equity in one’s property.

As mentioned with debt management, getting debt help by speaking to a professional is the most important first step, and avoiding companies that may make matters worse is paramount. Along with cutting up the credit cards!