The latest Money Matters column from the Carmarthenshire Herald
By Mark Jones, director of Carmarthen-based Clay Shaw Butler chartered accountants and business consultants.
It’s not often that the National Eisteddfod provides the forum for a debate on the problems of debt.
But, it’s a major festival event, so why shouldn’t it be an opportunity to debate society’s problems?
The charity Citizen’s Advice Cymru (Wales) used the Eisteddfod Maes at Meifod in Montgomeryshire to debate current problems with poverty in Wales.
There has been a sharp rise in the number of people contacting the debt charity because they are struggling with the things they need "to survive".
Citizens Advice Cymru helped just under 30,000 people with more than 125,000 debt-related problems in 2014-15.
This is a 19% rise on the year before.
The charity's Fran Targett said common problems used to be consumer debt but are now more people need help with rent and energy bills.
Here, then are some tips -
If you have several debts, you might not know which ones to pay back first. By paying the right debts first, you’re more likely to be able to keep your home – and the heating on. And by being clever about how you repay, you could also save money and clear your debts faster.
The consequences of not paying off some debts before others can be more serious. Therefore, if you’re struggling to make your repayments on time, you need to look at all your debts and split them into:
- debt emergencies
- priority debts
- non-priority debts.
Tell the people you owe money to that you are seeking help.
The debts you should pay first are called priority debts. These aren’t necessarily the largest debts or the debts with the highest interest rate. But if you don’t pay them, you could end up:
Losing your home – because you’re not keeping up mortgage or rent payments
Being made bankrupt – because you’ve haven’t paid your tax bills
Having your heating or lighting cut off – because you haven’t paid your fuel bills
Receiving a court summons
If you’re unable to meet all your bills and debt repayments, you should pay these first:
Mortgage, rent and any loans secured against your home
Income Tax, National Insurance and VAT
Council Tax
Gas and electricity bills
Child maintenance
TV licence
Hire purchase agreements, if what you’re buying with them is essential
Court fines
Don’t struggle with priority debts – particularly if you’re facing an emergency, such as losing your home or going to court.
Act quickly and contact one of the many free, confidential and independent debt advice organisations as soon as possible – they will help you work out a solution that fits your needs and budget.
There’s lots of sensible advice of borrowing on the Government’s Money Advice website –
https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk
Citizens Advice Cymru (Wales) can be contacted on 03444 77 20 20.
National Debtline
www.mymoneysteps.org
StepChange Debt Charity
www.stepchange.org
Debt Advice Foundation
www.debtadvicefoundation.org
You can find out more about money matters on the new-look Clay Shaw Butler website (under our news for business section) -
http://www.clayshawbutler.com/news/latest-news-for-business
We have a strong and experienced team with great local knowledge all geared-up to helping you get the very best from your finances – whether that is as an individual or as a business.
We stay ahead of the game by putting great store by continual professional development for our staff.
With Investors In People status at Clay Shaw Butler, we care passionately about making sure our staff have all the tools they need to serve you, our customers.
Weblink -http://www.clayshawbutler.com
The team at Clay Shaw Butler can be contacted on 01267 228500.
The team at Clay Shaw Butler are on Twitter. Look for @clayshawbutler.
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