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Debt - the shortcut to despair

This week BBC2 ran a special half hour programme called Drowning in Debt, highlighting the plight of a mother-of-two, surviving on benefits and trying to keep the wolf from the door as she is hounded by creditors.

But as The Money Secret (Hodder & Stoughton, £6.99), a new book from popular author Rob Parsons, points out, debt is no respecter of income and people at every income level find themselves lying awake at night worried about the levels of debt they are in.

"Debt isolates people," says Rob. "It is the last taboo subject. Everybody who finds themselves in debt thinks that they are the only one to end up there. But when more than 1,000 people call a national debt advice helpline on the first working day after Christmas, you know there is something very wrong and it's affecting a huge number of people.

“Even before Christmas, the number of people making calls for help was up by 77% on the previous year. That shows the level of desperation and how many people are finding it impossible to cope with their mounting debts."
Through his work with the Speakeasy Advice Centre in South Wales, Rob has discovered some astonishing facts about debt. "We see people struggling with debt at all income levels. While debt obviously affects the poorest members of society, it can equally infiltrate and destroy the lives of people who earn high salaries, but find that after the mortgage and the other bills have been taken out, they don't have enough left to live on until the end of the month.

"Apparently one in five people are borrowing money just to pay household bills, which explains why personal debt in the UK is increasing by £1 million every four minutes. With so many credit card companies and loan providers, it is very easy to fall into the trap of using credit to tide you over, but it only takes one missed payment or a change in circumstances to turn snowballing credit into a debt avalanche. One in four people are struggling to make credit repayments."

In The Money Secret, Rob takes careful aim at some of the main causes of the growing debt mountain in the UK. He exposes the many schemes devised by money-lenders, credit card companies and even the high street banks - household names who should know better, according to Rob.

"The problem is that the banks have become very much like the big, bad wolf in the story of Little Red Riding Hood," explains Rob. "You might think you're going in to see your grandmother, but she has gone and in her place is a hungry predator. And the banks know the 'solutions' they offer are no help. One chief executive of a high street bank described borrowing money on credit cards issued by his company as 'too expensive' and admitted he would not use them. Even politicians have accused the banks of being devious and underhand. And, yet, unbelievably, people still think their bank is there to help them."

The Money Secret proposes a radical solution for people looking to get out of debt and stay out of it forever. Written as a novel, it follows the story of a young woman called Amy who reaches the point of contemplating suicide after her finances spiral out of control. She is befriended and guided by a mysterious mentor called Lydia, who encourages Amy to take several bold steps to reclaim her life.

"The Money Secret is not about moving debt around, shifting it from interest-free credit card to another credit card every time the six months are up," explains Rob. "It is about re-evaluating the way you view money, the way you spend, the means of spending you use. It's about getting serious about debt, to stop putting things on the never-never and start sorting things here and now."

More at www.themoneysecret.info

© Christian Family Network
is run by CPO, supported by
Care for the Family, Marriage Resource, Positive Parenting,
Care, Women Alive, Christian Herald and many others.


		FINANCE Debt - the shortcut to despair This week BBC2 ran a special half hour programme called Drowning in Debt, highlighting the plight of a mother-of-two, surviving on benefits and trying to keep the wolf from the door as she is hounded by creditors. But as The Money Secret (Hodder & Stoughton, £6.99), a new book from popular author Rob Parsons, points out, debt is no respecter of income and people at every income level find themselves lying awake at night worried about the levels of debt they are in. "Debt isolates people," says Rob. "It is the last taboo subject. Everybody who finds themselves in debt thinks that they are the only one to end up there. But when more than 1,000 people call a national debt advice helpline on the first working day after Christmas, you know there is something very wrong and it's affecting a huge number of people. “Even before Christmas, the number of people making calls for help was up by 77% on the previous year. That shows the level of desperation and how many people are finding it impossible to cope with their mounting debts." Through his work with the Speakeasy Advice Centre in South Wales, Rob has discovered some astonishing facts about debt. "We see people struggling with debt at all income levels. While debt obviously affects the poorest members of society, it can equally infiltrate and destroy the lives of people who earn high salaries, but find that after the mortgage and the other bills have been taken out, they don't have enough left to live on until the end of the month. "Apparently one in five people are borrowing money just to pay household bills, which explains why personal debt in the UK is increasing by £1 million every four minutes. With so many credit card companies and loan providers, it is very easy to fall into the trap of using credit to tide you over, but it only takes one missed payment or a change in circumstances to turn snowballing credit into a debt avalanche. One in four people are struggling to make credit repayments." In The Money Secret, Rob takes careful aim at some of the main causes of the growing debt mountain in the UK. He exposes the many schemes devised by money-lenders, credit card companies and even the high street banks - household names who should know better, according to Rob. "The problem is that the banks have become very much like the big, bad wolf in the story of Little Red Riding Hood," explains Rob. "You might think you're going in to see your grandmother, but she has gone and in her place is a hungry predator. And the banks know the 'solutions' they offer are no help. One chief executive of a high street bank described borrowing money on credit cards issued by his company as 'too expensive' and admitted he would not use them. Even politicians have accused the banks of being devious and underhand. And, yet, unbelievably, people still think their bank is there to help them." The Money Secret proposes a radical solution for people looking to get out of debt and stay out of it forever. Written as a novel, it follows the story of a young woman called Amy who reaches the point of contemplating suicide after her finances spiral out of control. She is befriended and guided by a mysterious mentor called Lydia, who encourages Amy to take several bold steps to reclaim her life. "The Money Secret is not about moving debt around, shifting it from interest-free credit card to another credit card every time the six months are up," explains Rob. "It is about re-evaluating the way you view money, the way you spend, the means of spending you use. It's about getting serious about debt, to stop putting things on the never-never and start sorting things here and now." More at www.themoneysecret.info © Christian Family Network is run by CPO, supported by Care for the Family, Marriage Resource, Positive Parenting, Care, Women Alive, Christian Herald and many others.