There are benefits associated with getting into debt, especially if it means being able to afford something with an increasing value over time, like a house.
However, in a modern world that is driven by a pressure to consume, it’s also very easy to get into debts over your head, debts that are hard to pay off.
Debt is a daily reality for many people in Australia, where buying a house and maybe even a car just wouldn’t be possible without some kind of credit, finance or repayments. There are so many places where you can take out a loan today, and so much information about getting access to money on credit. Unfortunately, there isn’t as much information about where you can go when your debt gets out of control, when you can’t make repayments, or when you simply can’t cope.
You can’t lose hope, there is always a solution. In fact, we’ve got a whole list of them right here.
MyBudget
MyBudget is an Australian company dedicated to helping clients get on top of their debt and budget both long-term and day-to-day. Since it started in Adelaide in 1999, they have helped more than 45,000 Australians get back on track and on the way to success in their own finances. They help their clients by helping to reduce financial stress and take the estimation out of money management with a team of caring and understanding budget specialists.
MyBudget can provide total visibility of your financial situation all the time with their client website, as well as coaching and financial advice, daily management of income and expenses, scheduling of payments and obligations and more. You can book a free MyBudget consultation on their website, which is free and no obligation. If you think their service is right for you, their fees are competitive and aimed not to increase your financial stress.
Fox Symes
Fox Symes is the largest provider of debt consolidation solutions in Australia, helping 100,000 Australians every year to control and find solutions to debt. They specialise in debt consolidation, which involves getting all of your debts together in a single monthly repayment that is often easier to keep track of and can sometimes offer lower interest rates.
They can also help with reducing monthly repayments and tackling interest on personal loans. The team at Fox Symes are experts in managing and taking control of debt, and they can help you to live a life where you’re able to easily manage the debts that you have. As well as being effective and confidential, Fox Symes know the financial system, which means they can provide the solutions you may not have thought of. Get in touch with them to see if they can help you today.
Financial Counsellors
People make questionable or simply bad money decisions every day, and the ones who see the results of this are financial counsellors. Organisations like Financial Counselling Australia (FCA), the peak body for financial counsellors in Australia, can help with those money problems and find solutions to debt. The counsellors are non-judgemental professionals, qualified to give support, information, advice and assistance to people with financial difficulty.
You can find a counsellor by getting onto their website, and see what services are available near you. If you’ve got money problems that have you down in the dumps, financial counsellors provide more than just budgeting advice and actually help you tackle solutions to debt. Many of them also provide other counselling services that can help you work through the problems and stop them from happening in the future. The services are also offered free for many people, especially those who desperately need them.
Bankruptcy
Many people feel that they’ll never get on top of their debts and bad past financial decisions and that all that’s left for them is to declare bankruptcy and move on. However, there’s nothing simple or ideal about bankruptcy, and it has long-term effects that few people consider or plan for. We aren’t saying that it isn’t the solution for you. For many people, declaring bankruptcy is the only way out of a long road paved with bad financial decisions, but it’s also a pretty extreme exit. Have a look at our article on bankruptcy before you go any further, and just see what you think— find more alternatives when it comes to solutions to debt.
Cons Of Seeking Help
There are always going to be pros and cons to seeking financial assistance from an outside source in the hope to find solutions to debt. We’ve covered most of the pros in looking at each of the services that you might consider (and both pros and cons for bankruptcy).
The cons really come down to one thing, which for some people is a big one: honesty. Nobody can help you if you aren’t able to be totally open about how you spend and why. It means they need to know all your financial secrets, including the things that maybe you aren’t very comfortable talking about. This can be a hard thing for people to do, especially when they might have been keeping things quiet for so long. But when you think about what you can gain: freedom from debt related stress, isn’t it worth it?