Sixty Minute Debt Buster , livre ebook

Lion Hudson - Katie Clarke , Rob Parsons

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65 pages

English

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Description

Millions of consumers worldwide have become trapped in a vicious spiral of debt. In the UK alone, the average owed by adults is GBP29,747, a sum which grows at a painfully high rate. But what can be done about it? It so easily gets out of control and there comes a point when you just don't think you'll ever get out of it. But there is hope. In this book Katie Clark and Rob Parsons guide you through the smart way to get out of debt and transform your finances. In sixty minutes.

Sujets

Personal finance

Informations

Publié par	Lion Hudson
Date de parution	10 août 2011
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9780745958071
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0350€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

This is a sixty minute book, so it can be read in an hour (in a bit of a rush!). If you don t have time to read it all, every so often there are sixty second pages that sum up what s gone before - and if you don t even have time for them, there are two one second pages that sum up the whole book!
To my husband Paul - you re brilliant! And also to Millie, a great pal.

Copyright 2009 Katie Clarke and Rob Parsons
This edition copyright 2009 Lion Hudson
The authors assert the moral right to be identified as the authors of this work.
A Lion Book an imprint of Lion Hudson plc
Wilkinson House, Jordan Hill Road, Oxford OX2 8DR, England
www.lionhudson.com
ISBN 978 0 7459 5342 7 (UK print)
ISBN 978 0 7459 5807 1 (epub)
ISBN 978 0 7459 5806 4 (Kindle)
ISBN 978 0 7459 5808 8 (pdf)
Distributed by: UK: Marston Book Services, PO Box 269, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4YN
USA: Trafalgar Square Publishing, 814 N. Franklin Street, Chicago, IL 60610
USA: Christian Market: Kregel Publications, PO Box 2607, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49501
First electronic edition 2011
All rights reserved
Acknowledgments
Katie Clarke would like to thank Jonathan Booth, Jonathan Mason, Sheron Rice, Lynda Reid and Andrew Buchanan-Smith. Special thanks to agent Eddie Bell of the Bell Lomax Moreton Agency, Lomax Moreton Agency, editor Kate Kirkpatrick and all the team at Lion Hudson.
Cover image: Andrew Brookes/Corbis
A catalogue record for this book is availablefrom the British Library
Contents

Cover

Dedication

Title Page

Chapter 1 You ve Come to the Right Place

Chapter 2 Sizing Up the Problem

Chapter 3 Who to Pay First

Case study: The Real Cost of Credit Cards

Chapter 4 The Magic of Credit Cards - And the Tricks They Play on You

Chapter 5 Plastic Surgery!

Chapter 6 Back to Cash

Chapter 7 When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Go Shopping

Case study: Trauma at the Hole in the Wall

Chapter 8 Home Sweet Home: Saving Your House from Repossession

Chapter 9 Why Carol Vorderman is Not Necessarily Right

Chapter 10 Last Resorts

The Biggest Smile

The Future s Bright

References

Appendix

Useful contacts
Chapter 1
You ve Come to the Right Place

Life at the debt counselling centre was never ordinary. It was a fascinating place located in an old terraced house. You could say it was a bit rough round the edges - the decoration left a lot to be desired and the roof was leaking - and it was certainly a far cry from my previous office, a swanky pad near the Royal Courts of Justice in London. My office was so small that if a client brought a couple of family members to their appointment for moral support, it reminded me of those challenges to see how many people you can fit into a telephone box! And yet, this place did an incredible job in the local community. All sorts of people from all walks of life would step through the big old blue door every day. This centre was so popular that the appointment diary was regularly booked up several weeks in advance. Many clients said that despite their problems the place felt like a safe haven, a sanctuary.
In the job, it was impossible to predict what a day would hold. As I helped people to get out of debt, I listened to their stories, negotiated with banks, credit card companies and loan sharks on their behalf and provided an endless supply of tissues and cups of tea. When things got really desperate and it looked as though someone was going to lose their home, I would get on my feet in court and fight their corner.
I remember one day in particular. It was a Monday morning. I had a headache and had just knocked back a couple of aspirin. I was hoping for a quiet day when the internal phone rang. Sally, our receptionist, was one of the calmest women I have ever known. She had to be. When clients walked into our advice centre for the first time they were almost always emotional. Sally has comforted some people, befriended others and threatened to call the police more than once. But I could tell from the tone of her voice that even she was rattled: Katie, can you pop out as soon as possible? she whispered down the phone. There s a man out here who says that he won t leave until he sees someone.
I took a few deep breaths and went out to the front office. I m not sure what I was expecting to see, but there he was: an elderly man sat in the corner of the waiting area, not making eye contact with anyone and gently sobbing. I grabbed the box of tissues from Sally s desk and sat myself down next to him. I m Katie, I said, and you must be Mr Davidson. I helped him up and led him into my office.
As he sat down he said, I m sorry, love. I don t know what s got into me.
Please don t worry now. I m here to help you. What can I do for you?
He didn t reply, just bent down and lifted a well-worn shopping bag onto my desk. I pulled it towards me and peeked in. And then I knew at once what it was. I have seen it many times - in Sainsbury s carriers, in black rubbish sacks and holdalls. This was the debt bag.
I upended it and the contents spilled over my desk and onto the floor. There were letters from credit card companies, banks, gas and electricity companies and debt collection agencies. Almost every one of them bore some kind of threat. On the oldest letters the threats, though frightening, were less intimidating: Your overdraft may be recalled , Your credit rating may be affected , Your account may be terminated . But then on the most recent ones the threats were brazen and terrifying: Bailiffs will seize your goods , You will have to appear in court , You may be made bankrupt and lose your home .
It was this last letter that had finally brought Adam Davidson into my advice centre.
I know you ll think I m stupid, love, he began, but it was the credit cards that did it. I d never had one until five years ago, but they kept writing to me and I thought it d be nice to give the wife a holiday and put the new kitchen in. And I know it sounds silly, but after that I just don t know what happened. I found it hard to make the payments and then I took out another card and used it to pay the first one off. And then I did the same with another one. And even then, they kept offering me more.
I rummaged amongst the papers until I found a credit card statement. I read it for a moment and then said, Do you know what rate of interest you are being charged on this card?
He shook his head. I never read the small print, love. Aren t they all the same?
When I told him that it was just above 30%, he shook his head and said, I don t understand it all.
And then he started to cry again. The worst part is that the wife doesn t know. How am I going to tell her we re going to lose the bungalow?
I reassured him that there was a lot that could be done to save his home. We would work through everything together and hopefully be able to reach an agreement with everyone to whom he owed money. I asked him how much was left on his mortgage. He said, Nothing. We paid it off years ago with the money they gave me when I left the army.
I quickly sorted the demands and bills into piles. Are you sure there s nothing else? I asked. He nodded.
So you ve got 25,000 of credit card debt, you owe the gas company 180, the telephone company 80 and the electric people 200?
He looked totally ashamed. Yes, love. It s the credit cards that are the big ones.
Well, Adam, I said, I want you to try as best you can to stop worrying. Yes, you have got a lot of debt, but one way or another, we ll get through this together. This is what I want you to do. First, I want you to tell your wife that you ve been to see me and make an appointment for you both to come in. I know you re only trying to protect her, but it s important that you share this with her so you can support each other in getting through this. Adam, I can t make you any promises but I will help you fight to keep your home.
And then something amazing happened. I had a glimpse of the Adam Davidson before debt took over his life. A huge smile stretched across his face and he said, If you can do that, you ll have saved my life. And when he smiled I knew why I was stuck in a seven foot by ten foot office with a computer that made the old Commodore 64 look state-of-the-art and a door that stuck in the winter.
Debt is a killer. It makes you feel stupid, ashamed, trapped. But I can tell you this - all kinds of people have crossed the threshold of my little office: people on benefits and those on large incomes, people who are in danger of being evicted from their council homes and those with large property portfolios, the unemployed and, on one occasion, a financial advisor. Debt doesn t pick and choose.
It may be that you re not in a lot of debt and you just want to handle your money more effectively. This book will help you. But perhaps either you or somebody you care about is in deep financial trouble. If that s the case, you re reading the right book.
I have no doubt that somebody will be reading right now who is beside themselves with worry about money - and their head is spinning. If that s you, take a breath and at least take on board what I am about to say next:
The problem with worry over debt is that it isolates you. You will often be afraid to tell your partner, your friends or relatives - or even to get some help from professionals. But you can come through this experience. Tens of thousands of people have been in your situation and have done just that. It may be that none of this is your fault or perhaps you have been foolish with money. But whatever the reason, it won t change the fact that none of us can do anything about yesterday. Today you are going to start the process of getting out of debt.
So let s begin.
Quiz
It s a frightening statistic that people in the UK spend almost twice as long planning for a holiday as arranging a mortgage. 1 But what about you? Just how financially in control are you?
Have a look at the