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Manage debt
If you owe money the most important thing is NOT to ignore it.
Contact the Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS) or the National Debtline (0808 8084000) for advice and information if you are worried about debt. There are MABS offices in every county and ithey offer a free, confidential service. If you are in Northern Ireland then visit your local Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) for financial advice.
If you spend more than your income then you need to look carefully at your expenditures and decide what to cut down on. You can also try to bring more money in by getting extra work, renting a room in your home, moving to cheaper accommodation or looking for social welfare. First of all you need to clear any debts that you have.
- Prioritise your debts: any debts that can mean you are left without a home or your house is repossessed, your electricity, heating or telephone are disconnected or you have to pay a fine or go to jail should be the most important.
- If the priority debts are under control then concentrate on high-interest loans or credit cards and pay these off as quickly as possible.
- Debt won’t go away and the longer you put it off the worse the debt gets.
- Don’t borrow more money to pay off debts (loans, mortgages, credit cards, money you owe to friends or family) without planning carefully and asking for professional advice at your local Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS).
- Talk to everyone you owe money to (banks, credit unions, student loans company or other people) and ask them for more time to assess your financial situation and pay back the loan. They might be willing to arrange a suitable repayment plan with you.
- You can download sample letters (to banks, etc) and useful leaflets from the MABS website or ask in your local MABS office.
- Check your rights (contact Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority 1890 7777 777) as you might find that the money you have to pay back is insured against you becoming sick, losing your job and so on.
- If you are asked to meet with the people or companies you owe money to, bring a copy of your personal budget (your income and the money you spend) and be honest about how much you can afford to pay back.
- MABS will prepare a personal budget for you, free of charge.
- If you are called to court about financial problems always go. Contact MABS or a solicitor first and have a financial statement drawn up.
- If you don’t attend the court hearing you’re risking more problems. You can get free legal advice to help you through the court hearing.
- Keep copies of all the letters you send and receive about your finances.
