Families Struggle to Make Ends Meet

Financial problems are pushing Britain’s families to breaking point, according to latest research.

A study by the Scottish Widows think tank, the Centre for the Modern Family, reveals the “increasingly desperate measures” families are taking to cope with the impact of recession.

Almost eight in 10 people said they feel family life is tougher now than it was a decade ago while one in five people said they are struggling to manage financially.

Two-fifths of the 1,500 adults polled said they are “just getting by”, with only seven per cent the UK population finding family life comfortable at present.

Increased living costs and falling wages, coupled with the rising cost of childcare and the ongoing economic climate, are creating a nation of “on the brink Britons”, the report said.

The younger generation appears to be bearing the brunt, according to the study. People aged 18 to 34 are more likely to have resorted to selling items online in the past 12 months to make ends meet, compared with the national average. They are also twice as likely to have taken out a payday loan to tide them over.

Meanwhile, one in five young people has been left unable to pay household bills and one in eight has skipped meals in order to ensure their family eats well, the research reveals.

Lord Leitch, chairman of the Centre for the Modern Family, said: “These findings paint a stark and in some cases desperate picture of family life in Britain today as families feel the squeeze of these difficult times.

“Young people in particular face a very different kind of working life from the one that their parents and grandparents experienced.

“Affordable housing and a comfortable retirement are just two aspects that can no longer be taken for granted and as a result young people now face an increasingly uncertain future.”

Risky Baines & Ernest Debt Scheme

A debt solution provider has started a new trend to deal with debt - win your way out of debt. Baines and Ernest has set up a free competition to have £8,000 written off if you with the competition. You can read what has been said below about the unethical competition:

Financial doom and gloom – it’s hard to escape the grim news surrounding our economy.

But there is one company set to change the financial outlook for one person, as Baines & Ernst is going give one lucky winner the chance to win up to £8,000 to pay off their unsecured debts*!

A Spokesperson for Baines & Ernst – one of the country’s leading providers of debt solutions – said, “We hear from people every day who are struggling to pay their bills and meet debt repayments. You can’t ignore what’s happening to people right now – job losses, income cuts, price hikes in household bills, skyrocketing food and petrol prices. We wanted to do something positive and give someone the chance to change their future by helping them to pay off their debts.”

Baines & Ernst is one of the country’s longest established providers of debt help to people struggling to repay the companies they owe money to. Since 1996, the company has helped over 100,000 people escape the pressures of debt with solutions including Debt Management Plans, IVAs and Debt Relief Orders.

“Through this competition, we also hope to raise awareness about the types of solutions available to people struggling with debt. We want people to know that they’re not alone and that there is help available that could make repaying debts much easier within their budget,” the Baines & Ernst spokesperson continues.

Credit Action – the national money education charity – issued statistics surrounding debt showing that the average household debt (excluding mortgages) stood at £8,002. This referred to unsecured debts including payday loans, catalogue accounts, credit cards, store cards and overdrafts.

“Getting this amount of personal debt cleared in one go could be life changing. It will allow someone to wipe out £8,000 worth of unsecured debt that is no doubt causing a great deal of stress and anxiety. All it takes is for someone to complete a short application form to enter,” the Baines & Ernst spokesperson added.

To be in with the chance to clear up to £8,000 of unsecured debts; enter The Baines & Ernst free prize draw online via Facebook or Baines & Ernst.

The Baines & Ernst prize draw is open to everyone in the UK aged 18 and over. The winner will win up to £8,000 to pay off their unsecured debts. *No cash alternative will be offered and all payment will go directly to their creditors. Terms and conditions apply.

Entries will be accepted from 30th May to midnight 3rd July 2012. The prize draw will take place on 6th July and the winner will be notified on 13th July. 

help from a debt charity

Don’t Fret About Debt

For many individuals due to many different reasons they find themselves in an almost impossible situation. They are in debt and they can see no way off paying it back.

Our advice is simple don’t fret, there are many different reasons why people find themselves in debt it can be redundancy, ill health, divorce the list is endless. Though the effect of debt can affect people in similar ways our advice is seek help as soon as you realise you are struggling with your debt, we all want to mange it and nobody wants to pay somebody to sort it out for them, however if we seek debt advice early enough we may have more options available to us at that stage.

In the first instance you want to speak to a charity people that are not there to gain anymore from you but will offer free debt advice. We recommend speaking to a debt charity.

In order for anyone to be able to give you the correct advice they will need to gain some information from you, they will want to know how much debt you have, how much income you have and how much expenditure you have. They will also enquire about any assets you may have. It is at this stage they will be able to offer you the best advice to suit your own personnel situation.

The advice varies from person to person as each personnel situation has to be taken into account. It could be for some they are missing out in benefits which they are entitled to, for others they may be advised to negotiate with their creditors and make token payments until they can get themselves back on their feet.

A Debt management plan may be an option which is an informal arrangement between you and your creditors in which you repay all the debt though over a longer period of time.

An IVA is another option where you repay a percentage of your debt and at the end of the term the rest is written off.

Bankruptcy is recommended when you have no disposable income and are unable to repay your debt.

For any of the above solutions you need to be aware of the impact they will have on your credit rating and that will last for six years.

Before entering any solution you must be aware of all the advantages and the disadvantages before you sign.

If you do find yourself fretting about debt call a debt advice charity they will offer you friendly advice and make you aware of the best way for you to become debt free.

Family Allowance Cuts to Be ‘Watered Down’ After Tory Revolt.

After a Tory backlash controversial plans to cut child benefit for the better off are being watered down.

The Chancellor George Osborne plan was to remove child benefit from any household where one person earned enough to pay the higher tax rate. However he is now making way to change this.

Nick Clegg confirmed this morning that the government is looking again at the child benefits cuts due to the 'unintended consequences' of the plans at the moment.

Nick Clegg the Deputy Prime Minister said the Government believed it was right to ensure that those on the highest incomes bear their share of the burden of deficit reduction.

Nick Clegg told Sky News: 'We've also equally accepted that there's an issue about how you do that, so you make sure you don't create these unintended consequences where, say, a family with one upper-income earner get child benefit removed when there's another family with two income earners who collectively earn more but keep the benefits.'

The original figure which was just over £40,000 now looks as though it will be raised as high as £80,000 nearly double what was first indicated.

The change is due to come into force at the beginning of next year, however it emerged yesterday that the Chancellor had different options for softening the impact of the change.

His options included raising income to £50,000, higher rate tax payers only receiving half the amount of child benefit or making payments only to families where the children are under the age of five.

However in a Statement issued last night by the Treasury they made no reference to higher rate taxpayers, they instead focused on those earning more than £80,000.

A spokesperson for the treasury said: ‘It is not fair to ask someone earning £20,000 to pay for the child benefit that goes to someone earning £80,000 or £100,000.’

Critics say the current proposal will unfairly penalise families where the mother stays at home and Tory MPs are putting pressure on Mr Osborne to abandon his current proposals.

The current plan is that all families in which one parent earns more than the 40 per cent tax threshold which is currently £42,475 a year will lose all child benefit.

This would mean a couple with two children could lose more than £1,750 a year. However provided neither partner pays the higher rate of tax a couple who between them earn £80,000 would still receive full child benefit.

Critics last night said the options being considered did not go far enough.

Mark Reckless Tory MP said: ‘None of these proposals addresses the unfairness of single-earner couples with a stay at home parent losing their child benefit while two-earner households with much larger incomes keep theirs.’

The original plan was unveiled by Mr Osborne at the Conservative Party conference in October 2010.

David Cameron said in January: ‘We always said we would look at the way it’s implemented and that remains the case.’ This gave the first glimpse of a possible re think.

However with the £1 billion planned saving the treasury has warned that softening the blow will wipe out most of the savings.

‘If you are a two-earner family on £84,000 you keep it, but if you are a one-earner family with three kids on £42,000 you lose £2,500 – where is the fairness in that?’

Ed Balls, Shadow Chancellor

Today Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls will force a symbolic Commons vote on the issue thus adding to the pressure.

Yesterday Mr Balls told Sky News: ‘If you are a two-earner family on £84,000 you keep it, but if you are a one-earner family with three kids on £42,000 you lose £2,500 – where is the fairness in that?’

Labour will also attack plans to cut working tax credit on thousands of part time or low income families.

Under new proposal, which are to be introduced next month couples who qualify for tax credits will have to work a minimum of 24 hours instead of the current 16 hours.

Mr Balls said for some families they would be ‘better off if they quit work’. The Treasury last night dismissed Labour’s claims

Parents Face A Fine For Taking Children On Holiday In Term Time

An option being looked at, is fining parents who continue to take their children out of school in term time, to go on holiday they are doing this to take advantage of the cheaper holiday prices on offer.

At the moment, if you allow your child to truant you can face a penalty of up to £100. However Ministers are concerned that more often than not the courts offer conditional discharges and that this threat of fine is becoming meaningless.

The proposal comes after a review of school discipline and attendance by teacher and behavior expert Charlie Taylor. Approximately 4.5million days of school are unattended due to pupils going on holiday, holidays are significantly more expensive when taken during school.

Head teachers it is believed authorize 75% of holidays taken, and they are second to sickness when asked for a reason for absence.

The concern for Ministers is that if middle class children can miss school for a holiday, the signal will be that truancy is acceptable.

A source at the Department for Education said: ‘Any time out of school has the potential to damage a child’s education. That is why the Government will end the distinction between authorised and unauthorised absence.’

Under achievement at school is caused from high levels of truancy Ministers believe, this can mean that children from poorer backgrounds do not reach their full potential as teachers are left unwilling to enforce attendance.

They also believe that the parents should have tougher penalties imposed on them and they should be more and more vigorously enforced by the courts.

Brian Lightman, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: ‘The discretionary ten days has become a bit of a cultural expectation with parents viewing it as a right in some cases. It is not. Children only have one chance to get their education right and for schools to do their best for pupils. It is essential that children have good attendance.’

The National Association of Head Teachers said the measure would discourage parents from trying to put pressure on heads to sanction term-time holidays.

Research by travelsupermarket.com reveals prices increase by up to 42 per cent for a family of four taking a two-week trip to the Algarve during the school holidays.

A spokesman for the Department for Education said the proposals had been revealed as a result of leaked information and that they refused to comment on leaks.

Edwina Currie Says "Just Go Bankrupt"

Edwina Currie, a former politician was on BBC5 Live yesterday to tell people "Just go Bankrupt". Mrs Currie went on to say, you've "lived a very good life indeed" and that was why the caller was in debt.

Edwina was invited onto the show because she believed people were no starving in the UK because of the austerity cuts. The author and broadcaster clashed with Hayley Sanderson after the young mother claimed to regularly go hungry to feed her children.

Mrs Currie suggested that by living a life which was too good was to blame for being in debt. 'When the money was coming in, this sounds like there were two salaries coming in, and no savings, and life was being lived to the full and a very good life indeed,' said former junior health secretary Mrs Currie in a Radio 5 Live phone-in yesterday.

'But when that’s no longer the case, when there’s no longer money coming in, you have to evaluate whether you are going to be able to get back to the good life quickly or not. In which case, you are going to have to think about maybe declaring yourselves bankrupt.'

The young mother was then reduced to tears when she told Mrs Currie she had no credit cards, catalogue debts or satellite television, hit back.

'Edwina, I’ve never lived life to the full. I don’t go out every weekend. You’ve really upset me,' she said, bursting into tear.

'We don’t buy clothes on a weekly basis. We’ve never lived life to the full.

'I never said I’ve borrowed money from anywhere. I’m paying off old bills like council tax.'

Mrs Currie, who was a Northfield councillor from 1975 to 1986 and appeared on Strictly Come Dancing last year, had also probed Ms Sanderson on whether she had any pets.

Bankruptcy Advice

Mrs Currie went on to say "I hate to say this but you need to go Bankrupt". Huh?!!

That's crazy to provide this advice without a complete income and expenditure and evaluating a person's situation. The austerity cuts mean people struggle to survive and weathy, ignorant people like Edwina who are completely out of touch should not be invited onto radio programmes for subjects as sensitive as this.

Prediction that 400 Scots could go bankrupt every week in 2012

Accountancy Firm PKF has predicted that over 400 Scottish residents will go bankrupt every week in 2012 due to the continuing poor economics.

Sequestration (the Scottish term for bankruptcy) the firm predict that over 20,000 Scots will have entered this or a Protected Trust Deed (PTD) by the end of 2011 and that figure will continue to rise throughout 2012.

PKF predict a rise due to further cuts on the household budget; public sector cut backs, hours being cut and wages being frozen and no sign of an upturn in the economy.

The firm also warned that any increase in the base rate of interest would cause an alarming increase in the amount of homeowners going bankrupt.
A spokesperson for PKF said: “The dramatic rise in the number of more affluent Scots being made bankrupt is a further sign that the after effects of the recession are spreading among all sectors of society with the result that I believe all personal insolvencies will continue to rise and remain at high levels for several years to come.”

He also said since LILA came out in 2008 Scottish bankruptcies have steadily increased as many struggling Scots have taken advantage of this cheap way into bankruptcies when they have low assets and low income.

However recently these numbers have fallen and there is an increase in people entering a Protected Trust Deed .This they predict would peak in 2012 as job losses, overtime bans, no increase in wages and personnel circumstances all take their toll on the middle class in Scotland.

“People entering a Protected Trust Deed are more affluent as they have a disposable income and are able to pay something towards their debt“.

“Before the recession if these people were struggling with their debt they would release equity on the ever increasing property they owned , However nowadays property prices are stagnant and banks have a great reluctance to lend at such a volatile time“. This leaves many with little option.