Many people have found themselves knee deep in debt over recent years, and this results partly from the global financial crisis and the recession, both of which have had a huge negative impact on the finances of many households. For many the financial problems that have hit them over the past couple of years have resulted in huge levels of debt, with many people having accrued debt such as credit cards, overdrafts, and loans.

Whilst some of those that have accrued these debts may now be finding it a little easier to manage their money and honour their financial commitments due to the end of the recession there are still many others who continue to struggle financially, and who are finding it difficult if not impossible to make payment on their financial commitments.

For many of those that have accrued a lot of debt and are finding it hard to keep up with their debt repayments it is vital to find a solution that will enable them to sort their financial problem out as quickly as possible before matters get worse. There are a number of options open to those that have high debt levels, and one of these is known as the IVA or Individual Voluntary Arrangement.

With an IVA those that have above a specified level of unsecured debt with a number of different lenders could be eligible to make set monthly payments based on their income and outgoings, and after a period of five years the remainder of the debt is written off.

An IVA can be a great solution for those that are struggling to pay their unsecured debts, and can really help to ease the financial burden for those that are truly struggling. However, those considering an IVA should bear in mind that it is considered to be a softer alternative to bankruptcy and therefore should not be taken lightly.

An IVA should not be seen as a means of escaping debt, as the long term effects on your credit file and the various side effects can make life difficult. However, it can prove extremely effective for those that truly cannot make their debt repayments.

This interested in opting for an IVA can contact one of a number of debt charities or advice groups, who will be able to go through the criteria and can quickly determine eligibility for an IVA.

Should those in debt consider an IVA? is a post from: Glitec

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Individuals with PayPal accounts can send money to one another securely online. You possibly can deposit cash in a PayPal account from a bank account or a bank card, and withdraw money to your bank account. It is the most common means of paying on e bay, in addition to being in widespread use on the remainder of the Internet.

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You always hear about buying things off-season, or that some things are expensive because they are in-season.  The tricky part is, how do you know when to buy what?  Luckily, here’s a guide (largely according to Lifehacker) for how to take advantage of the best deals during this time of the year.

1. The best thing to buy right now is a house.  While this doesn’t apply to the month of March exactly, it does apply to right now.  The first time home buyer tax credit is running out, and mortgage rates are predicted to go up.  Already have a house?  Make sure your mortgage rate is low, or take advantage of the currently low rates and refinance.  After all, you don’t want to be stuck at a high mortgage rate for the remainder of your loan when you could be saving thousands.

Keep in mind that the tax credit expires April 30th (which is when you need the purchase agreement signed by), and that it’s now been extended to existing homeowners too.

If you already have a house and you’re perfectly happy with your mortgage rate, you could look into investment properties because property values are so low right now.  Regardless of how you look at it, it’s a buyer’s market and buying now could be a very good investment in the near future.

2. The next purchase best bought during the winter season (January through beginning of March) is a gas grill if you had been wanting one.  Gas grills are clearly off-season, and are always marked down during the colder months when no one can actually use the grills.  So, think ahead, and if you wanted one for this summer, be sure to get one before the weather warms up.

One downside to buying a grill now is that the selection is pretty small – but that shouldn’t be a huge deal since the technology behind a grill is…well ancient really.

3.  Along the same lines, air conditioners are generally cheaper during the colder months, and March is basically your last call for cooling equipment.  To get a bigger discount, look into combining the sale items with an in-store coupon since Lowes and Home Deport are frequently sending those out in the mail.

4. Winter Coats.  When it comes to clothing, you should always buy opposite of season.  Expensive coats are usually marked down to 75% off when spring gets closer, as stores need to clear out the winter inventory to make room for the spring collections.  However, the timing for this is a bit tricky, as for some stores it’s a careful balance to get the discount without waiting soo long that the selection is gone.

Along with coats, you should also stock up on mittens/gloves, hats, scarves, boots, and any other winter accessories.  Beyond that, sweaters, and other winter clothing will be on sale from January to March.

5.  Snow Gear.  The best time to buy a shovel, snow blower, sleds, skis, snowboards, etc. is when winter is just about over.  Stores are going to be putting steep discounts on their leftover inventory to make room for the new stock, and the same idea applies to snow gear as it did for winter clothing.

6. Boats.  According to Lifehacker, March is the tail end of the winter boat show season, so it’s a good time to catch both last year’s and this year’s models at a good price from a dealer.

7. Frozen food.  March is apparently frozen food month, which means your local grocer could be offering deals on frozen food.  This could be a good time to invest in a deep freezer (chest freezers are more energy efficient than door freezers, which is what most deep freezers come in) and you could store a lot of meat this way.  Lifehacker also has a great chart on how long you can store frozen meats.

Beyond meats, grocery stores might also have more discounts on frozen foods like ice cream because there’s less demand in the winter.  If you have a large family, it might be worthwhile to stock up for a couple months and save a little money in the long run.

8. A Toyota.  This is a little random, but it’s worth a try.  If you have been looking for a car anyways (not saying you should just go out and buy one, but rather this is a good thing to check into if  you are already looking for a car) you could look into Toyotas.  Why this brand?  Well with the recent news, dealerships may be willing to cut a bigger discount for you if sales aren’t going so well.

Toyota Priuses are also well ranked by U.S. News & World Report despite the brake issue, so it may be a good time to take advantage of a good car at a lower price.  I happened to get mine for quite a bit lower than the initial asking price, and certainly much lower than the prices a year ago when I first checked around.  I don’t know if this was because of the bad press, but I’m pretty happy with the purchase.

9. Jewelry, chocolate, and Valentines gifts.  Since Valentines is over, some stores still have quite a bit of heart shaped inventory left over.  And while jewelry stores can barely keep up with the demand right before Valentines, business often slows right after.  Zales is having a huge clearance right now, and local Starbucks are still trying to get rid of heart-decorated mugs.  So, if you aren’t picky, or have someone who enjoys many things that can be considered “Valentine themed”, now is a good time to get this stuff on sale.  Godiva also often offers sale items right after the holiday, although now might be a little late.

Related posts:

1. Spring-cleaning tips for homeowners …
2. Winter Home Maintenance Checklist …
3. Three Important Tax Deductions for Homeowners …

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While there is nothing on the economic calendar today, the remainder of the week will be packed with important data. Key reports include the PPI, housing data, and CPI.

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Can you not pay all of your debts? Are you wanting to preserve your assets? What about wanting to rebuild your credit score? You will find the answer to all these questions right here. Step one is to file bankruptcy in order to protect your remaining assets. Once you have done this, you are on the safer side of things. You now do not need to pay the remainder of your debt to any creditors. Now it’s time to begin working on repairing that credit score, or else you will not be able to get lender from anyone in the future.
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With the September Monetary Policy Committee meeting having been held last week the Bank of England has announced that there is to be no change in the current base interest rate, which will remain at its record low of just 0.5 percent for yet another month.

This marks the sixth month in a row that the base rate has been left on hold, and will come as a relief to many struggling homeowners and industry groups who have been hoping that the base rate will stay at this record low level for as long as possible.

Many industry experts had already predicted that the base rate would remain on hold for this month, and some have gone as far as to say that it is likely that the rate will stay at this record low for the remainder of this year and into next year as the economy makes efforts to recover.

One economist said that if the economy continued to show signs of recovery interest rates hikes could start to come into play in the early part of next year, stating: ‘If the economic data continues to improve, we could see the first interest rate hike in the first quarter of next year.’

Following the latest MPC meeting the Bank of England also announced that there was to be no further extension on the quantitative easing program, with the government having already exceeded the £150 billion limit by ploughing £175 billion into the economy through this process so far.

Last month there was a surprise £50 billion extra announced following the MPC meeting, with rumours that the governor of the central bank had been calling for even more than this amount.

One official said that the central bank may look at the quantitative easing scheme again later in the year, stating: ‘Having extended the programme only last month it would have been very surprising if they’d felt the need to extend again this month. I expect they’re on hold until November. Our guess is that they may extend again in November.’

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