Do You Need Debt Counselling?

Debt counselling is a service provided that gives advice and support to people who are in financial difficulty. This service is majority funded by the government and is generally associated with an organisation; you’ll rarely will find a private debt counsellor. 

More to the point, a debt counsellor identifies whether or not you are officially over indebted. If yes, they will negotiate on your behalf to the creditors to reduce your instalments and/or lower your interest rates. 

Debt review involves a method where they will extend your repayment plan, making sure it is more manageable. This will give you peace of mind leading into a more stable financial future. 

How will debt counselling help me?

Ever since debt review and consolidation was introduced by the National Credit Act in 2007, many individuals have been asking; is debt review a good thing or a bad thing. Fortunately, the answer to that is debt review is in fact a good thing for over indebted consumers. 

Since 2007, thousands of individuals’ lives have changed for the better, rescuing households from the brink of financial ruin. As with all things in life however, there are disadvantages to the process.

An example of this is not being able to take out any more credit for a few years. However, this is a great thing for your future. This can prevent you from creating more debt for yourself and hopefully you’ll become debt free. 

If you or any immediate family members are struggling financially, you are not on your own. Unfortunately, one in three Australians are living week to week, searching for financial advice. Deciding whether or not you need professional help can sometimes be extremely hard. 

Not knowing if you’re eligible or simply just feeling embarrassed are huge reasons why many individuals do not seek advice.

However, debt consolidation with a qualified individual and keeping yourself accountable is the first step into a brighter financial future.

Again, there are many free government support services out there for you to readily use.

When to consider counselling?

Perhaps it’s time to consider debt counselling if you are:

• Considering bankruptcy
• Not making back monthly repayments 
• Going to court 
• Not breaking the payday lending cycle
• In a situation where your house or car is being threatened to be taken away
  

There’s no shame in seeking and asking for help. Once you’re willing to resolve your debt and are fully committed to make changes, getting back on track becomes easier.

If you liked our ‘’Do you need debt counselling?’’ and took away some valuable information, check our blog space regularly for more updates on the best budgeting apps in Australia.