People in debt suffering in silence

Many people who are struggling with debt are keeping their financial problems to themselves.

According to TSB and Lightning Reach, over one in ten people (12%) feel their debt is becoming hard to manage.

Meanwhile, more than one in 20 (6%) have fallen behind on payments.

But the problem is being compounded by the fact that many people facing money issues are suffering in silence.

People reluctant to ask for help

One in four people polled (25%) said they wouldn’t feel comfortable asking for financial support, even if they needed it.

And almost one in three (32%) said they feel too embarrassed to reach out for help.

Worryingly, many people are especially reluctant to speak to loved ones about money worries.

Nearly a third (31%) said they don’t feel confident speaking with family, while a similar number (32%) aren’t comfortable sharing financial matters with friends.

If push came to shove, people would prefer to speak about money with:

• charities and debt specialists - 88%
• banks - 87%
• their partner - 87%

Christopher’s story

Our customer Christopher knows just how important a conversation can be. 

Christopher was struggling with debt and working long hours to try to make ends meet.

He said: “I was just lay there one day, thinking is it worth it, shall I just go?”

After reaching out for support, things began to change.

“[Money Wellness] were very supportive… knowing how much I’ve got to pay out each month… it’s easier to manage,” he commented.

“It’s making me feel more relieved, more relaxed… it’s given me that confidence back that I didn’t have.” 

It’s a good example of how, sometimes, just starting the conversation can make a real difference.

Debt advice is available

If you have debts that you can’t afford to pay, it’s important that you don’t just ignore them and hope they’ll go away.

Get in touch with us and we can give you confidential, practical and impartial debt advice and discuss what you can do next.

Get on top of your budget

Another way to regain a sense of control over your money is to create a household budget.

If you know how much money you have coming in and where it’s going, you can identify possible savings and prioritise money for essential expenses like bills.

The TSB and Lightning Reach study found that many households are now actively budgeting.

In fact, almost half (46%) budget every week, a third (32%) budget once a month and one in ten (10%) budget every day.

Check out our guide to how to create a budget to find out how you can do the same.

And give our budget planner a try - it’s free and easy to use.

Try our household bills calculator

If you’re worried about how rising costs could affect your finances, it could be worth trying our free and interactive household bills calculator.

It only takes a few minutes to use and shows how bills may change based on where you live.

Find out what benefits you can claim

You might be able to claim financial support from the government to help you with your living costs.

Use our benefits calculator to see what you could be eligible to receive.