‘Honesty is best debt management policy’

Honesty is the best policy when it comes to dealing with debt management problems, one expert has asserted.

Derek Oakley, insolvency director at Debt Free Direct, suggests that people who have accumulated serious amounts of debt need to be realistic about the extent of their problems before they can begin to tackle them.

“The first thing to do is to recognise that you have a problem and the second thing to do is to measure the size of that problem,” he said.

“You should work out what you earn and then very honestly, write down what you spend,” he explained.

Moreover, Mr Oakley advises consumers to ensure that they have the least expensive mortgage deal available to them and that they are claiming all the benefits that they are entitled to.

A recent study by Lloyds TSB concluded that UK consumers are set to overspend by around £4.7 billion during the Christmas period, the Telegraph reports.