How to get free debt help

As there are numerous debt help charities out there, if you are looking for advice on anything debt-related, whether it is just a query or something more severe, it will be worth giving somebody a ring. However, if you have a question that is not necessarily specific to your unique situation, it might be worth giving it a google first, just to save you time.

Debt charities can help you prioritise your debts, communicate with your lenders, set a realistic budget, plan a repayment schedule and more. If you have decided that free debt help might prove useful, take a look at this list of charities and choose the one that you feel is best for you. Keep in mind that your financial situation may be too complex for free advice, and they may recommend that you consult a specialist, however economically unappealing this option may be.

You should also remember that the people you are speaking to may be volunteers, and not experts. You also need to be realistic - while the advice they give will be enlightening, you cannot expect for your situation to dramatically improve in a single visit or phone call. Ultimately, it is up to you to enforce their recommendations and improve your debt management.

Here is our list of free services that can help:

• Citizens Advice offers free help, both face-to-face or over the telephone
• Christians Against Poverty provide a home-visit service, where they will advise and help you with budgeting
• PayPlan can provide you with free debt management plans
• StepChange Debt Charity offer both advice and free debt management plans
• National Debtline can give you advice via telephone and will help you with setting up a free debt management plan
• Shelter is a housing charity which offers services face-to-face, over the telephone, or online

To ensure that your conversation is as productive as possible, you should sit down with a pen and paper before contacting a free debt service and gather all the relevant information you need. Calculate how much you owe for each debt, which may involving contacting your creditors. You should also check your interest rates and the size of your monthly repayments. Other information you should have to hand is your income and any other monthly bills. You may need to consult banking statements to check that this information is accurate.