Senior officials from Pakistan have flown to Washington to appeal for debt assistance from the IMF. The exact price of the floods that have ravaged Pakistan will not be known for a long time to come, but the base cost of rebuilding in the country has now soared to £10 billion. Masood Ahmed, IMf director for the Middle East and Central Asia department, said: "The IMF stands with Pakistan at this difficult time and will do its part to help the country," Read More...

According to a new survey by investment Schroders, around a third of UK adults have raided their piggy-banks in the past year. In some cases this is simply to have money to live on, in other cases it can be to help shorten the life of existing debts before placing the remaining debts into consolidation. As the tough financial climate continues to leave many people in need of assistance with their financial woes, the survey estimates that around £60 billion has been raided from savings accounts, with an average withdrawal of around £4,600 per person. Read More...

Debt news for the week beginning 23rd August. Debt relief for parents coming increasingly from children. Debt management plan? Debt management program? What's the difference? Debt relief not necessary if you plan your money now - but will kids learn? Read More...

The recession has brought home the hard truths of personal insolvency, of the need for proper financial management, and the risk of debt. For many teenagers and younger persons across Britain, seeing their families worried and depressed by their finances is a swift wake-up call. Many are learning to be more responsible, and to help out Mum or Dad with money, as more parents seek debt assistance from their children, and are faced with claiming bankruptcy or seeking other such debt solutions. But will those same young people learn from all of this? According to the Personal Finance Education Group, teenagers are becoming far more aware of just how serious debt problems can be. Read More...

Many companies who claim to provide debt relief will use advertise solutions such as a 'debt management program' and some may try and claim that their own product e.g. a 'debt consolidation plan' is somehow different. So how are they different? And which is the best debt solution for you? What many consumers do not realise is that in fact these products tend to all be the same type of debt relief solution, just with a different name. In almost all cases they offer the same advantages, disadvantages. Imagine buying a bottle of cola from a supermarket. Most supermarkets will offer their own brand of cola, and regardless of taste, you would always be buying the same product. A debt management program is one vendor's name for another company's debt management plan - you are still getting the same basic product. Read More...