Getting out of debt is rarely easy. People often have debts from a number of creditors, all making you pay different rates of interest, and it can be very difficult to manage. Credit cards, utility bills, retail catalogues – they’re all things where you can end up paying high rates of interest, and it may not always be clear which ones to pay and when.

Being in debt can be extremely stressful. One of the worst, and yet strangely recurrent, ideas is that if you turn your back on it, it will leave you alone. Debt needs to be confronted up front, and if you’re in a lot of debt, there may well be ways to lower your monthly payments and avoid the sting of higher interest rates.  If you have debts on credit cards, then you should consider switching to another card that can offer a few short term perks. For instance, a card that can offer an initial 0% on balance transfers and interest payments for an initial term could be an excellent short term fix if you use it to pay off other debts that have interest. Just make sure you consider the long term options on such a card, because it’s possible that you will get stung after the initial ‘honeymoon period.’

Taking a long term option is often a viable way out of immediate problems, and if you’re a homeowner you may well be able to take out a homeowner loan. Property prices have soared in recent years, so it can be a good way of gaining some immediate cash. By taking out a loan secured against your house, you can consolidate your existing debts into one manageable monthly payment.  However, debt advisers advise people to steer clear of consolidation loan companies. While these companies usually take the effort away from dealing with your creditors, they also usually charge higher interest rates than what is available on the high street.

A lot of banks and financial services offer much better rates than consolidation loan companies, although you will have to manage your own finances. A good option maybe to pay off a lot of your existing debts using a homeowner loan, then take advantage of lower interest – it’s a similar strategy to limiting credit card debt. For secured homeowner loans, ASDA Finance are currently offering a competitive rate of 8.9%, which can be paid off in the long term.