Advice NI predicts bluest Monday on record for Northern Ireland

Advice NI predicts this Blue Monday will signal the beginning of an extremely challenging year for more people, as the cost-of-living crisis leaves household finances at trigger point. Its encouraging people experiencing debt or a risk of being in debt to get in touch and speak to their expert advisers.

Advice NI and its members have dealt with over 4,062 cases in the last twelve months, managing over £35.2m of household debt in more than 6,800 agreements, signaling that there is often an available solution for people struggling with debt.

Financial difficulties are on the increase as rising petrol, food and energy prices have pushed households into an unprecedented cost-of-living crisis. Sinead Campbell, Head of Money, Debt & Quality, Advice NI said: “As a result, the unfortunate reality for many is an over reliance on credit cards and loans.

She explains: “January is already a difficult month for people as bills and debt from Christmas spending become reality, but this year the landscape has changed and due to the cost-of-living crisis, people who’ve never experienced debt before are struggling.

“If you are experiencing financial difficulties, support is available. Advice NI is the first stop in helping to find a solution. Although it can seem like the easiest option, ignoring debt can lead to further difficulties so get in touch early and don’t face it alone. Everyone is feeling the struggle right now and debt should no longer be a taboo subject.”

Debt can come in many forms such as rent, mortgage payments and energy bills, credit card bills, buy-now-pay-later finance and unmet direct debits.

Advice NI’s free and confidential Debt & Money Service, funded by the Department for Communities, aims to help clients to free their future by providing straight-forward debt advice to tackle the issue head-on. Once service users call the debt service, expert money and debt advisers provide advice and information to help people take back control of their finances, including bespoke support, budget advice, solutions to deal with your debt and negotiating with creditors on your behalf.

Sinead adds: “Contact Advice NI by calling the Freephone helpline on 0800 915 4604 to speak directly to an adviser between 9am and 5pm Monday – Friday. You can browse our website, www.adviceni.net/debt for full details of the service including contact details and locations of advisers in your area, and you can use the Money Talks hub to access useful online tools and information.

“For households feeling the pressure there’s a number of online resource which are free to access ahead of getting in touch with Advice NI such as the budget planner to budget and take control of household spending, the energy comparison tool to compare supplier tariffs throughout Northern Ireland and the SafeFood tool which provides helpful advice for shopping on a budget.

“Additionally, households can try to avoid unnecessary debt by setting budgets and sticking to them, if you know you have a big expenditure coming up try to save a little earlier and be careful of hidden expenses. Keeping an eye of your bank balance or overdraft limit can help avoid charges or interest which can be a budget killer.”

Advice NI has 65 members across Northern Ireland with more than 300 advisers providing free advice, including money and debt, in each council area.

Anyone can access Advice NI’s money and debt advice now for free and in confidence on freephone: 0800 915 4604 or by emailing advice@adviceni.net.

ENDS

For further information contact: 

Nikki McKeown

• 07599568814
• n.mckeown@navigatorblue.com

Notes to editor:

1. Advice NI and the Independent Advice Network in Northern Ireland dealt with 241, 088 enquiries in 2020/21. For more information log on to www.adviceni.net
2. Advice NI’s Freephone helpline number for all our advice services is 0800 915 4604 or contact us at advice@adviceni.net. You can call this number 9am-5pm, Monday to Friday for free and impartial advice on benefits, HMRC products, non-medical Covid-19 matters, the EU Settlement Scheme as well as personal and business debt.