Debt Solutions

Financial planning also means taking care of any debts you may have. These may include credit card debt, or mobile phone debt, or just plain simple debt.

You may need to establish a debt agreement with your creditors whereby you undertake to pay off a fixed amount of your debt over an extended period. There are debt solutions out there that will give you debt help and ultimately make you debt free again. It is never too late to get rid of your debt. Ask your financial planner about debt consolidation and how it can help you.

In a credit-obsessed society many people are struggling with spiralling levels of debt from credit cards or loans. Debt is not always avoidable, but the best cure is always prevention, so the first way to avoid debt is to save. Many advisors recommend saving at least 10% of your income.

But in order to stick to this, you need to put aside money for big annual expenses like insurance, or Christmas presents, and any unexpected expenses that could arise. If you do decide to borrow money, make sure you don't borrow more than you can afford to pay back, and remember that rates could rise.

Another resource you might be useful is the ACCC and ASIC's joint publication, Dealing with Debt.