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A
third of people in Hampshire, Dorset and the Isle of Wight have
outstanding debts they want to pay off.
Across the UK, more than a million people went to Citizens Advice
last year with debt problems - many owing more than 14 times as
much as they earn.
Thomas from Weymouth managed to fall £20,000
in debt simply by overspending on his credit cards.
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| Fantastic
plastic? |
He
told BBC Radio Solent: "There is so much marketing, it's easy
to get into debt - cards are evil. What I did was to consolidate
the debt and that freed up other cards and I only realised when
I didn't earn enough income to meet the outgoings."
Thomas found the biggest problem was talking about the problem,
especially admitting to his friends and family that he has a debt
problem.
As for a solution, Thomas has started to moderate his spending:
"You have to be organised and work out what you can afford
and stick to that. If you know what the consequences are, you think
twice about spending."
Vince
Ibbs from Portsmouth Citizens' Advice Bureau deals with hundreds
of people who have found themselves in debt through divorce, death
of wage earner, losing a job or ill health, as well as over-commitment
and poor money management with credit or store cards.
Worryingly, more than half had been trying to cope with their debt
problems by borrowing more.
Vince encourages negotiating
with creditors and working out an effective budget plan
as the best way to escape debt: "It's extremely easy to rack
up debts - it takes a long time to get into debt and it takes time
to work through your debts, but it can be done."
Meet the
team tackling student debt in Southampton
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| Cash
converters |
As
some people shy away from getting into debt, or are looking for ways
to get out of the red, pawnbroking,
one of the oldest professions, is as busy as
ever.
Mike Budgen from the Portsmouth branch of Cash Converters: "We
pretty much buy and sell anything - if you buy a new TV, your old
TV is of value to somebody, somewhere."
However
getting into debt can take various routes. For many people, it's
overspending on our credit cards, but Paul
Cooper in Portsmouth took out nearly £500,000 in personal
loans because of his passion for food.
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| Paul
Cooper |
He
took over a failing soup business, The Soup Ladle: "Rather
than seeing it as a debt, it's an investment."
Having
sunk his life savings into the project within nine months, he then
took out personal loans which increase the capacity of his premisis
to the point where they can churn out 400 litres of soup a month.
What
are your opinions on debt? Have you got deeper into debt than you
wanted? What advice and tips have you got on getting out of debt?
E-mail us at southampton@bbc.co.uk.
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