Many people who i speak to on a day to day basis assume quite wrongly that because their debt problem is big in terms of pounds owed then the solution has to be on a grand scale, massively complicated and demanding of a lot of their time.

The truth however could not be more different it is usual that the simplest solutions can have the most effective and immediate results.

Many agencies will suggest consolidation loans, consolidation remortgages or IVA's, and each of those solutions most definitely has its place in the field of debt management, but they are far from ideal in the majority of circumstances.

The first two, the loan or remortgage are flawed for a great number of people what are already struggling with debt as at the basest level you are just replacing one debt with another usually spread over a longer term and securing what was previously unsecured debt on your property and therefore putting your property at risk. Ask yourself the following questions before using this method of debt control, 1) Am I sure that I can afford the monthly payments long term. 2) What will happen if I miss payments? 3) Is this worth risking my home for? 4) How much am I repaying in the long term?

The IVA can be a superb solution for many people however it does take a good while to set up, on average 6 to 8 weeks, it can be an expensive option as an insolvency practitioner is required to administer both your application for an IVA and then to administer the plan itself. There are many qualifying criteria for an IVA among which are your income, the amount of equity in your property, the amount of your debt and it is dependent on 75% of your creditors agreeing to the IVA. You will also be asked at the end of the fourth year of your 5 year IVA to use your best endeavours to clear the whole of your debt, this could then slap you straight back to options 1 and 2 the consolidation loan or consolidation remortgage. An IVA is finally dependant on court approval and you are then subject to a court registered agreement. IVA's which fail due to non payment can easily lead to the subject being made bankrupt.

A further solution exists in the form of the informal debt management plan. This is in a sense the kid brother to the IVA. The big advantage is that the only real qualifying criteria is that you are struggling financially and that your commitments including your unsecured credit are running ahead of your income. There is no qualifying number of creditors to agree to the plan, there is no requirement for an insolvency practitioner to be involved, there no orders in court and no requirement to borrow extra money to pay off your current debt at the risk of your home. A debt management plan usually takes just one telephone call of around 20 minutes to a debt management advisor to set up. The debt management company will the contact each of your creditors with a proposed new monthly repayment, they will explain the reasons for your difficulties and begin asking your creditors to freeze your interest payments.

So whilst all of the above plans have their benefits and their place in the system, the most simple, speedy and risk free solution to the debt problems of the vast majority is the informal debt management plan.