The Real Cost of Raising Children in 2012 Spells Personal Debt for Many UK Residents

LONDON, January 2, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Since the 2009 recession, it has been well reported that the cost of bringing up children in the UK has continued to rise, despite the fall in disposable incomes. The future looks bleak and recent figures published in LV's 'Cost of a Child: From cradle to college' show child rearing costs have risen by a further 3.3% since 2011. The cost of living will continue to tighten the purse strings of over half of all UK families according to the Bank of England, whose recent study has also found that the average household will lose £22 a month spelling bad news for approximately 11.5 million UK households who are now 'very concerned' about their debts.

The result of this is that many families are finding that they are unable to plan for their future, put money aside for emergencies, savings or pay for insurance policies or pensions. Data collected by debt counselling website iva.co.uk, suggests that many families are putting themselves into debt to cope with childcare, food and other living costs.  Surveys found that over 64% of those in debt have children up to the age of 18 living with them, had on average £43,000 of personal debt and over half reported that their debt problems came about from living beyond their means.

Going into debt to pay for the everyday cost of living is far from ideal and is also very difficult to change once debts are racked up, turning into a vicious cycle whereby many end up taking out further credit in order to pay off older debts. The problems also worsen over periods such as Christmas when pressure to spend is even greater. Getting an impartial opinion as well as free, expert advice and support from others who understand is crucial to turning problems around and is the central focus at iva.co.uk explains founder Andy Davie;

'When you are struggling with debt it is easy to feel alone and lose hope which leads to a very negative vicious circle. Feeling alone and out of control is scary but can be quickly alleviated by talking to others who have similar experiences and can be both therapeutic and useful in terms of learning about the different options available. The terrifying first step can be made a little easier by the resources available on iva.co.uk. We know what it is like to struggle with debt personally so have developed a site which can help people by offering advice and guidance without commitment and lead them through the process gently. We are committed to helping our members to make a fresh start in their happy, healthy and debt free life and will go to great measures to ensure that all of our members receive the highest quality advice in the quickest time possible, wherever they are. '

IVA.co.uk was set up by Andy Davie, Credit Today's 'Debt Councillor of the Year', who after struggling with his own debt problems, has gone onto to lead a debt free and fulfilling life helping others through their own debt problems.  Andy decided to set up IVA.co.uk after completing his IVA in 2006 and finding that there was nowhere for people in IVAs to go for help and advice. Since, the site has grown to be the biggest online IVA community with thousands of people visiting each day for invaluable help and guidance from experts as well as other forum members. Everyone on the team at iva.co.uk is extremely passionate about helping those in debt, many of them having personal experience of debt, making the iva.co.uk mission; to deliver the best information, support and advice about IVA's and financial issues, a very personal one.  The ethos of the business is to go above and beyond the call of duty for their members to ensure that they are given the highest quality care and advice and this is shown by the fantastic feedback that the site and individual team members have received over the years. To find out more please visit http://www.iva.co.uk.