Help is available if you run into financial trouble

There is help available and the sooner a debt problem is addressed the sooner it can begin to be resolved, writes Grainne McGuinness in her weekly consumer advice column.

WE ARE just coming out of one of the most expensive times in the year for families — back to school — and soon it will be time to start planning for Christmas.

There is plenty of advice about how to plan ahead and avoid getting into debt at these crunch times. But when a household slips into unmanageable debt it can be very hard to see a way out.