Debt Awareness Week 2025 - Debt Consolidation Loan

Are you tired of paying for high-interest credit cards where the balance doesn’t seem to be reducing? Do you feel like you’re juggling payments to multiple companies, leaving you in your overdraft every month? If that sounds like you, we want to help. We want to support you, so you can say goodbye to high-interest credit cards, cut them up, and feel like your money is your own again.

With the right approach, you can take back control of your financial situation and feel the security you deserve. To highlight Debt Awareness Week 2025, we wanted to put together our own guide on how you can make all of this possible. If at any point in this process, you want to chat, just give the Metro Moneywise Loans Team a call on 01706 298 966.

1. Set aside some time to start a budget-planner

Starting this process can be hard and overwhelming, but allocating a good amount of time to budget planning can help debt consolidation feel more manageable. A budget planner doesn’t have to be complicated – there are some great free templates you can download online. But to get started, we’d suggest just a plain piece of paper and a pen – plus a cup of tea and a few biscuits.

2. Check your bank statements

Your full statements will be available for you to download from your online banking. Or you can ask for a printed copy from the bank. Sometimes having them printed can make the information easier to take in – but do what works for you.

Firstly, on the statements, you want to be looking at income and make a note of all the income you receive each month or week. Then we suggest you move to outgoings and start to write down anything that you pay monthly/weekly.

TOP TIP: At this point, it would be good to keep household bills and debt payments in separate lists so that you can come back to this later.

When you’re looking through your statements, check to see if any payments have been missed. If they have, we’d suggest contacting the company to arrange an alternative payment plan. Household bills should be treated as a priority when looking at this. If you’re worried about rent arrears, have a look at what Shelter suggests.

TOP TIP: This is also a great opportunity to look at any monthly subscriptions you pay. Could you do without any of them? Also, check to see whether you could switch to a SIM-only phone contact to save some money.

3. Check interest rates

Having a list of all the debt payments you make each month will make it easier to start collecting your statements for those companies. Work your way through the list and – if you have one – log into your account to access your statements. If you don’t have an online account, you may need to call them to request a printed copy. This may delay the process slightly, as it will need to be posted to you – but it is a vital step.

These statements will show you your balance, your monthly/weekly payments, and the interest rate you’re being charged – all of this should be noted down.

Now that you have all the information, you’ll want to consider a few things:

• How much is your total debt?
• What are your total monthly/weekly payment for your debts?
• Who are you paying the most interest with?
• Are there any credit cards that you could stop using but continue to pay to reduce your balance?
• Are you able to start making higher payments towards any of your debt?
• If you were to consolidate all your debt into one place, how much could you afford to pay?

Once you know what position you’re in, you can decide what your next steps will be. You might feel like you can manage this yourself by making a few positive changes. If, however, you feel as though the level of debt you have is too much to control yourself, then we’d suggest having a look at the loans that we offer. Here, you’ll be able to find a loan product that suits you and have a look at the loans calculator.

The Metro Moneywise Loans Team is always on hand and happy to chat through your options or any concerns you have – just get in touch.

4. A debt consolidation loan with Metro Moneywise Credit Union

If you decide that a debt consolidation loan is your preferred route, download the Metro Moneywise app and complete a loan application form for the loans team to consider. They will require:

• An open banking connection (find out more about open banking)
• Full and clear statements for the accounts you’re looking to clear (showing the balance and interest rate)
• We will also do a full credit check of our own

Your debt may have impacted your credit score, but the score itself isn’t the most important thing to us. The credit check that we do will also show your full credit history and the balances on the accounts you have.

In some cases, we may be unable to approve a loan for the full amount that you’re applying for. However, we will look at the full picture, see which accounts would be the most beneficial to consolidate with us, and put a plan in place so we can work together to take control of your financial future.

If you have any questions for the loans team about the process, feel free to get in touch.