No one wants to bring debt with them into their old age so if you think you’ll be paying back your credit cards forever, talk to a mortgage adviser about using some of your home’s equity to clear the debt for good.

There are still many people entering into retirement with hefty credit card debt – in fact, one in five over-65’s owe money on their credit cards with average debt of £8,967, says Key Retirement Solutions.

Its analysis shows that pensioners making the monthly minimum repayment on a balance of £8,967 at an average 18.8% rate would pay £141 out of average gross pensioner incomes of £16,000. That equates to 10% of monthly income before tax – but someone only paying the minimum would take 30 years and one month to clear the debt without spending any more on the card.

But using some of your home’s equity could cancel out that debt and save you a fortune in your retirement. And there more than enough equity to do this – KRS says the over-65s have property wealth of around £765.2bn after paying off mortgages and gaining from increases in house prices.

Dean Mirfin, business development director at KRS, says: “Debt is a way of life for a substantial number of people and the over-65s are not immune. Many are perfectly comfortable with owing money on their credit cards and it can be a sensible way of planning for major purchases.

“Many of them do though have substantial wealth tied up in their homes which represents a potential source of income particularly when other sources of retirement income are under pressure from low interest rates and annuity rates.”

SOURCE: KRS, 16/03/10

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A new report has found that 40% of young adults need their parents to help them get by, day-to-day – a tough task for any parent, but one that could be helped by a secured loan.

The Children’s Mutual and the Social Issues Research Centre found that 41% of 18 to 25-year-olds regularly have their day-to-day living costs funded by their parents. While financial assistance towards university fees, mortgage deposits and paying for weddings were all identified as key pulls on the parental purse, the report also uncovered a generation of youngsters receiving financial support by paying little or no rent, and receiving contributions to their bills and day-to-day living expenses.

David White, chief executive of The Children’s Mutual, says: “There has been a major change in the dynamic of family finances and it needs to be dealt with now as the problem could be growing for anyone who has children. Many parents of today’s young adults are choosing to make their children’s finances their problem and are increasingly faced with difficult choices – perhaps to take on more debt or to reduce funds that are available for them.”

It’s natural to help your kids, and during a recession it might be vital to do what you can to help them get by. Obviously everyone would prefer to be independent, but tough times call for tough decisions.

If you are trying to help your kids, you could talk to a broker about unlocking some of the capital in your home. Using a secured loan could take some of the capital in your property and allow your children to get through a rough patch. Maybe they need help paying off a loan, moving house or even buying a new car. You would do all you can to help them – and a secured loan is just another way to make sure you can.

SOURCE: Children’s Mutual, 24/02/09

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You may have just seen your bills from the Christmas period and you might think it is time to sit down and really take stock.

If you have debts you may want to seriously consider slimming them down in 2009. And if your outgoings are just getting too much, you may want to find some way to ease the pressure.

The best way is to do this is by using the equity in your home – taking some of it out in the form of a secured loan may be able to help you get everything in order and ship shape for the year ahead. You can use the money to pay off debt or help with outgoings, meaning you have more time and space in 2009 to keep your finances trim.

But how much equity do you have in your home? What is your property worth? Maybe its time to see how much you are sitting on – you might be surprised with the results.

Talk to your mortgage broker and find out what you need to do to unlock some of your wealth. And it is your wealth – you earned it while you diligently paid your mortgage as your house price rose, so use it, wisely.

To keep up with the latest news and comments on current financial affairs please visit the Secured Loan Blog.