The final Video IVA Guide episode for January is live today. The 24th episode of our popular and free Debt Advice - IVA Guide.

Our Insolvency Helpline youtube channel is picking up steam as we extend our free debt advice series. See Ian Richards in the 24th epidode and the 5th for january 2009. Today he offers some quick tips to help you improving your family budget and general poersonal finances.The UK Insolvency Helpline has sponsored The Debt Advice - IVA guide is a weekly seminar hosted by Ian Richards, Senior Money Counsellor for the Organization famed for its free National debt advice clinics.

To watch the clip - click here | To watch the complete Debt Advice - IVA Guide series, visit our video page.

To contact The UK Insolvency Helpline call 0800 074 6918 about any kind of IVA Advice. or log onto www.insolvencyhelpline.co.uk

An expert has said that many mortgage holders with standard variable rate deals (SVRs) are "likely to stay put" when their current deal expires.

Michelle Slade, analyst at Moneyfacts.co.uk, pointed out that the average SVR today stands at 5.06 per cent, but rates as low as 3.50 per cent being offered by some of the larger lenders.

"With SVRs this low and no penalty payable when you decide to move to a new deal, many remortgagers are likely just to stay put," Ms Slade said.

The analyst commented that it will be interesting to see if lenders’ attitudes to increasing their margins changes now that the government has just agreed to underwrite the risk of lenders making losses on their bad debts.

By offering this insurance, the government is determined to encourage banks to loosen their lending criteria concerning individuals in an effort to reduce the fear of debt and bankruptcy among Brits.

Many mortgage lenders have only passed on part of the Bank of England’s recent base rate interest cuts to its tracker mortgage customers.

The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (Rec) has urged the government to concentrate on prevention as much as cure when drawing up policies to tackle the growing levels of unemployment in Britain.

Tom Hadley, Rec director of external relations, believes that the government should focus more resources on ensuring that people stay in the world of work rather than just helping the long-term unemployed with retraining schemes.

By doing so, Gordon Brown’s administration could potentially reduce the levels of debt in the country.

Mr Hadley pointed to research which shows that people are more likely to get full-time work when they are already in a job, be it temporary or part-time.

He said: "One of the practical suggestions that we have been making to the government is the role that flexible work - whether temporary work, contract work, or interim work - can play in helping people get back in to work very quickly."

The government recently announced its intention to give employers’ £2,500 ‘Golden Hello’ incentives to recruit and train long-term unemployed people.

There is concern that jobs created by such schemes would only be temporary - offering only brief respite from debt problems for participants.

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The chartered financial planner of Fairinvestment.co.uk has commented on how research from the company has highlighted the various pros and cons of different types of mortgages.

Sharon Bratley believes that the majority of British homeowners won’t feel the benefit of the Bank of England reducing the base interest rate to a record low 1.5 per cent level as 52 per cent have a fixed rate mortgage.

Pointing out that these mortgage holders will at least be able to budget better, she warned that they could face a further blow from experiencing lower interest on their savings accounts, a fact that will increase debt worries.

Almost one in three (29 per cent) have a standard variable rate mortgage, the product that has been cut the most by lenders.

People with tracker mortgages (16 per cent) should have more disposable income with which to address their debt repayments if their lenders have passed on the rate cuts.

Ms Bratley commented: "Lloyds TSB has said that its tracker mortgage could go to zero if the base rate does the same, which is great news for Brits on these types of mortgages, especially as finances are being stretched further and further."

The 23rd episode of the Debt Advice - IVA Guide is avaialble on the internet today. Our youtube channel is picking up steam as we extend our free debt advice series. See Ian Richards in the 23rd video clip with some useful and effective tips for improving your financial position. The UK Insolvency Helpline has sponsored The Debt Advice - IVA guide is a weekly seminar hosted by Ian Richards, Senior Money Counsellor for the Organization famed for its free National debt advice clinics.

To watch the clip - click here | To watch the complete Debt Advice - IVA Guide series, visit our video page.

To contact The UK Insolvency Helpline call 0800 074 6918 about any kind of IVA Advice. or log onto www.insolvencyhelpline.co.uk

MoneyExpert.com has warned that instant access savers are losing out as banks prioritise attracting business from savers with more money to invest.

Sean Gardner, director of MoneyExpert.com, explained that banks struggling to borrow money need a fresh injection of cash and it is the security of long-term investments which will really improve their liquidity.

This policy will be bad news for people struggling with debt, for whom every penny counts.

Mr Gardner said: "Instant access savings accounts aren’t a priority at the moment which explains why a quarter have been withdrawn completely.

"You’d think more would be being done to reward customers who put their money into savings accounts."

Research from moneyexpert.com has found that in the past year the number of instant access savings accounts has decreased by 23 per cent since January of last year.

The interest on instant savings accounts has also declined. At the start of the year the average AER on instant access accounts was 3.76 per cent; now it is just 1.45 per cent.

People needing debt help should approach specialist agencies.

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The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has warned that the government’s new mortgage interest deferment scheme is "not a free lunch".

The scheme is the result of a deal brokered between the government and several of the nation’s largest mortgage lenders.

It enables some borrowers to defer a proportion of their interest payments for up to two years after they suffer a temporary loss of income (such as losing their job).

Eligibility to participate in the scheme depends on complex qualifying criteria and the government has promised to underwrite a percentage of the lender’s ultimate risk of loss.

CML director general Michael Coogan believes that assistance from the initiative could be the difference between keeping and losing a home for many Brits.

But he cautioned: "This scheme is not a payment ‘holiday’ or a ‘free lunch’, but rather a payment deferral. The future impact on borrowers’ repayments may be very significant if they defer a high proportion of their interest."

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