Page 74 - Benjamin Franklin\'s The Way to Wealth: A 52 brilliant ideas interpretation - PDFDrive.com

provides protection from court action, and is not published in the local
paper (unlike bankruptcy). Furthermore you can continue to have a current
account (unlike bankruptcy), continue to trade as a business and you aren’t
disqualified from work in the financial sector. So what’s not to like?

Well, for a start that IVA will typically stay on your credit record for six
years (bankruptcy is just one) which may seem a small price to pay until
you consider that your chances of getting business loans, overdrafts or a
mortgage during that time are slim—to put it mildly. IVAs may be more
discreet than bankruptcy but they typically last five times longer, are still
recorded on a publicly searchable record and will be automatically converted
to bankruptcy if you default. Do you really want to handcuff your potential
to grow and raise money for that long in order to get out of a temporary
scrape?

HERE’S AN IDEA FOR YOU…
Don’t go to the private sector first for help getting out of a hole. Your
interests are not necessarily the same as theirs. If you’re in the UK,
speak to the National Debtline (www.nationaldebtline.co.uk) instead or
the charity Consumer Credit Counselling Service (www.cccs.co.uk) for
free advice and debt management plans.