Squirreling away a pair of new shoes and shredding the bank balance should raise a few warning flags. But spouses are managing to hide their secret borrowing to cope with their spiralling debts. Marriages may be built on a foundation of love and trust, but when it comes to hard cold cash, debt is driving a wedge between blissful married lives. If you're hiding spiralling debts, taking out an IVA, facing up to your debts and finding a strategy to move forwards could help save your marriage.

IVA – In sickness and in health

Marriage is a compromise with many ups and downs, but perhaps for newly weds the illusion of being happily married is more important than facing up to the ugly truths. Admitting to your spouse that you have unmanageable debt can be daunting but the longer you leave it, the longer you'll be living a lie, the harder it will be to salvage your debt and your relationship. An IVA shows that you are willing to work hard to avoid bankruptcy, and that you can deal with hardships life throws your way.

IVA – For richer or poorer

Around 10 million Brits are faced with debt, for some the debt can unravel their lives. Debt can completely overwhelm you – it can take away your possessions, your lifestyle, and your home and in many cases debt can spell the beginning of the end of a marriage. If you're concerned you are teetering on the brink, an IVA could offer you a debt management solution that puts your life back on track.

IVA – For better or worse

Nobody is perfect, and the marriages that do survive are the ones where couple's are honest about their weaknesses as well as their strengths.  It's estimated that a fifth of us hide secret debts from our partners, and when a marriage does break down many try and blame their debts on their estranged partner. A survey by a leading credit agency on secret debt revealed that more of us in relationships should be thinking about debt management solutions such as taking out an IVA:

• 23% of Brits have hidden debt from a partner
• 14% admit hiding debts of over £5,000
• A fifth of 30 year-olds hide debt from their spouse
• A third of 40 year-olds hide debt from their partners
• Men are more likely to hide debts than women

Varden Nuttall has been established for over 15 years and is dedicated to helping people in financial difficulty find a debt management solution through an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA). Employing 90 people, including trained and skilled IVA administrators, we are one of the largest IVA companies in the UK and handle over 3% of all IVA applications. To find out more about the company, or to make an appointment to talk about putting an IVA in place, call us today on 0800 031 9802 or fill in our online enquiry form.