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Whether you’re seeking out an organised debt management plan or you’re trying to resolve your debt problems alone, one of the most important things to do is to prioritise your debts. If you have debts from multiple creditors, deciding which ones are the highest priority can be difficult.

Here are the highest priority debts you should look to clear as soon as possible.

Mortgage or Rent Arrears

The simple fact of the matter is that if you fail to pay your rent or mortgage, you could lose your home. With mortgage arrears, you could even face legal action and the lender you take possession of your home. With mortgage arrears, your landlord could evict you, leaving you without a home and still owing the money. As soon as you find yourself in any difficulty meaning you cannot afford your mortgage or rent, you should contact your lender or landlord as soon as possible and explain the situation fully. Treat this as a high priority payment.

Tax, National Insurance and VAT

Failing to pay tax could lead to bankruptcy and potentially even criminal proceedings against you. This is certainly a high priority debt.

Council Tax

Again, this is a debt that should be considered high priority, as failure to pay could result in legal action against you. Hire Purchase Agreements on Essential Items. While hire purchase payments against non-essential items should be considered low priority, essential items that require a monthly payment should be high priority. Examples include a car that you use for getting to work. Any item where losing it will inhibit your ability to go to work or to live is an essential item.

Gas and Electricity

Gas and electricity companies have the right to cut the supply to your home if you fail to pay and as such this is again a high priority bill. Of course you should pay your water bill as well – though water cannot be cut off and as such should be treated as a lower priority debt.

The final problem with credit card purchases is directly related to a more emotional dimension of these purchases — debt. Americans are accumulating record amounts of debt at breakneck speed, perhaps because of the overabundance of great credit card offers. Credit card companies love to target college students, because they know that college students are notoriously poor and unrealistic. If these companies can “help” college students to spend money that they don’t yet have, they can be assured of monthly payments, and better yet, they can freely raise APR rates when those payments don’t come in on time.

These companies can also train young people to live by a debt mentality, so that even if they can get out of debt at certain phases of life, they will inevitably fall back into debt when the lure of certain items becomes too much for them. If you train people to buy more than they can afford — or to live by “soft,” unrealistic numbers instead of limited resources — you can keep them in a continual position of dependency.

Ideally, before you make a credit card purchase, consider the emotional and economical costs of the purchase. Ask yourself how you will feel after you purchase the item, after you bring it home and begin to grapple with its real cost. This simple question can prevent purchases that may cause regret over the long haul.

New data published by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) indicates that the number of home repossessions has fallen by 1%, from 9,100 in the first quarter of the year to 9,000 in the second quarter. However, some people in the industry have warned of an “arrears timebomb”, with disaster set to strike when rates rise in 2012.

Compared with the second quarter of 2010, the latest repossession figure represents a 7% fall. At this stage in 2010, there had been 19,500 repossessions, compared with 18,100 so far this year. The number of mortgages in arrears of 1.5% to 2.5% has increased, however.

Paul Smee, director general at CML, said that the stabilisation of mortgage repayment problems could be attributed to “stable employment and low interest rates.” He added that he felt there was no need to revise current forecasts in light of the current uncertainty in the global financial markets.

The Citizens Advice Bureau has reported that it has dealt with over 100,000 cases where people are in mortgage or secured loan arrears, and says that it has prevented 5,000 people from losing their homes in the past year. Gillian Guy, chief executive at the CAB, said: “With the cost of living going up daily and incomes lagging badly behind, mortgage lenders and the government must focus on helping people stay in their homes. Repossession is a terrifying prospect and should always be the last resort.”

If you do fall behind with your mortgage payments, you should always treat them as the top priority before paying back any other debts. Otherwise, you risk losing your home. Always contact your lender if you are expecting to miss a payment, rather than waiting for them to start threatening you with legal action. They may be willing to reduce your monthly payments in some circumstances.

Additionally, you should ensure you are receiving any benefits or tax credits to which you are entitled. The Government also operates a Mortgage Rescue scheme, through which you be able to sell your home but continue living there and paying rent. You can get more information on this from your local council.

If you are struggling to repay unsecured loans, credit cards or overdrafts, we can provide confidential debt advice.

Haven’t we all felt this way at one time or another? You hear about or see a product that someone else has already developed that’s so terrific that you get that slap-your-head “why didn’t I think of that?” feeling! So when the idea for a handbag with interchangeable outer covers was presented to me, I knew it was a concept that could potentially revolutionize the women’s accessories market—and as an entrepreneur I wasn’t going to let it get away

In 2007—after a few starts and stops—my business partner Chris Seegmiller and I officially launched Miche Bag (pronounced Mee-Chee), a company named for the original inventor’s nickname.

There was a lot of trial and error during that first year, but eventually we found a formula that not only works, but works extremely well both from a Sales Representative’s as well as a customer’s perspective.

In just three years, Miche has grown at an astounding rate—going from a company selling $21,000 in product per month to one selling well over $55 million a year nationwide and internationally. As an entrepreneur who started his first business at age 13, I’ve learned through experience that there are five tips for success necessary to lay a strong foundation and then bring a vision to life.

See a Need and Fill It

This concept is Business 101, but with Miche “see a need and fill it” seems to have hit the nail on the head. Just about every woman who sees a Miche Bag automatically sees the beauty in the idea and it hits them in an unusually visceral way—women really do hate moving all the contents from one purse to another every time they change their outfit. Buying just one “Base Bag” then collecting various colors and designs of covers (which we call “Shells”) to match their wardrobe or mood makes sense on many different basic levels: this product is economical, it’s convenient and it’s fashionable. It’s a no-brainer because it’s inherently marketable as a “must-have” product. And—conveniently for us—it appeals to consumers in the highest-spending demographic: women 18-55 years old.

Be Flexible During the Development Phase

The idea was terrific, but the product itself needed to be fine-tuned and made practical for mass-production. The main selling point of a Miche Bag is that the Base Bag remains the same so that a woman never has to remove the purse’s contents when she wants a different look—she only needs to switch the outer Shell. We developed seamless, hidden magnetic attachment mechanisms that make changing Shells easy. Others have tried to do what we do, but with little success because our Shells can be changed in 3 seconds or less and they stay secure. Bottom line: without a structurally-sound, easy-to-use product, nothing else really matters; so spend plenty of time experimenting with and perfecting your marquee product or service. Don’t get so caught up in “one way” (i.e., your way) of doing things that you automatically cut off more viable options.

Flexibility and experimentation in the earliest stages are absolutely essential.

Essential in Any Economy: Affordability and Effective Distribution Channels

In addition to being practical, the bags have to be affordable to appeal to our key demographic. We chose to have our design team make Shells using faux leather and other synthetic materials. Not only could women get fashion-forward looks, but they can get them for less—a plus in any economy, but especially so when times are tight. Know who your demographic is, and give them what they want.

We needed to find the best way to sell the Miche Bag. Retail was our first choice, but because the Miche concept is best sold through demonstration rather than display, this venue did not work as well as we’d hoped. We made the jump to the Home Party route and never looked back. This model is flourishing for us.

Get Your Own Hands Dirty, Then Delegate

At one point or another, everyone on our executive team has been involved in every aspect of our business—from design to production to warehousing to marketing to sales. We worked endless, hard hours laying the strong foundation for a successful company. We knew we had this amazing idea and we were very hands-on—especially in the beginning—to make sure we got it right.

Now we’re to the point where we’re releasing a lot of that tight personal control and delegating the day-to-day activities to a growing team of seasoned professionals at our Home Office. We love and value our Miche staff, trust their judgment and their skills, and have created a fun “family” type of environment where we work together to grow our company yet still recognize and respect the contributions of the individual. My office door is always open and the hugs are always free and plentiful. It works for us!

Listen, Listen, Then Listen Some More

We understand that the Distributors and Representatives who market our products and the customers they serve are the lifeblood of our business. It’s essential to listen to what they have to say, take their concerns seriously, and then address them immediately when appropriate. Whenever possible, get out of your office and go to where the rubber hits the road—in our case it’s out in the sales field all across the country and around the world. Our executive team is made up of kind, compassionate, enthusiastic and caring people who spend a considerable amount of time with our independent sales force, getting to know them as individuals, conducting training, and—most importantly—listening. That kind of personal attention not only fosters that “family feeling” among thousands of people who make Miche their living, but it also helps us to create better products and provide better service.

When you have a great idea, work hard, tie up any loose ends, and then surround yourself with amazing people who are as passionate about a product or service as you are, magic is bound to happen. Everyone involved with Miche loves the concept and believes in it passionately—and that kind of enthusiasm at every level is absolutely contagious.