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More people sought help for their sub-prime mortgage problems than ever in 2009 as many woke up to the fact that only proactive behaviour will solve debt problems.

It doesn't matter who you talk to if you have sub-prime problems – it might be a mortgage adviser, your lender, a debt manager or even a debt charity – all that matters that you take action and begin working on a plan to solve your financial woes.

The Citizens Advice Bureau has reported record numbers for people seeking help with debt problems at the end of 2009. It says it is currently dealing with 9,500 new debt problems every working day and debt and benefit issues combined now account for 60% of the CAB workload. CAB advisors handled 2.27 million debt problems in 2009.

The latest research from Equifax certainly backs up these figures – it found that 20% of people it surveyed have lost income either through cutbacks in overtime, an enforced pay cut or reduction in working hours, or because they didn’t get a bonus last year.

Neil Munroe, external affairs director of Equifax says: “At the start of 2010, nearly a quarter of respondents said they had not had a pay rise so far this year and 64% are either not expecting one, or are unsure if they will get a pay increase, and that appears to be putting increasing pressure on family budgets.

“Nearly a third of consumers surveyed said that they felt they were in debt because their living expenses had increased in the last year. This is a big challenge for many families. Whilst interest rates have dropped, the cost of many essential items hasn’t followed suit and this is adding to the burden on those already juggling various monthly financial commitments."

SOURCE: Equifax, CAB, 24/02/10

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