How to pay off your debt
How to off your debt
This video from Finder UK explains different types of debt and how to get out of debt.
Hello
It’s fine talking about budgeting and planning, but what if you’re really struggling to meet essential payments? What if you’re in debt now, or if you need some money urgently?
Before you do something, you might regret, let us give you some information on what your options are.
It’s not just you – the average UK household debt was £60,720 in November 2020
Debt and loans can be good. Yes, you heard right, taking out a credit card or loan can be good. Often you can benefit from interest free periods or low interest rates. In the UK we have had until very recently a very low interest rate and borrowing to spread costs and pay back each month can be cheap money. The problem occurs when you keep borrowing or your income stops or reduces.
Having a good credit score is really important so read on to find out more.
Before you sign up for a credit card or expensive store card, it makes sense to think about whether you really need to borrow money.
DebtDrive is not only about getting out of debt but also about how to learn how to borrow wisely.
Click on a heading below and see a summary, and if you're interested you can GO and read more about it!
Here are some facts and stats about debt. GO!
It’s not only individuals and households who get into debt, countries do too. Find out more about world debt. GO!
UK households accrue debt for a number of reasons. See how much UK households owe and on what. GO!
See what you can do to avoid getting too far into debt. GO!
Not all debt is bad – sometimes a loan can help your financial position. GO!
This could be the key section – what can you do when things get tough and you find yourself in debt. GO!
See how important your credit score is to you and how you can improve it. GO!
When it all gets too much there’s always the option to declare yourself bankrupt. See what that means. GO!
If you’re a visitor to our site you can join and download information, assess your own health and create your own action plans, and even contribute to our site. GO!
See some ideas on next steps you can take. GO!
We have some additional information on this subject. GO!
per UK household in November 2020
Rise in UK financial vulnerability during the pandemic as far as Q1 2021. This was
driven by higher use of credit, increased dependence on benefits and increased use of alternative financial products. Lowell Vulnerability Index Oct 2021
who by Dec 2020 had borrowed more because of Coronavirus
Proportion of users of Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) who are struggling to pay their bills (Citizens Advice). Citizens Advice has found that many shoppers do not view BNPL as “proper borrowing”
per UK adult in November 2020
Secured debt (mortgages) comprise 88.7% of total personal debt at the end of November 2021. Money Charity This is 108.6% of average earnings!
of all types in 2020
StepChange Debt Charity reports that 66% of 13,000 new clients who received full debt advice in November 2021
had credit card debt . The most common reasons for seeking debt advice were “lack of control over finances”,
reduced income or benefits, unemployment or redundancy and an injury or health issue.
You are not alone, people groups, governments and countries often get it wrong and go way over their heads in debt and then spend years trying to get out of debt. The key is to take charge!
Here we show some facts and figures you might find interesting about debts around the world.
According to Wikipedia. "In economics, the debt-to-GDP ratio is the ratio between a country's government debt (measured in units of currency) and its gross domestic product (GDP) (measured in units of currency per year). A low debt-to-GDP ratio indicates an economy that produces and sells goods and services is sufficient to pay back debts without incurring further debt.""
The chart on the right shows that (surprisingly for us) Japan has by far the highest debt-to-GDP ratio at 257%. The UK is shown in the 4th tier at 109%, and the US in the third tier at 133%
Click on any of the tabs on the right to see more information
Investopedia say:
The Economist have a world debt clock you can see here. This shows the changing amount of world debt.
You are not alone, people groups, governments and countries often get it wrong and go way over their heads in debt and then spend years trying to get out of debt. The key is to take charge!
The chart below shows the estimated change in debt-to-GDP ratios for many countries in %-age points.
External debt – when debt is within the country, it is known as internal debt. When a government borrows from foreign governments, foreign banks or institutions, international organizations like the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, etc., it is known as external debt.
Although the UK’s debt-to-GDP ratio is in the 4th tier, a lot of its debt is external, as you can see from the diagram below.
Brookings : “Starting in 2010, a new wave of debt accumulation—the “fourth wave” of debt—had been underway in emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs, Figure 1). With the sharp increase in debt during the COVID-19 pandemic, the fourth wave of debt has turned into a tsunami and become even more dangerous. The tsunami of debt has amplified the difficulty of resolving debt not just because of record debt levels but also because of significant changes in the structure of debt markets.”
In 2020, total global debt rose by 30 percentage points of GDP, to 263 percent of GDP—the largest single-year increase since at least 1970. This increase was broad-based, evident across government and private debt, domestic and external debt, and the majority of countries. In EMDEs, total debt went over 200 percent of GDP, and in advanced economies, total debt exceeded 300 percent of GDP in 2020
The chart on the left shows that the Office for Budget Responsibility expect unsecured debt to rise steadily as a share of household disposable income.
The Money Charity says: People in the UK owed £1,754.3 billion at the end of November 2021. This is up by £60.1 billion from £1,689.8 billion at the end of October 2020, an extra £1,136 per UK adult over the year. The average total debt per household, including mortgages, was £63,112. The inflation rate was 5.4% in the year to December 2021 and the increase in average first time buyer house prices was 9.1% in the year to November 2021.
See the tabs below for more information.
Click on any of the tabs on the right to see more information
There are two major types of debt: secured and unsecured. One is legally attached to and secured by an asset such as your property: A creditor can seize this asset then sell it if you default and stop paying on the loan. An unsecured creditor has less of a safety net.
If the sale of an asset a debt is secured against doesn’t match the debt, it’s possible that the lender can pursue you for the difference, based on the contract.
Lenders of unsecured debts do not have rights to any collateral. They generally cannot claim your assets for repayment of the debt if you fall behind on your payments unless they sue you and get a judgment against you in court.
You might give more priority to unsecured debts if you’re making extra payments to pay off some debt, as unsecured debts often have higher interest rates.
It’s important to know the difference when you’re borrowing money and prioritizing debt repayment.
Secured debts make up nearly 89% of all personal debt (Money Charity).
Mortgages and car loans are both examples of secured debts. Your loan is secured by your home or your vehicle. The lender can foreclose or repossess the property or vehicle if you fail to make these loan payments.
The average outstanding mortgage debt for the 11.04 million households with mortgage debt was £140,987 in November 2021.
According to UK Finance, in December 2019 (latest publicly available data), the mortgage as percentage of house value was on average 77.0% for first-time buyers, 67.6% for home movers and 58.8% for re-mortgagors, slightly higher than the previous year.
Statista show the average amounts of unsecured personal debt that people seeking financial advice from the debt charity StepChange faced in the year 2019. The graph shows the average amount owed by clients who had a particular type of debt in the United Kingdom (UK).
According to the Office for Budgetary Responsibility in their Household saving and debt report in November 2nd, 2018, credit card debt accounts for just over 10 per cent of total unsecured debt and has remained relatively stable as share of household income.
However, in the Money Charity’s report in January 2022 people in the UK had credit card debt of £58.9m (£22,118 per household) whereas unsecured consumer debt was £197.8 million (£7,117 per household) – nearly 30%.
In the year to November 2021 outstanding levels of credit card borrowing fell by 0.53%. The largest reductions occurred from August 2020 to March 2021. Since April 2021, outstanding consumer credit has fallen slightly, with variations from month to month.
Time’s up
Debt has the potential to work against your financial health, but not all debt is bad. If you take on debt for a worthwhile purpose, and if you can pay it off and payments are within your budget, debt can strengthen your credit and achieve your goals.
However, debt can also ruin your financial life and cause untold stress if not managed properly. See the information below to see how best to avoid falling into the debt trap.
Click on any of the tabs on the right to see more information
There are a lot of things to think about before you borrow money.
If you do, then you need to work out the best way to borrow the money and how much it will cost you to repay it.
Experian have a 6 step plan to help you avoid wrong debt.
Buying a washing machine on interest free credit over 9 months can be a good deal (providing it is genuine) and you’re not over committing yourself.
You take out a debit card that is paid off each month and this gives you 30- or 60-days interest free period which can help with budgeting.
You can use a competitive PCP plan rather than take out all your cash savings to buy a car.
So, some credit and loans can be good when used in parallel to your normal budgeting plans. But never over stretch yourself with a large loan over a long period if you think there is a risk you would struggle to make the payments if something went wrong.
When things start to mount up and we start borrowing with high interest rates it becomes a problem. Remember the provider will give you credit but it’s your responsibility to pay it back. They will have also made it clear what the interest rates are and the penalties for non-payment. So, they pass the responsibility onto you.
There is a culture developing now whereby debtors are trying to become the victim and blame the lender for making it so easy. It does not really matter who is to blame once you get into debt – only you can sort it out.
There are some excellent loan and credit card schemes out there if you have a good credit score. You can improve your credit score see what MAS say or see Experian info and for Bankrate info.
Don’t bury your head in the sand. If you owe money and are struggling to pay it back, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! There are some steps you need to take. First, collect information about all your debts. Check which debts you have to pay and then work out which debts to deal with first (see above).
Then, depending on how severe your situation is, you can restructure your income and expenditure or look at your options for getting out of debt.
See the tabs below for more information.
Click on any of the tabs on the right to see more information
If you’re worried about debts, then you need to start taking action. Don’t bury your head in the sand! The first step is to look to see what help is available. There are many online sites which can help you, and you can also get free help and advice (see the links at the bottom of this page).
Money Helper have a Money Navigation tool which can give you guidance online.
The tool below can help you find a debt adviser. You can talk to them confidentially face to face or by telephone, or go online.
A debt adviser will:
The National Debtline have a 4 step plan to dealing with debt.
You can download this below under more Information, but it may be better to use the online version.
If for whatever reason you are struggling to pay bills it’s best to deal with the matter ASAP rather than wait until things become desperate. Avoid payday lenders and money lenders, which involve borrowing short term money at ridiculous rates.
Prioritise your debt into:
See our list below for more information on priority debts. There are free support services available to you – we show you how to find a debt advisor.
If you’re facing a debt emergency
It’s important to get (ideally free!) debt advice as soon as you can if you’ve fallen behind on priority payments, or are facing any emergency issues, including:
Some debt advisers will be able to talk to the court, bailiff or creditor on your behalf. If you want someone to do this for you, check if they’ll be able to.
They’ll also advise you on what to do next.
You must always turn up to a court hearing, as it gives you the chance to come to an agreement.
If you don’t go, a decision might be made without considering any information about your situation.
If you’re there you can tell the court what’s happening, and it might help them to reach a decision that is better for you.
Some courts use advice organisations such as Shelter or Citizens Advice who will be able to give you some last-minute advice on what to do.
If you’re due in court within 24 hours, ask if there’s someone you can speak to before your case is heard.
Here your landlord could evict you from your home if you don’t pay.
Before your landlord can do this, they’ll need to go to court to get a ‘possession order’ which says when you have to leave. If you don’t leave by the date on the possession order, your landlord can ask the court to set a date for your eviction.
If the loan is secured against your property your bank or building society might evict you and take your home if you don’t pay.
Again before they can evict you, they’ll need to go to court to get a ‘possession order’ – this says when you have to leave. If you don’t leave by the date on the possession order, your bank or building society can ask the court to set a date for your eviction.
If the debt is with your current energy supplier they might cut off your gas or electricity if you don’t pay.
Before they disconnect you, your supplier has to give you a chance to pay your unpaid bills through a payment plan. They also have to give you 7 days’ notice in writing before they cut off your supply.
Your local council might take you to the magistrate’s court if you don’t pay.
If you have the money but choose not to pay when the magistrate’s court tells you to, you could go to prison. You won’t go to prison if you can show you can’t pay.
You could be sent to prison but only if you have the money but choose not to pay – not if you can show you can’t pay.
You might get a court fine if you commit a crime.
This could be income tax, National Insurance, VAT or even overpaid tax credits.
HMRC can:
HMRC will warn you if they’re going to do this but they don’t have to go to court first.
If you have the money but choose not to pay back a tax credits overpayment, HMRC can take you to court. If you don’t go to court when asked or don’t do what the court tells you to, you could be sent to prison.
The Child Maintenance Service can take the money from your wages or bank accounts if you don’t pay.
They’ll warn you if they’re going to do this but they don’t have to go to court first.
If you have the money but choose not to pay, the magistrate’s court can:
There are some other debts which might be priority debts depending on your circumstances.
If you buy something on hire purchase, you pay for it in instalments and you don’t own it until you finish paying.
This might be a priority debt because the creditor could take back the goods you bought. If you keep the goods in your home or you’ve paid back more than a third of the cost, the creditor has to go to court to do this.
Hire purchase and conditional sale payments are only priority debts if the goods you bought are really important. For example they might be really important if you need them to:
These might be priority debts as your supplier can cut off your phone or internet if you don’t pay.
They’re only priority debts if it’s really important that you can use a phone or the internet. You might, for example, rely on them because you:
If it’s really important for you to use a phone or the internet, tell your supplier when you contact them.
This may be a priority debt because you could be fined by the magistrate’s court if you watch TV without a licence.
You could be sent to prison if you have the money but choose not to pay a court fine, but you won’t if you can show you can’t pay.
What Is a Credit Score? A credit score is a number between 300–850 that depicts a consumer's creditworthiness. The higher the score, the better a borrower looks to potential lenders. A credit score is based on credit history: number of open accounts, total levels of debt, and repayment history, and other factors..
See the info below to find out more.
Click on any of the tabs on the right to see more information
What is considered a normal credit score?
Although ranges vary depending on the credit scoring model, generally credit scores from 580 to 669 are considered fair; 670 to 739 are considered good; 740 to 799 are considered very good; and 800 and up are considered excellent.
How does your credit score affect your ability to get the best credit rate?
Credit scores play a huge role in your financial life. They help lenders decide whether you’re a good risk. Your score can mean approval or denial of a loan. It can also factor into how much you’re charged in interest, which can make debt more or less expensive for you.
How does your credit score work when you have bad debt, late payments or CCJs?
Having a CCJ on your report will significantly lower your credit score. Your credit information is checked by lenders when you apply for credit, and a CCJ can negatively affect your ability to get a loan, credit card or even a bank account.
In the old days bankruptcy would last 5 years but today its one year. It must be always a last resort to apply for personal bankruptcy as this affects your credit score, ability to get loans etc.
But if you have little or no asset that can be seized by the courts you could declare yourself bankrupt and wait a year and the debts are wiped.
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This video from Finder UK explains different types of debt and how to get out of debt.
It doesn’t matter what stage you’re at – it’s important to be the best you can be. At the end of the day it’s about taking personal responsibility – You Drive!
It’s really your choice. You can find out more information about the subject, or see other institutions that can help by going to Support. There you will find organisations, training, coaching, self-help courses and other items to support your personal change. We have also started developing a panel of experts to provide info, advice, help and support.
There are times when you need some help to meet your aims – a helping hand. That might be an organisation that can provide you with some help, some specialised information, a particular book or tool to help, or just getting some background reading material.
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StepChange are the UK’s leading debt charity – they helped 24,042 people become debt free in 2020. Go to their website.
If you are thinking of taking out a loan, then check options – this takes you to the Money Advice Service calculator which gives alternatives to Payday loans and also gives overall advice.
Take a test from MoneyHelper to see how you are positioned and how you can get help.
Are you claiming all the benefits you can? See the Universal Credit Money Manager
Use the National Debtline My Money Steps free online confidential tool
MoneyHelper list of debt advisers
How much will your credit card cost, or how quickly can you pay it off?
The BBC have a Debt test which quickly summarises your position and gives some guidance on what you can do.
Download National Debtline Dealing with Debt PDF
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You might think that physical, financial and mental health are quite separate, and for some people they are. However, often a problem in one area has a knock-on effect on others. Losing your job can lead to anxiety and depression, which can turn you to drink and impact your health.
You might have a severe issue in one area but that can lead to problems in other areas, and the people treating you for the first problem won’t be equipped to deal with these linked issues.
For example, doctors and nurses can treat you for a physical problem but can’t advise you about your job or finances. Nor for the anxiety that comes with it, apart from prescribing some drugs, which might or might not be the best solution.
We encourage you to take a holistic view – we look at all areas and offer support across the whole spectrum.
Even this view of health is simplistic, as you’ll discover later if you go down that route. You might want to consider overall health, or wellness or wellbeing, which include additional types of health, such as occupational health (how you are in your job). Then there’s happiness and quality of life – how do these fit?
If you’re interested in that, click the link here to see more information.
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We break down the overall concept of health or wellness into ‘bite-sized chunks’ that we can actually do something about. The first level we call health domains.
We like the Life of Wellness site and we have chosen the following domains.
1. Emotional Wellness: Awareness and acceptance of feelings
2. Spiritual Wellness: A search for meaning and purpose
3. Intellectual Wellness: Recognition of your creativity, knowledge and skills
4. Physical Wellness: Need for physical activity and balanced nutrition
5. Environmental Wellness: Positive awareness and impact on your environment
6. Financial Wellness: Debt reduction, cash flow balance or financial future planning
7. Occupational Wellness: Personal achievement and enrichment from your career
8. Social Wellness: Contribution to your community
Within each domain, we have included a number of health areas. These are specific issues that you can tackle. Within each health area, e.g. Depression, we have built additional information and exercises which you can do to help in the area. You can create your own Action Plan to address this area, and see
Emotional: Anxiety, Compassion Fatigue, Depression, Gambling, Laughter, Narcissistic, Personality Disorder, Sleep, Stress
Environmental: Environmental Issues, Greenness
Financial: Debt, Family Finance, Financial Planning, Financial Wellness
Intellectual: IQ, Personality, Procrastination
Occupational: Jobs for Different Personality Types, Retirement Income, Work Life Balance
Physical: Alcohol, Disabilities, Dizziness, Drugs, Fitness, Food Preferences, General Health, Healthy Ageing, Illness, Nutrition, Sleep Apnea, Smoking
Social: Communication Skills, Communication Styles, Domestic Abuse, Emotional Abuse, Love Partnerships, Mental Abuse, Parenting Styles, Sexual Addiction
Spiritual: Are You Sensitive, Mystical Guidance, Spirituality
Each health area has supporting information and its own questionnaire.
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One definition of health is:
Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
The NHS define health as: ‘We use a broad definition of health that encompasses both physical and mental health, as well as wellbeing. This means we are not only interested in whether or not people are ill or have a health condition, but also in how healthy and well they are.’
We believe we also have to consider financial health, as this can easily impact physical and mental health. Click the button to see an example of how these are connected.
It gets more complicated…
The Active Wellbeing Society (TAWS) define Health as a state of the overall mental and physical state of a person; the absence of disease. They define Wellbeing or wellness as a way of life that aims to enhance well-being and refers to a more holistic whole-of-life experience which also includes emotional and spiritual aspects of life. We expand on this definition of health to include financial health and mental health, to make it synonymous with wellbeing or wellness.
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We break down the overall concept of health or wellness into ‘bite-sized chunks’ that we can actually do something about. The first level we call health domains.
We like the Life of Wellness site and we have chosen the following domains.
1. Emotional Wellness: Awareness and acceptance of feelings
2. Spiritual Wellness: A search for meaning and purpose
3. Intellectual Wellness: Recognition of your creativity, knowledge and skills
4. Physical Wellness: Need for physical activity and balanced nutrition
5. Environmental Wellness: Positive awareness and impact on your environment
6. Financial Wellness: Debt reduction, cash flow balance or financial future planning
7. Occupational Wellness: Personal achievement and enrichment from your career
8. Social Wellness: Contribution to your community
Within each domain, we have included a number of health areas. These are specific issues that you can tackle. Within each health area, e.g. Depression, once you have subscribed we have built additional information and exercises which you can do to help in the area.
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Having established that we use 8 domains, you need to understand which you should concentrate on.
The 8 are:
You can take a questionnaire, which scores you in each domain. You can decide which domains you are strong in, and which you need to improve.
Another analysis shows which domains you should look at, but also which domains you want to look at.
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People look at things differently. Some people believe things happen to them, while others believe they can influence what happens to them. Technically this is called the ‘locus of control’. People can have an Internal or external Locus of Control
Psychology Today have a 15 minute test which gives you a summary of your position you can buy the detailed results if you want to.
My Personality Test have a 10 minute test which gives you a summary.
People tend to take more responsibility (locus gets more internal) as they get older. However, external isn’t always bad – for example if you are physically unable to do some things you can accept it and focus on the things you can do. This American video explains the concept and gives examples of how this can affect relationships.
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No matter how healthy you are at the moment, the chances are that there are some areas you could improve. It may be that you have a real problem in one or more areas, and you would like to make some improvements.
At YouDrive we accept that there are many different degrees of ‘not wellness’ in a large number of different health areas, ranging from physical illness such as covid-19 through mental illness such as anxiety through to financial problems like debt. We try and help where the problem ranges from ‘slight’ to quite bad’ – after this expert help and intervention may be needed.
However, especially in these times, we have to try and make these changes ourselves, possibly with some help from others, whether remotely or face to face.
The thing is, to make an improvement we have to change some things.
This involves changing our behaviour in some respects, and that’s not always easy.
Henry Ford, the creator of the assembly line, is quoted as saying “if you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got”.
Another way of looking at this: “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.” – attributed to Albert Einstein.
Consequently we need to make some changes. The problem is that we have already developed a lot of habits, some of which we need to break and replace by better ones. Some of our bad habits have become entrenched, and the bad results they create in turn engender further bad habits to develop – in effect the bad habits can feed on themselves.
We need to understand how we can make changes and stick to them, and that’s what this part of your health profile is about.
It will involve some learning, through reading, some videos and some additional information and also seeing how you react to change currently.
It will also ask you to consider whether you feel you are in charge of your future, or whether you feel it’s all fate.
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At YouDrive we try and help people improve their health. We use ‘health’ but we understand there are other terms such as wellbeing or even happiness that reflect how we are doing in our lives – if you’re interested in the different definitions and ideas see our page on the subject.
We want to help whether you have a particular problem – physical, financial or mental – or if you just want to improve some specific part of your life or just make some improvements overall.
You’d be surprised, but there has been a serious amount of scientific work done in this area over the last twenty years.
So first we allow you to assess your current health (or wellbeing, or happiness). We do this by questionnaire. Which one is determined by the type of person you are:
By the way, we take your privacy seriously – we collect information that you choose to provide but we de-identify it as much as possible and will never share it with anyone without your explicit consent.
You can then drill down into some specific areas and there are more questionnaires to see your situation in these particular areas. We provide you with specific information and refer you to other potential aspects of help. Our next step is to build a personalised action plan – for now we will make a suggestion for you to develop your own plan and then after a time you can see whether this has had a positive impact by retaking the test.
In future we will be engaging with medical and behavioural specialists to devise action plans for individual people with specific situations.
We have an overall questionnaire which you can complete which will assess your current state.
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We all have our beliefs, attitudes and values – these have developed throughout our life based on who we are and what we have done. Let’s look at what these are.
The University of Reading explain: “People’s values, beliefs and attitudes are formed and bonded over time through the influences of family, friends, society and life experiences. So, by the time you’re an adult, you can hold very definite views on just about everything with a sense of “no one is going to change my mind”.
The combination of your personal values, beliefs and attitudes are your moral principles that guide you in life and affect your behaviour. However, your views can wildly differ to others and in an institution such as a school, these beliefs may be counter to the values of the school, child development or indeed the law.”
Let’s look more closely at the differences between beliefs, attitudes and values.
These come from real experiences – we think our beliefs are based on reality, but in fact our beliefs colour our experiences; also, an original experience e.g. when we were a child is not the same as what’s happening now. Beliefs can be moral, religious or cultural and reflect who we are. They can be rational (‘it gets colder in winter’) or irrational (‘I am never going to make something of myself’).
This is an immediate belief or disposition about something specific. It is a recurring group of beliefs and behaviours aimed at specific groups, people, ideas or objects. They will normally be positive or negative and we will always behave that way to the target group. Examples of attitudes include confidence (I can or can’t do something), grateful (I an entitled to / grateful for XXX) and cheerful (I am generally happy / miserable).
These are things (principles or qualities) that we hold in high regard or consider to be worthwhile or right / wrong. They are formed by a belief related to the worth of something – an idea or behaviour. Some values are common (e.g. family comes first, the value of friendship) or cultural (which the whole community have – see video at Study.com here)
Expectancy Value Theory suggests you balance your beliefs about something with the value you attach to it. The Theory of Reasoned Action suggests that beliefs and evaluation about behavioural outcomes determine attitudes, and intentions lead directly to behaviour.
Expressions of confidence – can change over time
Learned predispositions to something – are subject to change
Ideals that guide our behaviour – Generally long lasting and often need life changing experience to change
Iceberg demonstrating implicit and explicit bias – from Owlcation
Times of change can be a challenge, no doubt! Whether it’s a relationship breakup, job loss, or being diagnosed with a serious health issue. Or you may WANT things to be different, but it feels a little scary or overwhelming. The butterfly reminds us change can be beautiful, even necessary, in order to realize our full potential and live our best life.