An American faith healer, who was exposed as a con artist in his home country has set up shop in the UK. But this time he’s got his eyes on a prize far greater than just healing the sick and wounded. He’s going to wipe your financial problems away. How, might you ask? Why by the power of faith of course.

It’s easy to find this story comical. After all Peter Popoff – that is his real name – was exposed years ago and even has a Steve Martin film made about him. If you haven’t seen it, it’s called Leap of Faith and well worth seeking out. The problem is this type of scam attracts vulnerable people who do not know any better and are looking for a quick fix to their problem.

There might even now, be some readers wondering if there is the possibility this guy is the real deal. So we’re going to put your minds at rest. When Mr Popoff was exposed as a fraud the first time, he was found to be using an earpiece whereby he would receive his information through scouts. They told him the problems different attendees were facing. He then made an elaborate show of “healing” them.

These scams all work on the same basic principles. You might have seen a psychic medium hard at work on an unsuspecting audience. They tend to use the same technique with someone telling them who to look for and how to target them with personal information. Or, they use body language. These types of people are often incredibly skilled at reading a person by the way they look. They also pick up cues in the conversation that you don’t realize you’re dropping. This is also how a psychic tends to operate. A psychic will often start by asking you questions first. They will formulate readings based on the answers to these questions. If they get it wrong, they can pass it off as a disturbance in the aura or any other statement they can think of.

Perhaps there are people out there who can talk to the dead, tell the future, and speak to a higher power. But, we seriously doubt they are going to do it for a massive fee. Mr Popoff is asking for money to clear your debt. At the very least, this sounds counter-productive. At worst, it seems fraudulent. But that leaves us with an important question. For those who do need help with debt problems what are the real solutions?

The way to deal with debt will depend on how severe your situation is. You might find that you have just lost your job and if that is the case you can easily start to fall into debt. The trick is to stay afloat until you can get back on your feet. If you are applying for new jobs, you should apply for job seekers allowance. But you should understand you will only continue to receive this if you accept any job that is offered to you. If you wait for a better position, you will lose this benefit.

While you are looking for a new job, you should consider utilizing your monetary assets. For instance, you can consider renting out a spare room in your house or apartment. You will have to check if this is acceptable to your landlord if you are renting. As long as it is done through the appropriate channels, landlords will allow tenants to rent rooms for a short period. There are other things that you can loan out as well, like your vehicle. If you have a second car or you are not using your car on the weekends, you can rent it out. This is one way of getting a small income and putting your finances back on track. You won’t be making a profit but you will have a chance to pay the bills.

Failing this, you can sell off some of your assets. For instance, if you have tech that you do not need you can sell it off and make some quick money to pay off debts. Again, this isn’t going to stabilize a serious debt situation but it can help a little. Look for sites that are offering money for mobile phones and old laptops. You would be surprised how much you can make back on old technology.

A lot of people are put off by the idea of borrowing money to pay off debts, and it’s understandable. It can make the problem worse, quite easily, but what people don’t understand is that it can also make things better. If you can borrow from a source with a low-interest rate to pay off debt from a higher interest loan, you can save money and make managing costs easier. It sounds quite complicated, but it’s not really. You can get a quick payday loan from www.cashfloat.co.uk to pay off a debt with a huge interest rate. By getting rid of that, you can then use less money to pay off the loan that you have just borrowed. Think of taking out a loan as an absolute last resort, but do not rule out the possibility completely.

If you have any savings at all, you would be better off using these then waiting for your situation to stabilize. If you can use your savings to pay off your debt, you can put yourself in the clear quickly. You can then start adjusting your budget to cope during hard times. Remember, don’t rule out asking for help from sources in your life no matter how embarrassed you may feel. If you do have family members who are willing to help you should be thankful. Do not avoid their help in the hope you can fix it yourself.

Remember, you are not the only one going through this problem. Technically, anyone coming out of university immediately ends up in debt because they have a student loan to pay off. If you stay calm and work out a budget, you can get through it. By knowing the right ways to deal with debt you can avoid the quick fixes that people like Mr Popoff are just waiting to offer you.