Savers 'not making the most of Isa investments'

Brits could boost their debt management through savvy investments, but many people are missing out on tax-free savings due to a lack of forethought.

David Kuo, director of financial website Fool.co.uk, said individual savings accounts (Isas) are a great way to shield savings from the taxman, but in order to make use of this year's allocation, savers will need to act quickly.

He commented: "This is one of only two forms of investment that will beat inflation over the long term. The other is property."

Mr Kuo added, however, that finding an Isa to deliver strong returns is proving difficult at present, with average rates below 3.5 per cent.

According to Prudential, anyone who is planning to invest in an Isa before the end of this tax year should look to do so before the Easter bank holiday weekend, as failure to do this could see them missing this year's cut-off.

The firm noted the Easter bank holiday is very close to the end of the tax year in 2010, with Good Friday on April 2nd and Easter Monday on April 5th.

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The cost of making phone calls from landlines has increased, one organisation has said, which could affect those struggling with debt management.

A quarter of Britons are worried about the possibility of a rise in the base rate, according to one study, which could negatively affect those with debt management problems.

More people could face bankruptcy as unemployment rises, it has been claimed.

Cuts to housing benefits will affect hundreds of thousands of people, one organisation has claimed, which could include those struggling with debt management.

Anyone looking to remortgage their home to deal with debt management issues may struggle because of the falling house prices.

People claiming Jobseeker's Allowance are finding it difficult to keep on top of their debt management responsibilities, it has been claimed.

One of the signs a person may be struggling with debt management is that they only ever make minimum repayments on their credit card, one organisation has said.

Debt management problems in the UK could still be prevalent after new figures from the Bank of England showed record amounts of write-offs for credit cards.

There was an increase in the number of people looking for debt management advice from Citizen's Advice Bureaux in the first three month of 2010.

Filing for bankruptcy in cases of financial difficulty may not necessarily always be the easy option.