About Debt Camel and its author, Sara Williams

Hi!

My name is Sara Williams.  I set up Debt Camel in 2013.

National Debtline has described this site as “very clear, it answers a lot of common questions without jargon“.  I hope it can help you!

Why I started Debt Camel

I have been a volunteer advisor at my local Citizens Advice in London since 2001. I am a member of the Institute of Money Advisers and have the Certificate in Money Advice Practice professional qualification.

As a debt adviser I am very familiar with the sorts of worries people have. Sometimes there aren’t easy answers, but I set up Debt Camel to look at what really matters to people who have a debt problem and to answer the questions they have.

My four main aims are for Debt Camel are:

1. to talk about peoples concerns about debt, credit ratings etc. Sometimes they aren’t the points a debt adviser thinks are important, but deciding what to do isn’t always easy and it can really help to get your worries answered, rather than just being lectured.
2. to be able to talk about debt and money decisions in a way that is direct and engaging, rather than complicated with a lot of jargon. A few pictures, the odd exclamation mark or bit of sarcasm can help a serious topic feel more accessible.
3. to provide both self help resources for people who feel confident and signposts for where to get help.
4. to discuss debt advice policy and news stories.

Independent and completely non-commercial

There is nothing on Debt Camel that brings in any income for me. There are no adverts or links that make me money. And, unlike many sites that promise ‘free debt advice’, I don’t make money by referring people to commercial sites who pay me fees.

Debt Camel doesn’t give debt advice to individuals

Debt Camel provides general information about debt problems and possible solutions.

Many people with serious debt problems will need help from elsewhere. If Debt Camel helps them understand a bit about their situation and their possible options, they should find this speedier and less scary. Most of my articles have links to organisations that can help with the topic being discussed.

If you need debt advice and support, I recommend these organisations.

Debt Camel provides generic debt advice. It does not make any referrals, only providing a range of contacts that readers can choose to self-refer to. This is not a business; there is nothing in this website that gives me any income. So Debt Camel does not require regulation because it is not carrying out any regulated activity.

Debt policy

I am interested in debt advice policy – how debt solutions could be improved so they are easier to access and work better; how credit and its regulation can be improved to reduce the numbers of people getting into debt problems; how apps and other FinTech products can help with this etc.

Debt Camel is an affiliate member of the Money Advice Liaison Group:

I won the UK Money Blogger of the Year award in 2017: