CARDIFF, November 28 /PRNewswire/ -- A group of highly experienced female financial gurus have launched an online 'help-site' and forum aimed specifically at women having trouble managing their finances.

Debt Divas (http://www.debtdivas.co.uk ) has been set up by female financial experts Melanie Giles, Melanie Nicholas, Susan Clay, Suzanne Stocker and Vanessa Phillips and encourages women, who are traditionally reluctant to own up to their personal debt problems, to talk, share and discuss how to resolve their finance worries. The site provides a combination of professional advice, hints, tips and case studies along with a 'Debt Analyser' and a 'Girl Chat' forum facility.

According to a report by the Consumer Credit Counselling Service, women account for more than half of their client base (almost 60%) and women are also more likely to have home credit, store card and catalogue debt than men. Women are also more likely than men to keep their debt problems secret. Forty percent of female CCCS clients hide their debt problems from their partners, compared to 34 percent of men.*

Melanie Giles, who heads up the Debt Divas team is one of a very small number of female insolvency practitioners in the UK and along with her female colleagues, who are all debt experts, hopes the website will offer a much needed open forum for women in financial trouble, who want to seek help and support whilst retaining anonymity.

As a group of female finance practitioners we were all finding that a large proportion of the calls we were receiving from potential new clients were from women, says Melanie Giles.

Many women with debt problems get into trouble because they are more likely to be single parents, working part-time or caring for relatives, often earning less than men. Women also often borrow from high interest sources and then feel embarrassed about admitting that they are not managing their finances.

A 'help-site' with an active online community forum that offers advice, tips and guidance from peers, experts with a uniquely 'female' view and anyone with an interest, was seen as the best way to offer a truly relevant and practical service to as many women as possible, added Debt Diva Susan Clay.

The site offers news, features, guidance and opinion and actively encourages participation from members when it comes to offering examples of what has and hasn't worked for them.

Sections on the 'help-site' include general debt solutions, case studies and success stories as well as extensive resources on Debt and Health, Debt and Family, Debt and Workplace Issues including budget busting recipes, how to look good on a budget and much more.

With Christmas looming and all of the financial implications that come with the festive season, we hope members and future members of the site will band together and come up with some really useful tips, added Melanie Giles.

The site offers up-to-date professional advice and guidance but the Debt Divas community is also very much about women helping each other. And we're pretty good at that!

For further details visit http://www.debtdivas.co.uk .

* Centre for Credit Counseling Statistical Yearbook 2007

Notes to Editors

Launched in November 2008, http://www.debtdivas.co.uk offers genuine help, advice and support on personal finance issues, specifically aimed at women. The 'help-site' is a combination of expert advice and information, with a 'forum-style' community where women are encouraged to help each other through their own experience and solutions.

Debt Divas was set up by:

Melanie Giles - Licensed Insolvency Practitioner and owner of three specialist companies providing a variety of tailored debt solutions to personal and corporate clients across the UK.

Melanie Nicholas, Insolvency Manager at Phillip Gill Co with 27 years experience in her field.

Susan Clay - Licensed Insolvency Practitioner with Phillip Gill Co, Cardiff and Scotland, has over 24 years experience of both Personal and Corporate Insolvency

Suzanne Stocker - Bankruptcy Manager at Jones Giles

Vanessa Phillips, Commercial Finance Advisor and expert on secured loans and unsecured lending.

Contact: Gwyneth Moore, Tel: +44(0)2920-764100, email: Gwyneth@equinox-pr.co.uk

Contact: Gwyneth Moore, Tel: +44(0)2920-764100, email: Gwyneth@equinox-pr.co.uk