Use Blue Monday as a force for positive change
CILEx Benevolent Fund urges members to use ‘Blue Monday’ as a force for positive change
10 January 2018
‘Banish Blue Monday 2018 blues’ is the message from CILEx Benevolent Fund.
The annual event – which this year falls on Monday 15 January – is recognised as the most depressing day of the year due to the recent conclusion of the festivities and the reality of Christmas-related credit card bills hitting home.
But CILEx Benevolent Fund is urging members to use the landmark date as an opportunity to forge a secure financial future, free from mounting personal debt.
Simon Wells, a lay trustee and the chairperson of CILEx Benevolent Fund, explains: ‘With payday still a long way off for most people, and festive cheer rapidly becoming a distant memory, Blue Monday has become known as the most depressing day of the year.
‘Certainly, CILEx Benevolent Fund is aware that we receive an increased number of enquiries to our helpline every year, from mid-January onwards, when the reality of Christmas debt begins to bite.
‘By using Blue Monday as the impetus to plan for a more financially secure future, we believe that something positive can emerge from a potentially negative situation.’
In addition to offering access to tailored debt management advice, CILEx Benevolent Fund also provides grants to those experiencing one-off instances of extreme financial hardship, which are assessed on an individual basis.
Simon Wells adds: ‘CILEx Benevolent Fund is acutely aware of the anxieties that mounting levels of personal debt can bring if people don’t take appropriate and decisive action to resolve them.
‘We want to help people emerge from some of the darkest days of the year in a far stronger position than they were in previously.
‘Members should get in touch with us at the earliest opportunity to start managing high levels of personal debt as soon as possible in 2018 in order to plan for a positive financial future.’
Blue Monday occurs on the third Monday of January each year, and is claimed to be the most depressing day of the year as it epitomises all that is seen as miserable about the month in general. The date was identified, in 2005, by academic Dr Cliff Arnall, who wanted to encourage people, whenever possible, to take advantage of this time of year as an opportunity for change and new beginnings.