From Ab Crunch to Credit Crunch

PERSONAL trainers have become the “therapists of choice” ahead of hairdressers, as Britons trying to shape up will ask for advice on everything from their love life to financial affairs.

Nearly half of Britons who use personal trainers are more likely to share their concerns and ask for advice during a weekly training session than they would in a trip to the hairdresser, according to research from CreditExpert.co.uk.

Nearly half respect their personal trainer’s opinion on a range of topics, including personal finances, and two in five see their trainer as a motivator for life in general rather than just training.

With that in mind, CreditExpert is rolling out credit report education across the UK for personal trainers, with GymBox being one of the first companies to sign up. Darryl Bowman, Director at CreditExpert said: "We want people to be less financially flabby and see this as a great opportunity to kill two birds with one stone, "Regular physical fitness and financial fitness should be part of our routine and this programme is one way to get people started. When people's finances are as tight as their abs we'll know our job is done."

Richard Hilton, managing director of GymBox, said: "People are now looking to their personal trainers to motivate and inform them in all areas of their lives. CreditExpert's new scheme makes use of this fact and will hopefully mean Britons are as motivated about keeping their credit score in check as they are about their fitness."The idea is to help clients to understand how monitoring their credit report can help them keep a healthy credit score which will enable them to keep control of their finances, and make them better placed to get the best deals in the market place and protecting them from ID fraud.

Credit fitness five-a-day:

1. Register to vote at your current address - lenders may check the electoral register to help confirm your address.
2. Close unused accounts if you want to show you're not likely to be overstretched by new borrowing.
3. Protect your identity - report missing post, shred sensitive documents and don't share personal information with strangers.
4. Close joint accounts after splitting from a partner and let us know you've split or your credit status could suffer if an ex-partner has money trouble.
5. Regularly check your credit report to stay on top of your finances, and before applying for new credit, to make sure it's up to date and accurate - it could save you time and money.

Source: CreditExpert