Bad bad situation

R.Harris · 3 May 2016 at 8:07AM

Hi guys. Need some help and advice. Pretty much a compulsive spender and haven't been able to change my ways. Now all of a sudden it's hit me how bad I've been. Cannot extend my overdraft anymore and apply for a loan extension. I am the only one who knows about my situation and I'm scared to tell anyone else including my partner but the burden is getting tough. I won't be able to pay my rent this month. That's what has hit home.
I'm 24, with 2 £3000 loans, 1 maxed £750 credit card, and a £3000 overdraft. And haven't really done anything (travelling, uni etc) to build up that money apart from my own fault. Scared to go to the bank as well as everything I have done has been online and pretty sure everyone I would go too (bank, partner, parents) would be angry at me (I'm an adult I know) and not sure I will be able to deal with it.
So thanks for reading, and any help would be greatly appreciated!

Stevie_Palimo · 3 May 2016 at 8:13AM

You need to look at what the spending issue is here ie:- shopping, gambling and so on, Once you know what the issue is and admit it then you can move on.

Honesty is the best approach and telling your OH is the only way, You can speak to the bank and cc about reduced payments to get back on track, Don't bury your head in the sand as it will not help.

FalseEconomist · 3 May 2016 at 8:30AM

I agree, honesty is definitely best. What would be even better is if when you went to your partner to 'confess', you had a plan in place for dealing with it.

The best thing to do is probably get together an honest statement of affairs (people on this site will be great help with this). Then you can work out whether you can afford to service these debts or not. If not, again don't panic, you need to contact a company, like national debtline or stepchange, who will guide you through the process of contacting your creditors and making arrangements to pay. They will also check if you are eligible for any debt relief measures.

Your credit will be shot to pieces, but I can't help thinking that quality of life, good mental health and strong, honest relationships are more important than a set of arbitrary figures.

Good luck. To give you some perspective, my OH and I are in over £40k of unsecured debt. Are we panicking? not any more, because we sat down and figured out how we were going to manage it, and it transpired that we can manage it as long as we no longer bury our head in the sand.

I am also a shopping addict, and am working really hard to break the habits that put us in this difficult position.

Best of luck!

enjoyyourshoes · 3 May 2016 at 8:44AM

Good advice above.

About your shopping;-

you only can use the £1 once, so think carefully before you use it.

Spending is a conscious decision so consider +/- of every choice

Spending is psychological, work out why you do it and put self imposed plans in place to stop it

Work out what you want in life and see how you can achieve this within your own financial envelope

Consider saving as a plan instead of spending ! (once you have paid off the debts)

Get benefit from compound i interest instead of being its slave

Work out why you have not being able to 'change your ways (spending) even though you have tried. Need a terabits strategy in place !

Good luck

Bad bad situation

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