In so much debt don't know what to do?

Bttf2015

Hi,

I am in so much debt and don't know what to do, this is due to gambling addiction which am getting help for. I currently earn £2550 after tax each month, I owe the following and want to know what is the best way to tackle this?

£10,000 - Cooperative credit card
£8,615 - Barclaycard credit card
£4,000 - Virgin credit card
£4,300 - Barclay overdraft
£1000 - Sunny loan
£990 - Quickquid loans
£780 - 118118 loan
£300 - Cooperative loan

I pay each month the following

£200 - cooperative credit card (minimum payment)
£180 - barclaycard credit card (minimum payment)
£130 - Virgin credit card (minimum payment)
£110 - overdraft charges
£260 - Sunny loan (minimum payment)
£236 - Quickquid (minimum payment)
£177 - 118118 loan
£101 - Cooperative loan
£29 - Car insurance
£47 - Mobile phone bill
£52.50 - Sky account
£8.50 - travel pack fee (barclays)
£5.99 - netflix
£250 - petrol/food/other


I've moved back to my friends house and he said that I don't have to give him any rent but can only be there for 6 months as he is moving to Australia then? I cannot ask my family as I they have nothing to lend. Any ideas? I also need to get a car by April due to my car allowance as they have a new policy where the car cannot be older than 6 years. My current car value is about £2600 so I will need to either do a car lease or a car that fits in this age range? But worried about getting credit for this as I have poor credit history 350 points equifax. I have never missed a payment but I owe so much debt is reason why.

I feel suicidal but would not go down that road just want some help advice please!?

Thanks

midlander81

First of all, well done for coming here for advice.


I know that is may seem a lot but with a plan, you can clear this debt. I owed 40K at my worst point on a salary similar to yours.


Would you be able to post a full SOA so that we can see your income and outgoings in more detail?
It concerns me that you said that you feel suicidal. I really think that you need to speak to someone about this. Is there a friend/family member that you could speak to? If not, you could call stepchange debt charity for advice and support. I would also urge you to see your GP. Remember that nothing is worth losing your life over,especially not money. Please please keep posting. You will get lots of support here!

enthusiasticsaver

Normally the best way to tackle debts is to take the one with the highest rate and try to clear that one first. You have quite a few small debts so I would suggest you tackle one of those first simply because it is easier to deal with a smaller number of debts. You earn quite a good salary so that is a positive. It can seem overwhelming at first to confront that level of debt but you can deal with it and especially if you are not having to pay rent or bills at the moment you can focus all your attention on getting rid of some of those.


Gambling like alcoholism and drugs blights lives but there is help out there to overcome them and I would also suggest you see your doctor particularly if you are having suicidal thoughts.


No advice on the car front though as any leasing company or car loan provider will do credit checks and it is really not a good idea for you to take on more debt at this stage. You may have to explain your situation to your employer and see if they will be lenient about the car policy.

Ebe_Scrooge

Firstly, I'll echo what has been said above. And a full SOA is the first step to identifying your complete income and outgoings.

Stepchange, as mentioned above, are brilliant. They may be able to help you negotiate a freeze on the interest on your debts, but whatever, they'll offer a lot of help.

From what you've posted initially, a few things stand out :

£47 - Mobile phone bill. This seems very high, this can easily be reduced by switching to a cheaper contract, or a sim-only deal ( if you even need a mobile at all ).
£52.50 - Sky account. Is this TV ? If so, cancel it straight away. You don't need Sky TV. If it's internet, there are much cheaper packages available.
£8.50 - travel pack fee (barclays). Why are you paying this ? You don't need it.
£5.99 - netflix. Ditto.
£250 - petrol/food/other. Shop around, Lidl / Aldi are much cheaper than the "main" supermarkets.

Sorry if this sounds harsh, but for anyone that's struggling, things like TV packages are absolutely not necessary. There ARE ways of making savings, and you CAN get yourself out of this. Been there, done that, got the T-shirt. It's not easy, and you need to look at every penny you spend and ask yourself whether it's absolutely necessary. But when you come out the other side, it'll be well worth it.

So, in summary - do a full SOA, get rid of anything that's not absolutely necessary, cut down costs where ever you can on the necessary items, and contact Stepchange for more detailed help and advice.

Hope this helps.

Muhren

I just wanted to say that I know how you feel as I got myself into a lot of debt all due to gambling. You will feel terrible at the moment but there is a way out of this. I am about to fall alseep but wanted to post before I nodded off as I am proof that there is a way out of the mess that you find yourself in. As I ended up in hospital after taking an overdose, which I realise was a stupid thing to do, things are so much better for me now even though I am still in a lot of debt (see my sig) but I am working hard to reduce it.

Keep posting and you will get some great advise here.

Bttf2015

midlander81 wrote: »

First of all, well done for coming here for advice.


I know that is may seem a lot but with a plan, you can clear this debt. I owed 40K at my worst point on a salary similar to yours.


Would you be able to post a full SOA so that we can see your income and outgoings in more detail?
It concerns me that you said that you feel suicidal. I really think that you need to speak to someone about this. Is there a friend/family member that you could speak to? If not, you could call stepchange debt charity for advice and support. I would also urge you to see your GP. Remember that nothing is worth losing your life over,especially not money. Please please keep posting. You will get lots of support here!

Thanks for the reply back. I just feel Down and yes I know I shouldn't think of suicide but I suppose when your in this debt state you think the worse. I'm 33 now and shouldn't be in this mess but that's what gambling has done. It's so hard not to gamble even though I know i won't win but the damage Is done now, just no longer want to be like this and don't want to go down that road again with this secretive disease.

Sorry what do you mean by SOA?

Thanks

Bttf2015

Muhren wrote: »

I just wanted to say that I know how you feel as I got myself into a lot of debt all due to gambling. You will feel terrible at the moment but there is a way out of this. I am about to fall alseep but wanted to post before I nodded off as I am proof that there is a way out of the mess that you find yourself in. As I ended up in hospital after taking an overdose, which I realise was a stupid thing to do, things are so much better for me now even though I am still in a lot of debt (see my sig) but I am working hard to reduce it.

Keep posting and you will get some great advise here.

Thanks for the reply. Yes it is late and off to bed myself , yesbut would like to chat to you on here sometime and get some advice also on how you coped also. And congratulations so far by the looks of it!

Muhren

Bttf2015 wrote: »

Thanks for the reply. Yes it is late and off to bed myself , yesbut would like to chat to you on here sometime and get some advice also on how you coped also. And congratulations so far by the looks of it!

By all means, feel free to pm any time or post in this thread and I will help you out as best I can.

[Deleted User]

Think of it as a process, it is not personal

With QQ and S, have you taken into consideration their change of business models, which means S I'm aware has dropped to 24% and should charge less now if this helps (oh something awful has just dawned on me) so hope you don't say you were already enjoying rate below this or that you have just borrowed

Mate, go talk to them when you can, them and a service like National Debtline you can get something sorted if you can keep your income and use the next 6 months without any accommodation charge

Ebe_Scrooge

Bttf2015 wrote: »

Thanks for the reply back. I just feel Down and yes I know I shouldn't think of suicide but I suppose when your in this debt state you think the worse. I'm 33 now and shouldn't be in this mess but that's what gambling has done. It's so hard not to gamble even though I know i won't win but the damage Is done now, just no longer want to be like this and don't want to go down that road again with this secretive disease.

Sorry what do you mean by SOA?

Thanks

Gambling addiction is not a "secretive disease", it's an addiction just like being addicted to drugs, alcohol, whatever. Like I said, I've been there myself, I know what it's like. I've had all the same arguments with myself that you've no doubt had - "One big win is all I need, then I'll stop ... ". Just take heart from the fact that with the right frame of mind, and the right help, you CAN get past it.

In the meantime, from a purely practical point of view ... SOA is Statement Of Affairs. It's simply a detailed list you put together of all your income and all your outgoings. By which I mean ALL - and that can be the tricky bit ... the odd coffee on the way to work, the sandwich whilst out shopping, as well as your regular outgoings.

Then look through it. Be harsh with yourself. Look at every penny of outgoings. Is it necessary ? The coffee on the way to work - no. The TV subscription - no. Lunch at the canteen at work - you can probably make your own sandwiches cheaper. The weekly food shop - look at the discounters, you'll save a packet compared to the mainstream supermarkets.

And so it goes on. Every penny you save, you chuck at your debt ( most expensive debts first ). You'll start to see yourself making inroads into it.

Sure, it'll mean a period of austerity. Not saying you can't eat or heat your house. But no fancy new clothes ( charity shops are great ), no holidays abroad, no take-away meals, etc. But when your debts are cleared, think how you'll feel.

I'll reiterate - I'm not trying to sound pious, just speaking as someone who's been there and successfully come out the other side ( and after 7 years of never having been on holiday, a week's camping in Cornwall seemed better than the Seychelles !! )

Muhren

Ebe_Scrooge wrote: »

Gambling addiction is not a "secretive disease", it's an addiction just like being addicted to drugs, alcohol, whatever. Like I said, I've been there myself, I know what it's like. I've had all the same arguments with myself that you've no doubt had - "One big win is all I need, then I'll stop ... ". Just take heart from the fact that with the right frame of mind, and the right help, you CAN get past it.

It is know as a secretive addiction and it certainly was for me as no one knew that I was gambling vast sums of money. A drug or alcohol addiction is a lot more noticable due to the visable effects.