Need help to get out of debt

Darrenh78

I currently have 20k on credit cards etc. Most of this was built up while my son was being treated for leukemia. We were not given much support at the time, my wife had to give up work for the 3 year period and now 2 years on she still hasnt been able to work fulltime due to various hospital appointments needed for the side effects caused by chemo. The only way to survive was to put some bits on credit ( some bits i chose to i.e a holiday once he finished treatment to give everyone a well earned rest) I am trying desperatly to get rid of the debt but am getting nowhere fast. My wages just about covers all the bills. I have the debt spread out over a few cards which i try to do 0% balance transfers but due to transfer fees it doesnt really clear the debt, just stops the interest. Any advice / help would be greatly appreciated.

Tjh1412

Best thing to do would be post an SOA then people can advise on where you could look at making some savings

National_Debtline

Hi

Posting a statement of affairs is a good suggestion to start with as I'm sure you'll get advice on budgeting matters. It will also help us to get an idea of which options might be suitable for you to deal with your debts. There's a template here you can use:

www.stoozing.com/calculator/soa.php

Overall it's a good idea to contact one of the free debt advice charities so that an adviser can consider your whole situation and give you more specific advice.

James
@natdebtline

andyfromotley

Hi darren,

1 Reduce your outgoings to the minimum. You do this by cutting back on everything you can. Post an SOA as advised and you will get advice on how to reduce your bills and spending.
2. You up your income. New job, promotion, overtime, second job, 3rd job, wife to work in the evening and weekends. Income income income!!!
3. You then live on less than you earn (hopefully a lot less) and throw the rest at the debt. You do this by using a budget plan. Theres loads of advice on here as to how to do it.

Good luck with it, you have obviously faced a bigger challenge than this so i am sure that you will smash this debt in the face.
(oh btw your op made me laugh, that holiday may have been many things but the one thing it definitely wasnt was earned!! ;-)

Kitten868

Im sorry you've had to go through such an awful ordeal. I think that the reasons for your debt are totally justifiable. And I'm glad you took that holiday. I hope it was a welcome break for your family. Hope your child is doing much better now. I won't pretend to understand what life is like during or after cancer.
I know that Nationwide has partnered with Macmillan to give out support to people affected by cancer financially. I would give them a call first. They're going to understand the bigger picture.
Wish your family best of luck and love with everything xxxx