Debt Help/Advice

james251988

Hi everyone,

I have got myself into what seems like a rather giant hole and I'm really struggling to think straight about this or figure a way to get out.

I will add that this is my own fault, I have had a ridiculous attitude of worry about it later and that it will all work out in the end, but it has suddenly hit me that it's not the case.

To my name I curreny have about £3,000 in Creditcard debt. And maybe another £1,200 in store cards/accounts etc. I also have an awful credit score.
Part of the reason for this is when I split up with a girlfriend and we lived together, others are just my attitude towards spending.

I also changed jobs this year just before a booked holiday with family. (This was paid for and not on credit.) I had to take the 2 weeks unpaid and thus found myself in a hole financially. Stupidly I went to Payday lenders, ending up borrowing from more than 1 and now have around £600 to pay out of my next paycheque. This leaves me enough for my rent, basic living but will leave me in jeopardy of defaulting payments etc.

It sounds like a sob story, but I am now experiencing sleepless nights and a huge amount of stress just worrying about how I am ever going to get out of this at all. It is especially hard as I have had this moment of clarity and have realised that it is all self inflicted.
Any help/experience or advice on what to do now would be hugely appreciated, thankyou.

MallyGirl

james251988 wrote: »

To my name I curreny have about £3,000 in Creditcard debt. And maybe another £1,200 in store cards/accounts etc. I also have an awful credit score.

step 1 - get rid of the 'maybe' and write down exactly what you owe, to who, and what the APR is.

Credit score is irrelevant as lenders don't see it - what is your credit history like? Do you have late payment markers, defaults, CCJs?
This will only matter when you want to borrow again but you should be focussing on paying off rather than further borrowing at the moment.
Fill in the SOA accurately http://www.stoozing.com/calculator/soa.php and post the results on here and you will get better advice

National_Debtline

Hi

I agree with MallyGirl that posting your SOA is the best place to start. You might then get some tips from people on how you could maybe budget more efficiently and pay more towards your debts.

It may also show that you can’t realistically maintain the minimum payments, in which case negotiating reduced payment plans with frozen interest could be the answer. This could either be done by yourself in writing, or possibly using a free debt management plan (DMP) provider such as Stepchange. Those options would mean defaulting on your debts which would have a negative impact on your credit history for 6 years, but it doesn’t sound like borrowing more is the answer at the moment anyway.

James
@natdebtline