£76k of gambling debt - starting to pay off

sourcrates

yeahyouknow wrote: »

I really appreciate all the replies!

1. An emergency fund sounds good - my National Debtline advisor was against this though and didn't understand it. Does anyone know why please?

2. What size should the fund be? Doesn't it also mean missing payments for another few months and annoying the creditors further by ignoring them/not paying anything for a while?

Thanks
C

Places like National Debtline, stepchange, payplan, exist to help you to repay what you owe, they have a certain mantra on how to go about doing things, and stick to there script, more or less, which is ok for some, but not for everyone.

You may find the ND advisers who post on these forums to be a little more savvy in that respect, as they read posts from people every day who are struggling, solely because they didn't set up an emergency fund first, and on these forums its generally accepted to be a good thing to do, and i think that Laura@nationaldebtline and Dennis@nationaldebtline, would both agree on that score.

Just budget for things like washing machines, fridges etc that may go wrong, £500-£1000 is about right, creditors wont be any more bothered if you dont pay them for 3 or 6 months, it matters little to there business decisions.

fatbelly

Excellent advice on this thread.

zippygeorgeandben

I just want to post to provide support to the OP. I have been there with the gambling. Not to the extent of the OP but an addiction none the less. Gambling addiction is something the Government will not address, especially FOBT. My concern is for the future generation. Children are more than willing to gamble away lunch money (I know this for a fact) and I read a recent report which said that a certain percentage (cannot remember the figure but I want to say 11%) of children have what is considered a 'gambling problem'. We live in a world of 'on demand' now and if children want to gamble, it is so easy to do. Councils need to say 'NO' to businesses who want to open up yet another bookies in a deprived borough.
Self suspend yourself from bet365/william hill etc and make it as difficult as possible for yourself to reactivate any accounts you may have.
You never see bookies closing down and struggling, the same also goes for dry cleaners! Which leads me onto telling you to do your own laundry and save £100...!
Good luck OP and please keep us updated as your post struck a chord with me.

juststuff123

Hi There,
I suppose one reason that someone in your position shouldn't have an emergency fund is that it gives you access to money that's not earmarked for anything else right now. (similar to an alcoholic keeping beer in the house) All you need is a bad day and the whole lot's been blown on a horse or a roll of the dice or whatever your tipple is. Is there anyone you really trust (parents for example) that could hold on to and control your access to the emergency fund while you get yourself sorted out? Most people aim for 3-6 months 'essential' outgoings as an emergency fund but why not aim for £1000 and go from there?