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Husband in debt - where to start?
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junebug87
Posts: 53 Forumite

Hi,
I've just found out that my husband has accrued £15k in debt in the last year from a secret gambling addiction. We're working through the addiction side of things through GA meetings and counselling, but when it comes to the debt, I haven't got a clue where to start.
He has three credit cards and a maxed out bank overdraft which is charging daily interest. While he knows it is his responsibility to pay all of this back, I've taken control of all the finances in order to stop any further gambling and want to help manage this process in the best way possible. Our three year fixed mortgage ends next June and I'm worried about the impact this will have on our combined credit score.
I know itll be a long road, and the debt is only one aspect of this, but any advice on the best place to start with it?
Thanks in advance.
I've just found out that my husband has accrued £15k in debt in the last year from a secret gambling addiction. We're working through the addiction side of things through GA meetings and counselling, but when it comes to the debt, I haven't got a clue where to start.
He has three credit cards and a maxed out bank overdraft which is charging daily interest. While he knows it is his responsibility to pay all of this back, I've taken control of all the finances in order to stop any further gambling and want to help manage this process in the best way possible. Our three year fixed mortgage ends next June and I'm worried about the impact this will have on our combined credit score.
I know itll be a long road, and the debt is only one aspect of this, but any advice on the best place to start with it?
Thanks in advance.
0
Comments
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I would say a SOA is the best starting position now you have sought support through GA.
Here is the link
http://www.stoozing.com/calculator/soa.php
You can complete it as a household or as his income alone if that's how you manage your joint bills - that's personal preference.
Once you have posted that, you will get tailored suggestions in moving forward.I’m a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on the Budgeting & Bank Accounts, Credit Cards, Credit File & Ratings and Energy boards. If you need any help on these boards, do let me know. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com. All views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.
If you can't be the best -
Just be better than you were yesterday.0 -
best of luck with this. The Government have ALOT to answer for...Savings as of April 2023 Savings account - £26460.50(14474.88)Current account - £2140.24(4576.79)Total - £28600.74(19051.67) £1010 (£65pm CS/BS) £250 CS/BS/JS0
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Thank you for your replies and good luck wishes.
I've completed the SOA, hopefully I've done this correctly. I've based it on his income alone (so essentially, all outgoings have been halved - we both pay the same amount into a joint account each month to cover all mortgage/insurance/household expenditure). Although saying this I have left the total mortgage debt/house value as the full amount - this hasn't been halved.
With the credit cards/overdraft - I don't know what the APR/minimum payments are for all of these. I believe two (Lloyds and M&S) are 0% balance transfer.
Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household.........
Number of cars owned.................... 1
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1750
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1750
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 441.7
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 58
Electricity............................. 20
Gas..................................... 20
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 28
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 32
TV Licence.............................. 6
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 5
Internet Services....................... 12
Groceries etc. ......................... 100
Clothing................................ 30
Petrol/diesel........................... 50
Road tax................................ 5
Car Insurance........................... 30
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 15
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 10
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 5
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 5
Contents insurance...................... 5
Life assurance ......................... 5
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 10
Haircuts................................ 5
Entertainment........................... 60
Holiday................................. 25
Emergency fund.......................... 50
Total monthly expenses.................. 1032.7
Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 240000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 0
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 240000
Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 200000...(441.7)....0
Total secured & HP debts...... 200000....-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Overdraft......................3816.16...4.73......0
Lloyds Credit Card.............2377.5....100.......0
Halifax Credit Card............4822.16...0.........18.95
Halifac CC (Joint).............350.......0.........0
M&S Credit Card................2894.65...0.........0
Total unsecured debts..........14260.47..104.73....-
Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,750
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,032.7
Available for debt repayments........... 717.3
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 104.73
Amount left after debt repayments....... 612.57
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 240,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -200,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -14,260.47
Net Assets.............................. 25,739.53
Created using the SOA calculator at https://www.stoozing.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using other browser.0 -
Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household.........
Number of cars owned.................... 1
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1750
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1750
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 441.7
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 58 If this is paid over the standard 10 months, change it to 12 to free up more each month for debt-busting.
Electricity............................. 20
Gas..................................... 20
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 28 As above with the C. Tax if it's over the standard 10 months.
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 32 When is this out of contract - a £10 SIMO deal is sufficient
TV Licence.............................. 6
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 5
Internet Services....................... 12
Groceries etc. ......................... 100
Clothing................................ 30 clothing ban for 6 months, frees up £180 towards the debt-busting.
Petrol/diesel........................... 50
Road tax................................ 5
Car Insurance........................... 30 when this is due for renewal, check out things like TCB/Quidco for cashback.
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 15
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 10
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 5
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 5 As above with car insurance - check out TCB/Quidco
Contents insurance...................... 5
Life assurance ......................... 5
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 10
Haircuts................................ 5
Entertainment........................... 60
Holiday................................. 25
Emergency fund.......................... 50 is this a wish list? there is no cash recorded below
Total monthly expenses.................. 1032.7
Assets
Cash.................................... 0 this should have something in it if you are savings in an EFund.
House value (Gross)..................... 240000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 0
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 240000
Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 200000...(441.7)....0
Total secured & HP debts...... 200000....-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Overdraft......................3816.16...4.73......0 are these daily charges calculated over the month?
Lloyds Credit Card.............2377.5....100.......0 dig out the APR
Halifax Credit Card............4822.16...0.........18.95
Halifac CC (Joint).............350.......0.........0 dig out the APR
M&S Credit Card................2894.65...0.........0 ditto
Total unsecured debts..........14260.47..104.73....-
Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,750
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,032.7
Available for debt repayments........... 717.3
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 104.73
Amount left after debt repayments....... 612.57 this is a good start if it's accurate
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 240,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -200,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -14,260.47
Net Assets.............................. 25,739.53
Created using the SOA calculator at www.stoozing.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using other browser.
I've added some comments in red above.
The good news is that if the SOA is accurate, he has disposible income to throw at the debt each month.
Once the APR information is found, you can prioritise which debt to tackle first.
If the overdraft is calculated on a daily fee basis, can you leave funds in the account until the end of the month to minimise the amount of OD used each day. (less days until the next pay day etc means less cost)
It may be that the SOA needs to be tweaked if that's not the amount left.
Don't expect it to disappear overnight, it was probably built up over time and will take time to get rid but is quite do-able with committment and determination.
I wish you both all the best.I’m a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on the Budgeting & Bank Accounts, Credit Cards, Credit File & Ratings and Energy boards. If you need any help on these boards, do let me know. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com. All views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.
If you can't be the best -
Just be better than you were yesterday.0
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