We'd like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum... Read More »
We're aware that some users are experiencing technical issues which the team are working to resolve. See the Community Noticeboard for more info. Thank you for your patience.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!
Cripplng gambling debt, no idea where to make savings
Options
Comments
-
Have you taken steps to address the gambling? It's all very well sorting your current debts but if the addiction is still there you will get into issues again. If you haven't I would recommend gamcare. They have a helpline you can call for support and advice.
Not meaning to be rude but I think you have an income problem. Your take home pay is pretty low, how old are you? I'd seriously look at retraining or upskilling to increase your income. Your outgoings look ok but I think groceries could be cut quite a bit.
1 -
Fireflyaway said:Have you taken steps to address the gambling? It's all very well sorting your current debts but if the addiction is still there you will get into issues again. If you haven't I would recommend gamcare. They have a helpline you can call for support and advice.
Not meaning to be rude but I think you have an income problem. Your take home pay is pretty low, how old are you? I'd seriously look at retraining or upskilling to increase your income. Your outgoings look ok but I think groceries could be cut quite a bit.
I'm 37.1 -
monetxchange said:Abandon said:My only concern is that there are substantial gambling transactions in the last four months (five figure sums), would that prohibit me from going bankrupt. And now that I have had official advice from experts on this forum, if I was to borrow a small amount to gamble again in a last ditch attempt to win it back (I don't plan to but I find it hard to stop. If I did it would only be £3/4k absolute max) could I still include that in the bankruptcy. I will not do anything illegal, but if there is a loophole, then I'll take it.
I don't meant to sound rude or flippant, it's a sincere question.0 -
Abandon said:monetxchange said:Abandon said:My only concern is that there are substantial gambling transactions in the last four months (five figure sums), would that prohibit me from going bankrupt. And now that I have had official advice from experts on this forum, if I was to borrow a small amount to gamble again in a last ditch attempt to win it back (I don't plan to but I find it hard to stop. If I did it would only be £3/4k absolute max) could I still include that in the bankruptcy. I will not do anything illegal, but if there is a loophole, then I'll take it.
I don't meant to sound rude or flippant, it's a sincere question.
Realistically you're not going to win the money back anyway so you're just prolonging the agony.13 -
Lover_of_Lycra said:Abandon said:monetxchange said:Abandon said:My only concern is that there are substantial gambling transactions in the last four months (five figure sums), would that prohibit me from going bankrupt. And now that I have had official advice from experts on this forum, if I was to borrow a small amount to gamble again in a last ditch attempt to win it back (I don't plan to but I find it hard to stop. If I did it would only be £3/4k absolute max) could I still include that in the bankruptcy. I will not do anything illegal, but if there is a loophole, then I'll take it.
I don't meant to sound rude or flippant, it's a sincere question.
Realistically you're not going to win the money back anyway so you're just prolonging the agony.
15 years?!?!? I might just default in that case.0 -
Abandon said:if I was to borrow a small amount to gamble again in a last ditch attempt to win it back (I don't plan to but I find it hard to stop. If I did it would only be £3/4k absolute max)You need to severely recalibrate your view of money. That is about 3 months wages you are talking about and you call it a small amount?I suggest you look around for a new hobby, one which is free to very cheap. I always find it hard to just cut something out of my life, much easier to replace it with something else.But a banker, engaged at enormous expense,Had the whole of their cash in his care.
Lewis Carroll5 -
So if you take out one last loan before bankruptcy to have another bet where *this* time you know you are sure to win (like all the other times), what then happens with the winnings?
Until a time you kick the gambling addiction and wake up you are a lost course. All you will do is rack up the gambling debt again.3 -
Deleted_User said:So if you take out one last loan before bankruptcy to have another bet where *this* time you know you are sure to win (like all the other times), what then happens with the winnings?
Until a time you kick the gambling addiction and wake up you are a lost course. All you will do is rack up the gambling debt again.0 -
Abandon said:Deleted_User said:So if you take out one last loan before bankruptcy to have another bet where *this* time you know you are sure to win (like all the other times), what then happens with the winnings?
Until a time you kick the gambling addiction and wake up you are a lost course. All you will do is rack up the gambling debt again.
Grow up. YOU CANNOT WIN
If you go down to the woods today you better not go alone.6 -
Your biggest problem is your gambling addiction. You have racked up all this debt due to your misguided thinking that you will one day win. There are thousands if not millions of people out there who have got into the same position and until you ditch it your finances will not recover. You need to refocus on ideas to earn money (not through gambling). As things stand at the moment it has brought you to a position where bankruptcy is your only option. Taking out more borrowing is madness and possibly fraudulent as I guess you are not going to put gambling as the reason for any loan. Gambling is like alcoholism. Cold turkey is the only way to beat it.I’m a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on the Debt free Wannabe, Budgeting and Banking and Savings and Investment 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.
The 365 Day 1p Challenge 2025 #1 £667.95/£162.90
Save £12k in 2025 #1 £12000/£70003
This discussion has been closed.
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply

Categories
- All Categories
- 350.9K Banking & Borrowing
- 253.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 453.6K Spending & Discounts
- 244K Work, Benefits & Business
- 598.8K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 176.9K Life & Family
- 257.2K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
- 37.6K Read-Only Boards