Financial advisors / accountants who specialise in debt?

Help1988

Hi there,

I am gutted to say that I have been in a debt spiral for some time. I have a considerable amount of credit card debt, spread across several cards. I have just managed to sort it so none of them are earning interest, and I’m lucky enough to have a relatively good job in terms of pay which means that I’m just about able to keep on top of everything - but the repayments are basically taking up all of my money every month, and so the spiral continues. I do have a very, very small amount of money, which I feel would be best put towards speaking to an accountant / financial advisor who can go through everything with me and help me to manage my money better, control my spending and stop the debt spiral. When I look online however, I find that there are lots of places saying that these people exist - but I can’t find any! Does anyone know of a financial advisor or accountant that deals with personal debt issues? Now that I have sorted the interest on all of my cards, I want someone to help me stop any further debt and help me plan, keep me on track. Thank you in advance 🙏🏻

MattMattMattUK

Help1988 said:

Hi there,

I am gutted to say that I have been in a debt spiral for some time. I have a considerable amount of credit card debt, spread across several cards. I have just managed to sort it so none of them are earning interest, and I’m lucky enough to have a relatively good job in terms of pay which means that I’m just about able to keep on top of everything - but the repayments are basically taking up all of my money every month, and so the spiral continues. I do have a very, very small amount of money, which I feel would be best put towards speaking to an accountant / financial advisor who can go through everything with me and help me to manage my money better, control my spending and stop the debt spiral. When I look online however, I find that there are lots of places saying that these people exist - but I can’t find any! Does anyone know of a financial advisor or accountant that deals with personal debt issues? Now that I have sorted the interest on all of my cards, I want someone to help me stop any further debt and help me plan, keep me on track. Thank you in advance 🙏🏻

Post a full SOA on here and people will help you for free, though no one can help you control your spending, that is down to you.

https://www.lemonfool.co.uk/financecalculators/soa.php

Grumpelstiltskin

Why think of giving someone money for doing something you should be doing yourself for free?

They can tell you anything but it is you that has the credit card / cash in your pocket so only you can decide how to spend your money.

Start by reading this thread.
In Debt and Wannabe Debt Free? first Steps to take are here, please read, then ask questions. — MoneySavingExpert Forum

Complete a SOA format for MSE and copy and paste on here.
When we see your full financial situation we can advise you and not charge you.

RAS

And you can also discuss your options for debt management with one of the debt charities/free providers like Stepchange, National Debtline or Payplan. They are funded by the finance industry so keen to sort out debts quickly. 

They will need an SOA anyway, so checking it here first can be useful. People tend to spot what's missing as well as what's costing a lot. And if you've got expenditure missing, you get into stressed and panicky situations which scupper your attempt to manage the debt.

Do avoid any media ads offering to reduce your debt for one easy payment. They are usually just lead generators taking money to refer your to IVA providers. There are a small number of instances when IVAs are a good idea but if you are not currently paying interest, there are better options.

When you list your debts, ideally list current value, current APR, date the deal ends and rate to which it reverts.

Best of luck, meantime.

Help1988

Thank you @Grumpelstiltskin and @MattMattMattUK 👍🏻
I have done an SOA a couple of times funnily enough and fully completed the MSE spreadsheets with all incomings/outgoings etc. It always lasts for a couple of months and then something unexpected happens or depression kicks in and it all goes to hell again - this is why I felt that if I was paying someone to keep me on track, I would actually stay on track. If that makes any sense at all. But thank you, I will try doing this again and posting here too 🙏🏻

MattMattMattUK

Help1988 said:

Thank you @Grumpelstiltskin and @MattMattMattUK 👍🏻
I have done an SOA a couple of times funnily enough and fully completed the MSE spreadsheets with all incomings/outgoings etc.

That is a good start, do you feel able to share it?

Help1988 said:

It always lasts for a couple of months and then something unexpected happens or depression kicks in and it all goes to hell again - this is why I felt that if I was paying someone to keep me on track, I would actually stay on track. If that makes any sense at all.

It does not make sense as we have seen the same not work on here before. What might make sense is to spend they money you were going to spend on paying someone to "keep you on track", something which they will not be able to do, to spend that money on therapy. If you feel your spending stems from depression then it would be sensible to speak to your GP, get private therapy, or both.

Help1988 said:

But thank you, I will try doing this again and posting here too 🙏🏻

Have a share and we will see what we can do to give you some help, usually just sharing is something that can take a weight off of ones shoulders, making sure you come back and keep checking in can help you stick to that. 

Grumpelstiltskin

If you say you have filed in a SOA but it goes to pot when something unexpected happens then you haven't allowed for an amount to build up an emergency fund something that is vital as emergencies do happen.

Help1988

Thank you so much, @MattMattMattUK I’ll do that. Yeah I have been in therapy for a while but it’s one of those things, there are so many problems to deal with which have been more urgent than the spending issue that I’ve been prioritising those and letting this drift (and then before I knew it, my debt had doubled). I do feel a lot of embarrassment about it all; the way it has spiralled in the space of 5 years has been shocking. I bought a property with my fiancé 5 years ago, I had a couple of thousand in credit card debt but nothing I couldn’t handle. Then we needed stuff for the house, which he wasn’t going to pay for so I put it all on my card. Then he had a car accident with an injury that left him incapacitated for a while, and costs soared for us so I put it all on a card. Then we had a wedding booked, but the costs of that grew and he wasn’t going to pay so I put it all on another card. The relationship became worse and worse, as the years have gone on, so expensive convenience food spending and depressive  “cheer-me-up” spending increased. As the debt grew and I ran out of moves on 0% balance transfer cards, and interest was going on in the hundreds, I just stuck my head in the sand and tried to pretend it wasn’t there. And now here we are, in a right old mess 😖

MattMattMattUK

Help1988 said:

Thank you so much, @ MattMattMattUK I’ll do that. Yeah I have been in therapy for a while

Therapy takes time, one's brain has a lifetime to get stuck in certain patterns, undoing those is not a quick process, but a lot of process can be made very quickly at points as well.

Help1988 said:

but it’s one of those things, there are so many problems to deal with which have been more urgent than the spending issue that I’ve been prioritising those and letting this drift (and then before I knew it, my debt had doubled).

Problems are interconnected. Debt increases stress, which can cause/worsen depression, which can reduce impulse control, which cause more spending, which increases debt. You cannot deal with issue in isolation and you should also talk to your therapist about this if you are still seeing one.

Help1988 said:

I do feel a lot of embarrassment about it all; the way it has spiralled in the space of 5 years has been shocking.

Many people do, but they key is to talk about it. Also, remember on here that everyone is anonymous, so you have that safety net. 

Help1988 said:

I bought a property with my fiancé 5 years ago, I had a couple of thousand in credit card debt but nothing I couldn’t handle. Then we needed stuff for the house, which he wasn’t going to pay for so I put it all on my card. Then he had a car accident with an injury that left him incapacitated for a while, and costs soared for us so I put it all on a card. Then we had a wedding booked, but the costs of that grew and he wasn’t going to pay so I put it all on another card. The relationship became worse and worse, as the years have gone on, so expensive convenience food spending and depressive  “cheer-me-up” spending increased. As the debt grew and I ran out of moves on 0% balance transfer cards, and interest was going on in the hundreds, I just stuck my head in the sand and tried to pretend it wasn’t there. And now here we are, in a right old mess 😖

They why does not really matter, that is in the past, they key is to work out what you are going to do about it, look forward, not back. 

fatbelly

I wouldn't trust an IFA or accountant to give debt advice. They are not trained in that and I've seen some terrible advice over the years.

I do trust the regulars on this board.

Fortunately there are also debt advice charities and National Debtline are pretty good. Unless you are unlucky you may well get correct advice from Stepchange and CA.

The people to avoid like the plague are those who advertise on social media and make outlandish claims about writing your debt off

stymied

The debt free diaries section may help you with maintaining self accountability x