Advice on spiralling debt

butfirstlipstick

Hello 👋  really nervous to post but hoping for some advice please. I'm in a lot of credit card debt (£27k-ish across multiple cards). I've been in credit card debt before but never anywhere near this much - I had it down to around 5k pre-pandemic so more manageable, but a combination of poor mental health (which is ongoing, including anxiety disorders), juggling caring responsibilities for a family member alongside working full time plus the constant worries about their condition & hospital trips, sometimes at short notice (also ongoing) & pandemic anxiety in general meant my debt spiralled massively. I don't even really know how, I think I spent my feelings as an attempt to distract from everything I was struggling to cope with, which is ironic as I'm now struggling with the debt that resulted. I live with family (because of caring responsibilities & also cannot afford my own place because of the debt) so I am able to keep up with payments on my cards. However some of my interest-free periods are coming to an end, & where I would normally just look for a new card with a 0% offer, I don’t have that option anymore because my credit rating has dropped significantly. I'm panicking about interest making my debts even worse & it's impacting my mental health further, so I rang StepChange for an initial chat but I think I felt even worse afterwards. Realistically, I don't think anything could be offered to me given that I am able to make repayments, & from looking at other threads I think it may do more harm than good to have a formal arrangement in place were one even to be agreed. But I just feel like I need a bit of guidance & I don't know what that looks like, so if anyone has any advice or similar experience & would be happy to share, I'd appreciate it. I'm really ashamed & embarrassed that I've got myself into this situation & can't speak to friends/family about how bad it's got.

ashamedjelly

Hi butfirstlipstick,

First of all, you're in the right place. There are a lot of knowledgeable folk on here that will be along shortly and give you great advice that you should listen to. 

It would help a lot to post a Statement of Affairs so that people can give you the best advice for your specific circumstances. 

Lastly, please do not be ashamed or embarrassed. There are always people in a worse solution than you (including me!) and you are doing the right thing by seeking advice to solve the problem. 

ManyWays

The advice here is often to set up a "DIY" version of a debt management plan, but this will involve you with a lot more stress and creditor contact. Going through StepChange will cut through most of that which may be good if you have mental health problems. 
But posting a Statement of Affairs here (see https://www.lemonfool.co.uk/financecalculators/soa.php) is a great first move - it gets you better organized to think about your options and deal with them, so why not do that first? One step at a time, less overwhelming.

Rob5342

There is no need to be nervous, a lot of us here have been in similar sitations so we know exactly what it's like. As mentioned above posting a statement of affairs is a good move so we can advise on your exact situations. There is always a solution, and once you get to grips with the options it won't feel anywhere near as bad as it does for you at the moment.

Martico

In case you've not spotted it among the stickies at the top of this board, there's also a really useful First Steps thread that's worth looking through and absorbing. 

butfirstlipstick

Thank you all. Really appreciate your replies. I did an SOA but struggled with how to save & share it here so I took a couple of screenshots of what I think are the key aspects, hopefully it's ok to share that way. I have been trying to overpay so the money showing as leftover is more than what I actually have left over, but a key worry is that I'm coming to the end of my 0% interest in November on the Virgin Money, MBNA & PayPal credit, especially with the Virgin as it's the biggest amount - I don't think my minimum payments would even cover the interest. I think that's the main thing that's stressing me out alongside the high total amount. I'd usually just do another 0% balance transfer but I'm out of options there. I have generally been paying £550 to 600 off per month, plus also usually around £200 to 'pay in 3' option installments. 

BudgetingBelinda

You have made the big first step, lots of us have been in similar situations. I am just coming to the end of a DMP with PayPlan and I’ve found them really helpful. I had 20k debt, started off with small monthly payments and as my budget allowed I’ve upped the monthly payments, and done overpayments to get the DMP down from a predicted 13 year term to just finishing in 4 years. I defaulted on debts prior to entering DMP though, which makes them come off of your credit file 6 years from default as opposed to sometimes much later- which results in prolonged bad credit score. It stopped the spiral of me getting into more debt, and made me accountable. Lots of interest was frozen/repayment agreed with creditors via payplan so I didn’t have the stress of dealing with any of them anymore as it was really affecting my mental health and making anxieties about the situation so terrible. This was one of the best things about DMP, aside from paying it off… just one affordable monthly payment, no stress from creditor's. To get to the correct monthly payment amount I went through all expenses, everything that leaves my account and a bit of wiggle room. That set me up for better budgeting going forward too. 

I remember at the beginning I was sweating when contacting Payplan and so upset. But facing it and making positive changes has been a game changer. 

Good luck 💪🏼 it is possible, look at all the options and get plenty of advice, from this forum and reputable sources! 

enthusiasticsaver

From the basic statement of account above it looks like you can manage repayments but without a comprehensive soa it is difficult to know if you have allowed for all your spending in expenditure.  Here is a comprehensive soa link which you should complete and format for MSE then upload to this thread. 
SOA Calculator

If you have run out of 0% deals options then you may need to consider a  debt management plan.  Otherwise it will be a long old slog as paying low repayments or minimums will take a long time to clear the debt.  Budgeting is the key or increasing income by selling stuff, taking on a second job or a lodger although presumably you rent so that may not be acceptable to your landlord. You are doing the right thing by overpaying with your surplus.  There are lots of people on here with your level of debt or higher and you have a reasonable income so it is possible to deal with it but it will take time. Alternatively a DMP which is not an awful option but it will affect your credit record for 6 years.  It does however freeze interest and allow you  to live within a sensible budget and set affordable debt repayment amounts. 

EssexHebridean

When you compete the SOA, unless it has changed it gives you a “format for MSE” option - you can then copy and paste straight into a post in this thread - does that help? 

butfirstlipstick

Thank you all for the further comments & suggestions, really helpful. I've also had a chat with someone at StepChange, & they advised that because I can pay all the minimum amounts, they wouldn't recommend any sort of debt management measures as yet, & just to keep chipping away at it, but contact them again if my situation changes.

The main thing that's stressing me out at present is the fact that several of my 0% interest offers are due to end, which will have a significant impact on the amount & the minimum payments won't even cover the monthly interest in some places. I can no longer do what I used to & move debt around to other cards. Is it worth me contacting the companies to ask if there's a way they can extend the 0% interest offers or will they just laugh at me? I know that's one way of them making money, but if anyone has tried it or has anything to suggest/advise, I'd really appreciate it.

Grumpelstiltskin

You have been advises to complete a SOA and format for MSE and post it on here, then when we can see the full situation we can advise you the best way forward.