Debt

ukguy2k

I owe my Sister - £7,262.62.  PayPal Credit - £3,109.97.  M&S Credit Card - £2,800.62.  Klarna - £441.26.

I also have a Mental Health Condition.

I think my Debts will only get cleared if I keep paying and only spend when I have balance on my Debit Card, will take determination.

I receive Universal Credit with Disability Element and PIP daily living component Standard.  

Also, I earn PayPal from Mining, Crypto from Mining, Websites and Amazon Balance from App.  My Mum sometimes gives me Cash money.

for around 3-4 years, I havent usually been spending much from my benefits, just been spending from Credit Cards etc.  I will try next time to keep some from Benefits and then spend.

itsthelittlethings

Welcom!  I know things are tough when it comes to mental health and debt. Just spending on debit cards is a great idea. I didn’t stop spending on credit cards until I finally took the plunge and cut mine up. Also delete it off your phone and places online you often use it.

Do you budget at the moment? I’m guessing you might be on a four weekly rather than a monthly budget? Google Sheets have a great budget spreadsheet if you know how to use that. You can track everything coming in and going out. I’m a firm believer that to conquer the numbers you have to know the numbers. If you’re not 100% confident with Google Sheets you can just ask Google how to do anything and there’s usually a guide.

If you want more advice from people you could fill out an SOA. Your choice.

Can you get any 0% deals for your credit card? This will save you some interest. As far as mental health and debt goes I’m not a big expert apart from lived experience but others may know more.

SOA link here. I’d do it two or four-weekly if your payments fit this pattern. Good luck!

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

ManyWays

how much crypto do you own, or do you cash it in as soon as possible? 

Brie

Well done for recognising you have a problem - that's always the first step to finding a solution.

I must admit I've never understood crypto or mining - if I want to earn from investments I need them to be in things I understand which tend to be more physical assets or at least based on those.  Do you owe money to PayPal for the mining?  If so is it worth it??  Something only you can answer.

And you say you have MH issues.  Was any of the debt taken out since this has been determined?  If so you might want to consider getting a Debt and Mental Health form completed by a health professional (free in England as per BMA guidelines) and submitting that to the creditors to see if they will write off any of the debt.  You might also check if they can provide the credit agreements, if they can't they can't make you pay anything normally.  

@itsthelittlethingshas suggested cutting up your card(s).  If that seems too drastic a first step you might try freezing them.  And I mean literally freezing them.  Get a yoghurt pot or similar, fill with water, drop the card(s) in it and stick in the freezer.  It generally means it takes you longer to spend money as you have to thaw things out and that gives you time to think and reconsider.  But you also need to delete all your pay info from any online sites of course!!

Borrowing money and repaying family is more problematic.  Does sister expect the money back?  What about mom?  Family can feel obliged sometimes but if it's going to cause hard feelings then that needs to be sorted out, negotiated perhaps.  Difficult but doable, depending on the family.

Best of luck with it all.