am i going mad :(

A question about : am i going mad :(

hi im new to the forum, i have some major debt problems that i dont know what to do for the best?

with loans, high street cards and credit cards its around 25k, i have manged to meet the minimum each month but my overdraft is now nearly 4k too. we have reasonable salaries coming in each month and on paper looks like we can do it but we not.

i feel like throwing the towel in, im not sleeping i cant focus at work, its just too hard? i have three lovely girls who rely on mum, im letting everyone down im so embarrassed by it all.

Best answers:

• Hey there, not to worry! There are always ways and options regardless of your situation. First step is to fill out a Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet so we can all get an understanding of your costs and help identify areas in which you might be able to make room:
  Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
  Household Information
  Number of adults in household...........
  Number of children in household.........
  Number of cars owned....................
  Monthly Income Details
  Monthly income after tax................
  Partners monthly income after tax.......
  Benefits................................
  Other income............................
  Total monthly income....................
  Monthly Expense Details
  Mortgage................................
  Secured/HP loan repayments..............
  Rent....................................
  Management charge (leasehold property)..
  Council tax.............................
  Electricity.............................
  Gas.....................................
  Oil.....................................
  Water rates.............................
  Telephone (land line)...................
  Mobile phone............................
  TV Licence..............................
  Satellite/Cable TV......................
  Internet Services.......................
  Groceries etc. .........................
  Clothing................................
  Petrol/diesel...........................
  Road tax................................
  Car Insurance...........................
  Car maintenance (including MOT).........
  Car parking.............................
  Other travel............................
  Childcare/nursery.......................
  Other child related expenses............
  Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc)....
  Pet insurance/vet bills.................
  Buildings insurance.....................
  Contents insurance......................
  Life assurance .........................
  Other insurance.........................
  Presents (birthday, christmas etc)......
  Haircuts................................
  Entertainment...........................
  Holiday.................................
  Emergency fund..........................
  Total monthly expenses..................
  Assets
  Cash....................................
  House value (Gross).....................
  Shares and bonds........................
  Car(s)..................................
  Other assets............................
  Total Assets............................
  Secured & HP Debts
  Description....................Debt......Monthly.. .APR
  Mortgage...................... ... ...
  Total secured & HP debts...... .... ...
  Unsecured Debts
  Description....................Debt......Monthly.. .APR
  Total unsecured debts.......... ..... .......
  Monthly Budget Summary
  Total monthly income....................
  Expenses (including HP & secured debts).
  Available for debt repayments...........
  Monthly UNsecured debt repayments.......
  Amount left after debt repayments.......
  Personal Balance Sheet Summary
  Total assets (things you own)...........
  Total HP & Secured debt.................
  Total Unsecured debt....................
  Net Assets..............................
• thank you just looked at it all and added it up, i owe 26,189., even worse than i thought! worked it all what goes out of the bank and there is no where near enough coming in to cover it all, before i even account for food etc... im at my wits end
• ... although my salary has dropped drastically I would advise you to contact StepChange. I resisted for a long time because I know my credit rating will be hammered but at least it's taking control in some way and you have an opportunity to manage the debts on your own terms.
  Making that call is very tough to do and it is embarrassing but I think the idea is to turn a corner and they can help you do that.
• You don't even need to phone them, I set my dmp up online without speaking to anyone. Go on the stepchange website and try out the debt remedy tool.
  Good luck and your certainly not alone.
  Puzz
• You can do it - mine were around 40k and only now, after years, am I tackling them properly. You will be fine once you commit to it. Don't feel sorry for yourself, just get your head around it and enjoy life.
• The SOA (Statement of affairs) calculator can be found here.
  https://www.stoozing.com/calculator/soa.php
  and the Snowball calculator can be found here.
  https://www.whatsthecost.com/snowball.aspx