Beginning to drown in the debt!

Hi SW

Thank you for sharing that. I guess like me, no one knew so I hope it's help to get that out and talk about it. 

I share in your pain and it must be so difficult to work out what problem to tackle first. Can I presume you want to give up gambling for good ?

To concentrate on that, I would strongly suggest doing three things which really worked for me.

1. Click the button bottom right "Talk to someone" and chat to an advisor. You can either text chat or ring them.

2. On Monday give StepChange a call. There are lots of options but having that debt worrying you doesn't help you move on. Don't over stretch yourself, once finances get repaired then you can up payments. One thing that really has helped me is telling my banks etc that I am a compulsive gambler. They pretty much all have special departments who will help.

3. Try and come on the 8pm chatrooms. It's text only so no cameras and they are incredibly supportive. We are all compulsive gamblers on there and there is no judgement.

If you do want to stop gambling forever and want some tips that have helped me just ask on your thread here

Some good advice already offered.

I was in your position 2 years ago. 50k debt. No chance of paying it back. Worried about DMP and my job. Stepchange is the way forward. I ended up with a DMP which allowed me to pay the debts off much quicker as the interest was frozen, and I could pay back what was manageable for me. Stepchange will work with you to sort this out and will speak to all your creditors for you. No one at work had to find out. I have a security clearance and I may have to mention it when it renews, but as long as I am honest this shouldn't be a problem. With regards to being forced to stay with your partner. I didnt get the choice. I was asked to leave. I cobbled together some money and got a place to rent and have never been happier. You might find the freedom from a relationship that you feel is not working, helps you stay away from gambling. Nothing like having to look after yourself to make you focus.

There is a way out of this, but you have to make the call. Clearing your debts could take years. Stepchange can help knock months or years off this timescale. It does hurt your credit file, but for me, I couldn't get credit anyway as my score was impacted so much with payday loans etc. 2 years down the line, and I'm debt free, have several credit cards to boost my score, and am happier than I've been most my adult life. The first few months were scary, horrible, emotional, but once you get through it, and start seeing the debt reduce, and some savings increase, it's all worth it. Take that step. Contact someone about the debt. The sooner the better.

I hope this helps. Attacking the debt issue head on, will make everything seem so much more manageable.

Stay strong 👍 

Hi SW

Exactly as Weird fish said. There is a life beyond this and he is further down the line than either of us as proof. I have 37k but went through Stepchange. I knew I had to first and foremost stop gambling, build my support network, repair my brain to be a better person. I knew I couldn't do that chasing letters in the post, keeping everything secret and worrying about not having enough money. So I got that albatross off me so I could concentrate on me 

It's just one call, about half an hour of work to fill in details and they will sort out options for you, pick one and they do all the work. 

My life after 130 days is completely different to November. It takes daily work but I enjoy it 

Thanks both so much for the advice! It’s good to hear that others have been in this position and got through it. I think I’m going to speak to stepchange this week and even if I don’t put anything in place, I’ll know what my options are.