Credit card debt from gambling

Contact step change, they are a charity which can help manage the structure of payments and out goings and make it easier for yourself. Check out the tools on this site which are helpful.

Dave101

Just for today I will not gamble, and enjoy coffee instead of tea this morning.

Hi, I am new to this site but wanted to say thank you for sharing your story.  I can relate to your circumstances.  Last night for the 2nd month in a row I very quickly spent most of my wages on online slots. On reflection this morning, I think I’ve just about left myself enough money to cover most of my bills for the month but will need to use my credit card to pay for things such as food shopping and pay off next month.  This gambling binge has come after a 12 month Gamstop registration.  The only problem is I cancelled it at the earliest opportunity and I think the build up from not being able to gamble has caused me to gamble irresponsibly yet again.

I feel fortunate that I haven’t done irreversible damage yet but have come here to speak to people who might understand the issues I’m having and feel that being able to speak openly will help me to take control and also I would like to try and help people in a similar situation by being able to chat etc. 

 Anyway, from experience I would say Gamstop will help you to stop playing online slots.  If you have a decent sized disposable income when you’re not gambling then you could potentially pay off good chunks of your debt in a shorter time than you think.  I like to use a spreadsheet showing all of my projected income and outgoings to help me map out how much disposable income I am likely to have. If you don’t have much extra income after paying your bills etc then maybe you will need to consider debt management.  I would be keen to hear more about your situation if you are willing to share. 

@vxm0r2ugd7 hi, thanks for your reply, I do have some disposable income (now lol) I have tried to map everything out and it seems achievable but will probably take me 2-3 years, I’m not on a massive wage.  that’s rubbish that you’ve slipped but so easily done, I’m still living in my gamstop  bubble at the minute and it’s been a godsend. Always been good with money, good credit, no missed payments. It’s only the last month or two that I started to spend over my means, before that I would always leave enough for essentials but looking back, it was above my means, I’d spend a grand in 2 days like it was nothing… but it’s alright as I have still have bill money! I was in denial. Now I think, what a stupid way to look at things, that could have been a family weekend away, a few days out in half term. Like you say definitely try and use Gamstop again if it’s possible, it’s a slippy slope and unfortunately too easily done. People don’t look at me and see an addict, normal person, normal job, kids, car, but I know that the second I log onto slots I can’t stop until every penny is gone and it’s a sad/secret life to live. Got everything crossed that you nip it back in the bud before it gets a grip.

@dave101 thanks for your reply, I’m usually a coffee person. Maybe I should treat myself to a tea. Thanks for the advice about stepchange I’m going to try and navigate this situation solo for now but in 6months if I haven’t made a dent I’ll definitely reach out to a debt management company like stepchange.