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Hi, I wonder if you can help me, I'm really desperate. I owe around £16,000 on various credit cards and a loan. I only earn £15,000 due to having moved areas and having to take a drop in pay. I'm really trying but finding it difficult to get a better paid job and my monthly debt repayments are about £600 per month. My relationship's suffering because i can't afford to give my boyfriend (who i now live with) more than £300 ish pounds a month. I'm supplememting my earnings with my credit card and getting into more debt. Its making me irritable and its all i think about - help! I don't know how long i can cope with it all.

Hi Emma
Welcome and hope you will find this a helpful site.

Firstly, there are a good number of ways to sort this out so that you can regain some life.

The experts will be on hand to come up with some advice as to what to do.

Firstly, don't panic and focus on keeping the status quo. Tell your boyfriend that you are sorting things out and are talking to people about the problem.

Secondly, find how much a month he needs as your contribution.

Thirdly, you can then calculate what you can afford to pay each month.

Fourthly, you will find by doing that life starts to become manageable.

Do come back if you need any more advice.

Regards

Ray

Hi Emma

First of all I think that you need to discuss your difficulties with your partner so that he can understand why you are finding things tight. You cannot go on supplementing your income by using credit, as your debts will just grow and grow.

With some careful budgeting, and strict discipline with your spending - allowing only for essentials and the occasional luxury - you may be amazed at how quickly you could tackle the debts. Alternatively a Debt Management Programme could be an alternative for you to consider, where you pay out a set amount each month and a specialist company deal with the ongoing payment to your creditors.

Regards, Melanie Giles, Insolvency Practitioner for over 20 years.

For further details contact me at http://www.melaniegiles.com and view my IVA blog at: http://melaniegiles.blogs.iva.co.uk

whatever you do DO NOT rob Peter to pay Paul that way leads to a road of woes full of craters.

Cut back expenidture as much as you can:

This will be painful but worth it:

Do you need to go out every weekend?

Do you drink and smoke if o giving up the ciggies would be a good thing to do right now, giving up booze is harder but doable and if you cannot cut down gradually, good tip never it in the hosue in the first place.

Do you absoulutley need SKY TV or Cable if not then cut it.

If you have a car only use it when absoulutley necesarry, if you can use public transport, you will be reducing your carbon footprint as well.

Finally repair rather than replace if you can fix it then do so.