The
most important thing in any situation where things become unmanageable is to
get a clear picture of the situation and do everything in your power to set
things straight. Never ignore the problems....they won't go away!
If
you are in the unfortunate position of having more credit than you can repay at
the original agreed rates then you must make arrangements to have these rates
substantially reduced, so as to turn the situation from one of apparent
hopelessness into one which you can handle.
As
you will be told in any publication that offers advice to people with debt
problems, you must first get a wholly clear picture of your situation and then
formulate a strategy for dealing with it.
The
first step you should take is to make a list of all the money you owe. This
should include everything, even money owed on a casual basis. This will give
you a realistic overall picture of the extent of the problem.
When
you have listed all your debts, including your mortgage if you have one, you
should then make a list of the repayment instalments which were originally
agreed. Once you've made such a list you should add all the amounts together to
arrive at a figure for your monthly outgoings.
Also,
calculate the amount you need to spend each month on the necessities of life;
food, clothing, etc. Add this to the monthly outgoings figure from all your
credit. If this figure exceeds your total monthly income, then you don't need
to be a genius to work out that you are in a financial situation which is most
definitely problematical.
By
writing down all your incomings and outgoings as suggested above, you should
immediately feel some sense of relief that at least you are beginning to
address the problem. As the old saying goes - "A problem recognised is a
problem halved".
Of
course the "half" of the problem which is "solved" by arriving
at the stage of it being properly recognised in the first place is, obviously,
the easy half. The other "half" of the problem is the part which is
going to take some effort to overcome.
When
you explain your reasons to creditors for the difficulties you are having in
keeping up payments they will much more often than not handle your case in a
reasonable and sympathetic fashion. Believe me, they are used to hearing from
people with repayment problems.
