Taking back control
Like many things in life the sooner you take action the better. There are lots of free sources of help out there.
The Money Helper website is one place to start.
It can give you independent practical advice about your financial situations. They also provide budget planners, calculators and all the latest tips and advice to help you manage your finances. Visit the Money Helper site to find out how to contact them and to get started: this video has some quick advice:
If you're really struggling to pay your debts it's important that you don't suffer in silence. You need to talk to the people you owe money to. If you don't then things can get a whole lot worse.
By speaking to the companies you owe money to, your creditors, you might find they are able to help you and reduce the strain by freezing any charges. Most companies aren't too scary to deal with just as long as you explain the situation to them before things get out of control.
It's important you get all your letters and bills together to work out how much money you actually owe and to which companies. Our budget planner will help you to see how much money you have coming in and going out.
There are lots of free debt charities who can help so you don't have to go it alone. They can offer services to help you come to an arrangement with the people you owe money to.
If you'd prefer to negotiate with your creditors yourself, many debt charities can put you in touch with a free advice process called CASHflow. It provides all the tools and support you'll need.
For more advice on how to manage your money, check out the other videos on our website.
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Where to go for help
There are also organisations out there to help advise you about the best options to take to get things sorted out. Two of these are Citizens Advice, Money Helper and the National Debtline.
If things have got to the point of being threatened with legal action over a debt you may want to arrange to visit a Law Centre, or email or telephone them. There are Law Centres in different towns and cities across England and Wales, take a look at the Law Centres Network site to get the information you need.
Some law firms offer debt management services and will be able to discuss your options with you and advise you if they can help to resolve your situation. You can find out more information about lawyers and how to find one on our types of lawyers page.