Never be afraid to seek debt help, however you find it suits you best. If you find you are keeping secrets about financial troubles from someone that cares about you, you’ve got a problem that needs dealing with, so get working on it as soon as possible. But start the easy way, for your own sense of self-belief, and in some ways, for your own protection. Here are a few suggestions:
Get online. While websites offering help in financial issues are often put there to trap you into a repayment scam that’ll take your life away, there is still a lot of brilliant advice around, in many cases written by people who have gone through similar things themselves, and really understand. These reputable sites can offer everything from advice for couples in debt to the low-down on cheap credit cards. Skim through as much information as you can handle. The bits that suit you will stick in your mind. Ignore the rest. Try to keep calm.
Use the government. We pay them to look after us. If we need looking after, they have a duty to give something back. There is a lot of advice they can provide for free, calculations they can do for nothing that an accountant would ask the world for, and their call centre staff are excellent, when you actually get through! (But be nice to them – most of the people they’ve spoken to that day will have been a bunch of idiots, and probably not very nice. If you speak to them with a smile, you’ll be pleasantly surprised how much more useful they can be!)
Some charities exist to provide impartial advice on financial issues, and your local tax office, FSA or Citizens Advice Bureau can direct you to them for anything they can’t handle themselves. And remember, the final decisions are yours. If you think a debt consolidation loan will suit you best, then great, go for it, but never without full knowledge of what you’re letting yourself in for. Whatever you eventually decide to do, remember help is always available to you.
