any advice please .... DEBT !!!!

[funkylady]

i owe the AIB €10700 on a credit card
i owe the MBNA €8900 on a credit card
me and my husband have buisness debts of €48000 owed to credit union and the AIB .
ITS SUCH A MESS ITS ALL MAKING ME SO ILL I FEEL SICK WITH WORRY
we are 4 months behind with the morgage i am not working my shop as just closed but i am eagerley looking for work we hav 3 children my hubby is working and brings home €550 a week ..
MBNA were ringin me all the time i just dont hav money to pay them the last letter from them was telling me they will pass the debt on i did mangage to pay 200 off the aib credit card but i cant afford it thius month
i really need advice is anyone else been or goin through the same..

 

[pixiebean22]

First of all try not to panic too much, the majority of the people on here will have some experience with being in debt, you're not alone.

The best idea for you would be to contact all the institutions that you owe money to. Sit down and make a list of the banks, credit union etc and the amounts owed. Contact each institution by letter and tell them that you are unable to meet your current repayments as you are in financial difficulty and that you are going to assess your financial situation and come back to them within a week with a repayment plan. Sit down and calculate realistically what you can afford, only pay what you can afford without effecting mortgage, household bills and essentials (groceries etc), your mortgage and your household bills like the esb are the most important, you need to keep the roof over your head. Don't propose paying x amount if you think next month you won't be able to meet that repayment. Don't get bullied into agreeing to something you can't afford. You'll find that maybe the bank/credit union may come back and say that the amount you propose isn't enough but stand your ground, the fact that you are offering them any amount should satisfy them and you can't give them money you don't have.

There are templates on here for these letters if you do a search and you may also want to evaluate where you are spending your money, change where you shop, service providers in the house, see if there is any other way you can save yourself money (there is a sticky on this).

If you pay what you can afford, whether that's 10e a week or 100e a week, you are making an effort to repay the debt and that is what will count further down the line.