Cant pay my debts - need advice and help

After a breakup with my long term girlfriend I had a breakdown. I started spending money to feel better and got myself into a lot of debt. I'm finding it harder and harder to maintain the debt and its come to a point where the I cant even cover the interest payments. I have stopped spending but servicing the debt has become overwhelming. If anyone can help me with advice or guidance I would be grateful.

@BrokenHeart I'm sorry to hear about your problems. A lot of time people turn to spending when they've experienced heartbreak. You are not alone. If you've having trouble making the payments on your credit card you MUST contact your credit card company. Don't be embarrassed or shy. Credit card companies understand that people get into debt and can help. These companies even have dedicated teams to help people climb out of debt.

Make a list of all the credit card companies. Make a list of all the outstanding balances and just make the call. When you make the call ask the creditor to stop all the interest before things spiral out of control. The longer you leave the bigger the debt will become. I would also take the time to fill out a financial questionnaire which shows your income and outgoings. This will help show the creditor that you're struggling to make the payments. Almost certainly your interest will be stopped if you make this move. Hope everything goes well.

First thing I would do is cut up all the credit cards. When you remove the problem it cant escalate any further. Spend cash only. You should also go through your recent purchases to see if there is anything you can return. Sometimes stores are willing to take things back to help people who have got themselves into debt. If you can return a majority of the items you have in your home you could start paying off the debt.

If you cant return the items then try to sell them on craigslist and eBay. Any extra money can go towards paying off the debt. You should also contact free debt counselling companies who can negotiate on your behalf with your creditors. These credit counsellors will also work out how much disposable income you have and then divide the amount prorata between your creditors. You then have to make one payment to the credit counselling company and they divide the amount between your creditors.

Before you call the credit card companies you might want to consider consolidating the credit card balance onto one card. The reason why I would want to put off contacting the creditors is because this will have a adverse effect on your credit. Your credit score will diminish quickly and it will take years to rebuild the credit. If you have satisfactory credit score at the moment try applying for a zero percent credit card and move the entire balance to that account. Cut up all the credit cards and then make payments to the 0% credit card. If you can handle the one payment you should be OK and your credit score will remain intact.

I was in the exact same boat a while back and opted consolidation. I was able to pay off the credit and maintain my credit history. When I got my act together and paid off the debt I was able to apply and get approved for a mortgage at a lower rate. Had I disclosed my problems buying a house would not be realistic. I would assess the pros and cons with app the options you have here and then make a fully informed decision.

Can you ask your friends and family to help out? Maybe they could take the balance onto their credit cards so you could pay zero percent interest. From what I can see you are finding it hard to make the payments because of the interest. If you were to consolidate the balance onto other peoples card and then pay them off you could save a lot of money in interest payments.

This is good advice however I think it's important to consider your credit score before you make rash decisions. This should be the last resort.

I completely agree. I regret calling my creditors with my problems because the credit score went down the toilet. I spent ages to improve my credit score. In hindsight I would have preferred to just consolidate all the debt and then make one interest free payment.

Some good advice on offer here. Personally I would try to consolidate first to a low interest loan or zero percent credit card. If you can maintain the payments then pay it off as quick as possible. The lower the interest the quicker you'll be able to pay it off. Return all the items you bought and then make overpayments to the new credit account. Become obsessed with paying the debt off and divert every penny you can so you'll be free of debt.

This is a video by Dave Ramsey which is worth watching.

Thanks for the advice. Never really considered this but will try and dig out all the items and receipts to see if I can return them.

Thanks for the advice. Again I never really considered this. I guess consolidating and then moving debt into a interest free credit account is similar to a debt management plan as long as I can afford the payments. My credit score is still decent so I will start looking for a long term zero percent credit card now. Thanks.

Its unlikely that my friends and family will help out but I will consider it a last resort. My parents might be willing to help my but I dont want to burden them with the thought of debt especially in their retirement.

Very interesting video. I've never heard of Dave Ramsey but will definitely check more of his video out. Looks very inspiring. Thanks.

...Well gee, that is literally the easiest solution ever encountered. Throw the bills for this "debt" in the garbage... problem solved. Seriously?! Are you SERIOUSLY asking for money just to pay off bills??!? And in a forum with innumerous homeless people and other people who are actually in need of help, too?! WOW...