In my last Blog I wrote about things you don’t need to worry about when you find yourself with problem Debt. But as with everything there are always 2 sides to every coin so to speak, so I thought it might be useful to list a few simple things that you should think about that may just make the whole thing a little easier. Just don’t beat yourself up about any of it, you will get there eventually.

1. Open the letters

I know it’s hard, and to open a Bill that you can do absolutely nothing about is depressing.  Putting it off may be easy, but we all know that tomorrow there will just be another one and the problem will double. Ultimately, you’ll end up fearing the sound of the letterbox, and every new e-mail is viewed from behind a cushion. It can all end up very isolating.

The thing to accept is that at some point all of your bills are going to have to be put into some sort of context. To know what options you have you need to know the scale of the issue. All I’m saying is open up the letter and take note of what it says, don’t feel you have to deal with it there and then, but start keeping track of your challenges then you can be more rational with dealing with them when the time is right.

2. Prioritise

Not all bills are equal and missing payments have different consequences. Equally, all of your other outgoings are choices you can make, with consequences if you don’t pay out.  So, if you can start thinking about what is more essential than something else, then you’re on the right line to getting everything in some sort of order.  Start thinking about what is the worst that can happen if you don’t pay a credit card, compared to what will happen if you don’t put money on your electric meter. This can get quite complicated so be prepared to ask for help if you need to.

3. Expect the unexpected

Ok so you’ve found yourself in debt, and it’s likely that whatever route you go down, it's going to take a while to get everything resolved. Just like everyone else your circumstances will change, your car may explode, you roof might leak, or you might finally manage to quit smoking. The point is you can only set yourself a budget on what you know today, but it should include some thought about how you’re going to address any essential (but as yet unknown) issues. So it might be that you have to build into your budget (if you can) a fund to cover emergencies, or maybe you take out warranties for your cooker, fridge etc so that any repair bills are a monthly rather than sudden expenditure.

4. Be realistic

There are 2 sides to every budget income and expenditure, to have more available funds you can therefore either earn more or spend less. Barring a new job, increasing income is not easy, so quite often people look to reduce expenditure. That is undoubtedly the right thing to do, but cut it by too much and it's unmanageable. So, If you agree your debt repayments based on your outgoings, and they are not realistic you're dooming yourself to failure right from the start. When it fails it's bad for you but also bad for your creditors. So when agreeing a plan be honest with yourself and your creditors, and be prepared to justify why you need to spend a little bit more on the gas bill. Don’t go too much the other way either, start asking for gold plated tea cups, and you’re not going to get agreement from your creditors.

5. Talk

Debt is incredibly depressing, and isolating, there is nothing worse than not being able to do something because you cant afford it, but then to make it worse by feeling you have to make excuses rather than just saying you can’t afford it doubles up on that depression. So my advice above everything else is to talk and be open with those you love and trust. You’ll soon feel the weight lift from your shoulders.

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