h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

When debt becomes unmanageable the important thing is not to believe in the easy options - those adverts on TV that offer a simple solution. The only person who understands your debt is you. Do you imagine that a large organisation with hundreds or thousands of cases will really treat you as an individual? Don't you think they're probably quite annoying for credit organisations? Do you think that allowing someone else to handle your debit is sending the right message to people who owe money - it means more to them if you're willing to take responsibility and talk to them directly.

The local Citizens Advice Bureau will have literature to help you understanding what you need to do, but unless you genuinely can't add up a lot of figures or write a complete and coherent letter explaining your situation you should take the literature away and work on addressing the situation yourself. Take the time to write personal letters and be willing to talk to people and bargain a reasonable scheme of repayment. A company would rather get some money than none, and they'd rather listen to you telling them you're having problems than hear nothing at all as you ignore the bills mounting up under the letterbox. Be thorough in outlining your income and expenditure, be honest about why things have got so bad and be ready to admit that there are certain luxuries in life you don't need - and I mean knowing that you can get by on rice and pasta instead of fast food and microwave meals; admitting that you don't really need that new CD or a new shirt; being prepared to say no when friends invite you out for a night on the town.