It seemed like the only option at the time!
Pregnant, with your third baby on the way, the two bedroom starter home that you and your husband had long outgrown (even before the twins came along) just had to be upgraded, so you took an unsecured bank loan of £10k to fund the costs of moving.
By the time the solicitors, estate agents, removers had been paid and you had gone on a trip to B&Q to buy some paint for the new nursery, there was none of that £10k left! Still, with 6 months left on your maternity leave, you had no immediate worries as you had that secure job in a legal firm. Even in times of trouble there was always a need for bankers, accountants and lawyers.
- Wasn’t there?
You decided to extend your maternity leave for a few extra months. Extra time with baby was more important than the job! which quite frankly, would be there when you were ready, and used to the idea of placing young Emily into nursery. This time round though felt different, with a baby girl to go with your twin boys it had restored balance in the family. She would be your last and so making the new house a true home became the priority.
- The spending, therefore, continued!
Nice outfits for baby (nicer ones for mum!) expense after expense on the new house including a rather unpleasant row with the neighbours over replacing their fence! Meant that further unsecured borrowing followed on credit cards, together with an extension to that initial bank loan. In fact, by the time that you were ready to return to work almost a full year after Emily was born, you found that rather than economising like you had with the twins, you had burnt through some £40k!
Still it wouldn’t matter, as you were bound to get a decent bonus on your first year back and that would start to set you straight! Except you returned in the spring of 2009, there had been no pay-rise whilst you had been away and the firm had lost some significant clients as they quite inconsiderately went bankrupt during the credit crunch – that you had vaguely paid attention to on working lunch!
No bonuses or pay-rises in either 2009 and 2010 together with those astronomical nursery fees meant that your £40k unsecured debt mountain was not shrinking in any way shape or form! The kitchen still needed replacing (and probably the bathroom too) and you were fed up sleeping on that lumpy, dumpy old mattress!
- It all starts to feel a bit much!
Despite the family having a household income of nearly £60k a year, you seemed to be struggling under the weight of paying back your unsecured debt!
- Surely there are others in your situation?
- How do you start getting back on an even keel?
Well, the first step of any difficulty is admitting that you have a problem and by getting this far through our blog post you have probably admitted to yourself that this is indeed you!
Still, don’t panic as the debt management specialists at Lewis Alexander can help you to clear personal debt problems whilst also making that unsecured debt mountain less of a daily problem in your life.
We start by taking some important details about you, your finances, your current priority and non priority debt commitments and get some more information about your personal circumstances before starting to tailor a debt management plan that is best suited to you.
At Lewis Alexander we don’t force IVAs onto our clients as we respect that this isn’t always the answer – particularly for respected professional people who have had a bit of bad luck or made a small error of judgement along the way.
Call our debt helpline free from a landline using 0800 018 6868 and we can start to talk through the specifics of your situation. We treat all our communications in the strictest of confidence and we understand that you may need some time to consider the financial options or debt solutions that are available to you.
At Lewis Alexander we give you this time and would like to help you when you are ready to commit to a best suited debt solution.
- All we ask it that you have a commitment to reducing your unsecured debts and a regular source of income.
- Our free phone number again is 0800 018 6868.
Get in touch today and see if we can make a difference to yoru daily financial life!
