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“Freedom from fear”

written by andreareview on 01/02/2015

In 2006 I was deeply in debt for £45,000 which came from being off work for health reasons and the immense charges that banks charged then for going overdrawn. I had struggled along borrowing from peter to pay paul and giving in to door-to-door salesman(double glazing). I had maxed out credit cards and could not sleep at night waiting for another threat to drop on my doorstep. I was contacted by a private debt management company who wanted me to pay them a £1000 to use them. I didn't have the money but they let slip that there were companies like Stepchange who operate as a charity so I bit the bullet and contacted them.

It is very hard to open up to a stranger with your problems but the staff at Stepchange were wonderful, and after they arranged my budget and contacted my creditors I felt better than I had done for years, as specially as they talked to the creditors on my behalf. The constant worrying stopped straight away.

I wouldn't say it was a piece of cake to stay on a strict budget but you were not expected to live off bread and water and never go out anywhere, so it turned out to be easier than I expected.

Now 9 years later I am debt free and the feeling is fantastic. I have paid off my mortgage and almost all my money commitments and I am feeling positively wealthy. I could say I will never buy anything on credit again but I will say that at this time I feel that I would rather save up to buy something than for all the offers on the TV. Watching adverts make me feel angry. Especially all of the money lenders.

My advice is not to resort to any loan, high interest or not without speaking to Stepchange. I guarantee that sooner rather than later you will be able to sleep at night.

Good Luck