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Review of the StepChange, Debt Management:

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Down but not out

Im a 40 year old single male , due to circumstances beyond my control I am currently living with my parents having lost the roof over my head mainly down to my poor decision making when it came to my finances. I have been in debt for over 6 years , As result of those debts I have suffered with anxiety and depression until I reached my lowest point and considered taking my own life . In the beginning I tried to sort my cash flow problems myself , initially I borrowed from friends who are no longer friends . I then turned to various payday loan companies without really looking at the small print and the interest rates they charged in the end I was signed up to 9 different companies I was taking out loans to pay off previous loans , Next I stopped paying bills , council tax , energy bills the only bill I did pay was my rent , in the end I had no money to feed myself properly , Then the letters started coming, at first I contacted the senders and agreed to repayment plans that I knew I couldn't afford , then came court letters in the end I stopped opening the mail altogether . I even cut off contact with my family I did not want anyone to know the mess I was in . In the end my relationship with my partner failed after I had given up my flat to move in with her. It was because of this break up that my parents became involved . Firstly my father dragged me to the doctors who wanted to Admit me to a psychiatric ward for my own safety , but may father persuaded her to allow me to go under his care rather than the hospital. the doctor agreed and my father promised that he would ensure that I turned up for future appointments . thanks to an understanding doctor and my parents I avoided becoming homeless and on the streets . My father pointed out that the one thing I had in my favour was the fact that I still had a job . Over the next month or so my father opened all my letters to find out that I was over £30.000 in debt, he discovered however that certain companies had sold my debt on it took him a further month to find out who actually held my debts by the time he had phoned every single company I owed money to he discovered my debt was only half of what he first thought but for me still a massive amount of money and I could still not see a way forward . Due to my mental state , my father said he would help but only if I agreed to hand over the handling of all my finances to him to manage until my debt was cleared. It was then that he told me about Step Change , he explained that it was a charity that did not charge for helping anyone with their finances. Together we phoned step change and after filling in a few forms explaining my circumstances A Debt management plan was drawn up for me according to my circumstances . I was told that there are different plans depending on individual circumstances . when I saw my plan I saw that I had a definite time line and that in my case it would be 3 years to clear the debt , it also left me with money to live off and believe it or not a small savings plan . Im fortunate that my parents have allowed me to stay with them for as long as it takes but I still pay my way with them and realise I should have told them a lot sooner. Yes I have lost everything , but I have learned a valuable lesson. there is help and support if you know where to look , sometimes it's right under your nose . Im a year into my debt management plan and have been able to commit to a monthly payment to step change and I have actually increased that payment this year . All the letters have stopped , My health is much improved , and I am still able to live my life stress free , by the time I complete my step change journey My small amount of savings will be next step to getting my life back on track . If you read this I hope it inspires you to taking that first step to change your life and get back on track. Reviewed on: 12th June 2025

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