Worrying about money is common and can seriously affect people's health, causing problems like insomnia, anxiety and even depression. This can make it even harder to tackle the money issues causing them in the first place. But you can overcome debt by following a plan of action.
First of all: prioritise your debts and tackle the most expensive ones first, or those with the most serious potential repercussions for non-payment.
Debt charity (This link will open in a new window)StepChange advises people to prioritise repaying mortgages, rent and secured loans first, because the consequences of not paying could lead to the repossession of your home or eviction.
Other high priority debts include Council Tax, Child Maintenance, court fines, tax, VAT and National Insurance payments. Not paying these debts could lead to a visit from bailiffs, salary deduction or even imprisonment.
That's why they are a higher priority than, for instance, credit card debt. That doesn't mean your other debts aren't important – they are, because they can lower your credit score and interest is steadily increasing the debt, making it more difficult to repay.
Be honest about what's causing the debt. Try and work out what spending you can cut so you can establish a way of switching this income to tackle debt repayments.