The first step in dealing with debt is knowing exactly what you owe and who you owe it to. Payments for any formal debts, such as loans or credit cards, are usually taken from a bank account. Go through old statements and add up all of the direct debits each month.
For loans, dig out the original agreements or check online banking – see how much you borrowed, what is outstanding and for how much longer you are due to be making repayments.
To this you need to add any borrowing from friends or family, and any outstanding credit card debt. If you are in arrears on rent, council tax, energy or water bills, this is also debt. Write down the companies, when payments were missed and how much they are.
This might be scary but it is important to work
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