Hi Ann

I noticed that you said you had more money going out than coming in. As a first step I would suggest writing all of your monthly income and expenditure down and seeing how much the deficit there is, and whether there are any areas you can make savings.

If you still find that you are struggling you have a few options.

1) Try and consolidate your debts into one place (e.g. a loan) on a lower interest rate - although from what you have said its seems that you have tried to do this and have been unsuccessful.

2) Contact your creditors and ask if they can stop charging interest for a period of 3 to 6 months to help you get back on track - this very much depends on the creditor and your payment history with them

or

3) Contact a debt support service such as the Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS) who will be able to explore debt management options with you. The CCCS are a charity and as such do not charge a fee for helping you.
Depending on your circumstances they may suggest a debt management plan. I am on one of these and it means that I make a monthly payment to the CCCS who then distribute a fair amount to each creditor. Also by going through a recognised group such as the CCCS creditors are much more likely to freeze interest for an indeterminate period of time...although obviously this cannot be guaranteed in all circumstances.

You also asked what an IVA is. IVA stands for an Individual Voluntary Agreement, and is a formal alternative to Bankruptcy. You pay a percentage of your debts for 5 years and then any debt remaining is wiped off. Whilst this sounds attractive, it should not be entered into lightly. An IVA is a legal agreement between you and your creditors and if you fail to make your agreed repayments then you are highly likely to be declared bankrupt. Also whilst in an IVA, your credit score plummets and many landlords and estate agents will not allow tenants who have an IVA.

I hope this advice is useful, and well done in taking the first step towards sorting out your debts....by asking for help.

All the best

Ollie