Semi posting for traffic, semi asking a genuine AIBU!
A friend I have known for ages, but have only started to see almost daily as she used to live on the other side of the country, is in a self inflicted financial mess.
Despite having an excellent career, she has taken out loans, bought from catalogues, bought new expensive items on HP, not paid utility bills etc etc and now is almost £20,000 in the red.
She has been asking me to help her get out of the mess she is now in (she confided this has happened, to varying degree's, most of her adult life.) So, we worked out her money together and she has just over £420 'spending' after covering her rent, bills, food etc. She now thinks this is 'only just enough' for things like nights out and trips to the hairdressers and isn't really much at all.
I said to her that I think this should go towards the money she owes, and then she said she is 'better off just going bankrupt as it'll take forever to pay off' and it'll mean she can start with a clean slate.
I have told her this is wrong, and I am also not entirely sure she could even do this by choice considering the options she has? (She also works part time, so could earn another £300ish after tax by working 5 days a week as opposed to 3.)
AIBU to presume that she would have to both work full time and pay back what she owes, and they would go through all her spending with a fine tooth comb?
I have been trying to look at answers to these specific questions but everything is a bit more general, or working on the basis that the person in the red has far less spare cash a month.
Thanks in advance!