DRO advice

[motheroftwojedi]

We are in debt. My husband has been historically useless with money and coupled with job losses in the past we (he) has racked up considerable debt. I had managed to reduce the debt from £26,000 to £11,000 but we can't seem to shift it any lower than that. We have no assets and after living in debt for the last 10 years the stress is now unbearable. We have recently done a money management course which has changed my husbands view of money and he is finally taking responsibility. Stepchange have advised we go on a DRO and we have started the process. The relief this will bring is enormous but part of me feels like it's also a total failure. I also am really worried about the long term impact this might have on us and whether it will affect my NHS pension (which is the only security I feel I have for the future). I'd really like to hear others thoughts and experiences if they've been through the process.

If you are under 55 and can't access your pension, then it won't be affected by a DRO at all. Stepchange should be your first point of call for questions like this as they are the experts. I went through bankruptcy rather than a DRO and it was all fairly straightforward, I was able to keep my pension and I had no other assets to be concerned about. There is no need to feel like a failure - for me, it was a relief to get the burden of debt off my back and I've been able to start rebuilding my credit rating, far quicker than if I'd tried to pay off my debts which would have taken decades. If you prepare yourself then there's no reason why it should have much impact on daily life, you can still have bank accounts and things like direct debits for bills and mobile.

Thanks for that. It's really reassuring. It will be such a relief to be out of debt and to be able to rebuild our lives free from that burden.