Nikki's story

"There is actually a way around this. You're not in a deep dark hole that you genuinely can't get out of."

Find out about Nikki - in her own words

"Before I was in debt, I lived a fairly comfortable life. I had worked abroad and was married with 3 children. However, after we separated, my ex-husband struggled financially and eventually the child maintenance payments stopped when my youngest went to university."

It was a shock when Nikki's financial situation changed

"I hadn’t been prepared for my finances to change so dramatically. Initially I was in a state of denial and would put all sorts of things on credit cards without the means to pay it off afterwards."

"It all caught up with me when the interest rates on the cards shot up and I ended up having to give up the house we lived in as well as the car and our pet dog."

It's sometimes hard to find a way out of your situation

"A friend of mine kindly let me stay with them for a while, and during that time I tried so hard to get a job – I went to lots of temping agencies but nothing ever came of the applications I put in."

"It was a total shock to the system and I spent my days going to free museums and art galleries just to be able to occupy myself."

"I remember picking up pennies off the floor of the bus and feeling like my self-worth had disappeared through the floor. I felt sick with worry most of the time."

"A breakthrough came after I approached a nanny agency and was taken on as an emergency childcare provider, and another friend was able to point me in the direction of some new accommodation which I was incredibly grateful for."

Nikki got in contact with StepChange

"Someone told me about StepChange and after speaking to a debt advisor, I couldn’t believe that I had waited so long to ask for help! I felt so ashamed of the mess my finances were in and couldn’t seem to find a way out of the spiral I had found myself in."

"Getting the interest frozen on my credit card debt was a huge help and was also very much the beginning of the climb back up. By this point I had spent a long time trying to visualise my way out of my situation and things were starting to move in the right direction."

"I’m a strong believer that if things happen you have to own it and try your best to get on with it. My circumstances have changed so much as a result of getting help and I only wish I had gotten started sooner."

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