Thousands of people in the UK are struggling with ever-increasing levels of personal debt.
BBC News website reader Sayara Beg, 36, a freelance IT consultant from East London, has been telling her story of dealing with debt.
Diary entry four, May 26
It shows my income and outgoings and makes abundantly clear that I have no spare funds left to pay my creditors.
From June I will not be receiving any other form of income except my statutory maternity pay - about £109 a week - and a little rental income.
My baby is due on 20 August, I have no chance of getting work between now and then.
I emphasise to my creditors that my employment situation is only temporary. After the birth I will find a nursery and return to work.
I have an impeccable credit history and I want to avoid blackening it.
I face a potential Catch-22 situation.
I will need to pay nursery fees upfront before going back to work.
If during the next few months my debts balloon out of all proportion - thanks to interest and penalty charges - then I am going to find it very hard to pay nursery fees and therefore return to work.
We will see what my creditors say to my arguments.
Diary entry five, May 29
Over the weekend I meet up with a friend who tells me that a good friend of hers, in her early 30's, has just had to have an abortion.
The reason? She was in debt and did not think she could manage to bring up a baby.
She is engaged to a great guy and they plan to marry in a couple of years but neither of them earn enough to pay their debts and bring up a baby at the same time.
My friend tells me that this person is having a hard time getting over the abortion because she did want to have children.
We both feel for her deeply.
Battering
My earlier optimism over being able to settle with at least some of my creditors has taken a battering.
The Halifax, which had originally offered a six-month mortgage payment holiday, has written to me to say that the offer no longer stands.
They say because there is a second mortgage on the property then a payment holiday is not available.
I call them to try and change their minds.
However, I am shunted off to the collection department.
I am told that they can only stop my payments for three months and after that I must either meet with their debt counsellor - at a charge of £100 - or call the Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS).
I am also told that to be able to halt repayments and avoid incurring further penalty charges I must pay a £60 upfront fee.
Black mark
When the Halifax tell me that my credit file will show that I have fallen into arrears on my residential mortgage, the gravity of my situation really hits home.
As a result, even when I resume normal repayments and clear the debts a black mark will remain on my credit file for the next six years.
Basically, I feel I am being punished just because I wanted to have more children and needed to take a maternity break. Great!
Birmingham Midshires, who I have a buy-to-let mortgage with, offer a two-month payment holiday.
I review my finances and work out that with some scrimping and saving, I can make June's payment and take a payment holiday for July and August.
This should aid a stress-free run up to the birth.
I call their collections department but they are busy and I am asked to call again later. How many customers are calling them, I wonder, with similar debt problems?
Kensington Mortgages reiterate that they do not do payment holidays.
As this is the only loan that is in both my name and my husband's name, they expect my husband to continue to make the repayments even if I can not.
My current account provider, Barclays, say they have not received my letter. I give them the background and explain that I will fall into arrears from June, if I do not come to an arrangement now.
They say they will "open a file on me".
A few days later I receive a letter from them, saying that they cannot help me until I have spoken to the CCCS.
However, there is some good news.
Barclaycard have said that as long as I pay 1% of the outstanding balance for the next six months, they will freeze my interest from month three to six.
I am grateful for this but I am a little worried about that my credit rating will be affected.
The news from Halifax card services is less cheery.
They will accept a minimum repayment but they do not freeze interest as a rule but they may review this after I have had debt counselling.
They will only agree to such a plan after I have met with a debt counsellor from the CCCS and send them a copy of the letter saying that I have an appointment with them.
So nothing is arranged.
Debt call
I need some debt counselling. I call the CCCS.
They will send me a letter confirming an appointment with a debt counsellor.
I am advised to send a copy of this letter to each of my creditors telling them that I am acting responsibly.
In addition, they suggest I ask my creditors to suspend any late payment charges that may apply to my borrowings until I have had undergone a financial review from a CCCS debt adviser.
Overall, I am a little surprised that many of my lenders will not negotiate without me first having talked to a debt adviser.
I thought that being open and upfront with my creditors would put me in good stead but it seems this is not the case.
I have never fallen into arrears before, so this is a new - and not pleasant - experience for me.
My appointment to see the debt counsellor is this week. I wonder what I will be advised to do next?
"
I have sent my creditors a financial plan.
Diary entries 1 to 3: Sayara's struggle begins
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