Debt and borrowing overview

If you or someone close to you has been diagnosed with cancer, money may be the last thing on your mind. However, when people contact Macmillan for help, money is often one of their most common worries.

Living with cancer can bring extra expenses. You may have to travel to hospital, which could mean paying for fares, petrol or parking. You may need a special diet. Your heating bills could go up because you’re at home more during the day. At the same time, cancer may mean a loss of income if you can’t work because you’re ill or caring for someone.

Cancer can tip your financial balance in the wrong direction, even if you’ve always been careful with your money. Maybe you’re worried about getting into debt and want to take steps to prevent this from happening. Perhaps you find yourself in debt for the first time, or maybe the debts you already had are now becoming unmanageable. We hope the information on this page answers some of the questions you may have about managing your debt.

Try to deal first with debts relating to mortgage or rent arrears, or essential services to your home, such as fuel supplies. Find out about help with housing costs|.

See our list of organisations that can offer free, independent and impartial advice on debt problems, and our jargon buster will guide you through the financial terms you might encounter.

Steps to help you manage your debt

Money matters can seem complicated. This information tries to keep it simple. It provides basic information that can help you to manage common debt problems. It shows you how to deal with your debts by following a clear, step-by-step process:

• Step 1: Increase your income if possible
• Step 2: Create a financial statement
• Step 3: Identify the debts that need to be paid first and most urgently
  (priority debts)
• Step 4: Negotiate with your creditors (the people you owe money to).

You may still be thinking about borrowing money. It makes sense to choose the cheapest type of borrowing. See our borrowing section for more information about this. Whenever you borrow money, you should try to have a clear idea of how you will make the repayments.