ok here goes.

when i was 18 i was earning in excess of £500 a week. with my now wife also working and earning £200 a week we was stupid and got 2 credit cards and 3 loans out. We were ok with the repayments on all these things until i was made redundant.
i contacted the bank as soon as this happend and explained the situation, they agreed to stop the direct debits and hold all accounts for a couple of months. however they didnt actually stop the accunts and so we ended up in excess of our overdrafts etc.
between me and my wife qwe are now in excess of £10000 in debt and dont know what to do. all the accounts have now been passed onto recovery agencies and when we explain that our income is now less than £800 a month the tell us its not their problem and they want £80-£100 a month EACH. i know this isnt alot but when i have gone through income/outgoings with all these companies they have said that i actually have less than £20 a month spare cash after food,gas,water,rent etc. yet they still ask for all this money.

i have no idea what to do. im only 21 and dont want to have this hanging over me for the next 10 years. so advice would be greatly appericated. i have considerd a debt managment company but am not 100% sure on what would be best

Thanks in advance

Stop worrying. 10k of debt between 2 is more then manageable. Please contact the Consumer Credit Counselling Service - CCCS | Free debt help and debt advice from the UK's leading debt charity - they will put everything in order for you for FREE including freezing any interest charges and getting these debt recovery agents off your back.

Please let me know how you get on, I promise the CCCS will help you. Lots of people are in debt, its those that confront it that realize its not scary and help is at hand - like this site!

You're going to be ok...you have two stable earners and truthfully, that is not too much debt. There are many students in the United States for example, same age as you (21) who graduate with over $100,000 in debt. So, take Admin's friendly advice, get some friendly debt counseling (but don't pay for it) and make sure to only spend what you have to. You'll be ok.

__________________
Private Student Loans

I think it is manageable. the best that you can do is to ensure that you save at least 20% of your salary every month. it is much better the 80% can be budgeted too. You can do it!

__________________
Uk bankrupt celebrities

I think that the best solution for you would be to go and visit your citizens advice bureau or like you have considered a debt advisor as they will be able offer advice on debt consolidation, IVA or even a repayment programme which will allow you to monitor your finances.

__________________
Find out now about different debt solutions so you can get rid of your debt problems!

I strongly agree with the Admin comments ..

Beside this I advice you to find a job soon as this is not good to put all the burden on your wife. Work more hours and avoid unnecessary expenses and saves lot.

Work harder, Have faith and do not loose hope.