Tim Griffiths was married with a young baby and another on the way when he became caught in a downward spiral of debt. Now his job is to help other people in a similar plight. He talked to Caroline Coyle about how he turned his life around.

TIM GRIFFITHS knew he had hit rock bottom as he struggled to buy food for his wife and eight-month-old baby.

The red bills were landing on the mat daily, and with another baby on the way, Tim was worried he wouldn't be able to provide for his growing family.

"My finances were getting out of hand and I literally felt sick every day. I was having sleepless nights and felt extremely depressed, so depressed I couldn't see a way out. It was terrifying," says the 33-year-old.

Tim's problems started in the early Nineties when he was trying to keep up the payments on credit cards he took on in his 20s.

"I wasn't being exorbitant at all. I'd just signed up for a few credit cards just to keep on top of things, not to buy anything in particular.

"But I was struggling to keep up with the repayments and found myself taking out loans to pay off existing ones, taking from one creditor to pay another.

"The situation just spiralled and I was literally robbing Peter to pay Paul."

But he says the hardest part was owning up to the fact that he had a problem.

"Looking back now I can see how bad it could have been. At the time it obviously caused us anxiety but only now do I realise how much.

"I would lie awake at night worrying. My wife was pregnant at the time and she was also having sleepless nights, and when she did sleep she'd have nightmares," he says.

"Luckily we have a very strong relationship and our faith which helped us through it together."

Feeling ashamed and embarrassed that his £11,000 salary as a quality controller couldn't stretch to cover his out-goings, he spoke of his worries to the pastor at his church.

And it was this small step which led to Tim being saved from the brink of financial ruin.

"He told me about Christians Against Poverty, a Bradford charity which helps and gives advice to the poor and needy. I contacted them straight away and as soon as I spoke to one of their counsellors I felt 100 per cent better," says Tim.

Tim, who was born and bred in Bradford, is now on the road to being free of his debts.

During the past two years his situation has gradually improved and now he and his wife Karen, 34, feel they can provide for their children Jessica, three, two-year-old Curtis and baby Lydia, who was born just 11 weeks ago.

Tim was helped back on his feet by working out his accounts with counsellors at CAP.

"I owed about £10,000 altogether. I had a bank overdraft, visa card and other credit cards and several things on HP. But I was only earning £11,000.

"The payments I was making were the bear minimum and I wasn't getting anywhere with paying off the actual debts. It was just a disaster waiting to happen," says Tim.

"It was a very hard time for us and I think it's harder for a man to own up to the fact that he can't provide for his family."

Now Tim is helping others in the same boat. As centre manager at the Bradford branch of CAP he advises and helps people with money troubles.

"It's wonderful to be in a position where I can help other people. It's one thing to sympathise with people, but you still never really know what they're going through. But because I've been in their shoes I can empathise. I know how they're feeling and know I can tell them, hand on heart, that there's a way out," he says.

"Money problems can have a major effect on relationships and I've seen couples split up because they can't cope with the extra stress that financial problems can cause. People come in here at rock bottom. We sit down with them and work out an achievable goal and already we're making progress."

Tim met the charity's founder, John Kirkby, in August 1996 who helped him re-prioritise his spending.

"We drew up a financial statement which listed my incomings and out-goings. All the creditors were put on hold for a little while and I was given time to ascertain the position I was in."

One of the payments Tim did manage to keep on top of was his mortgage.

"We advise people to keep up to date with their mortgage and budget for food but all the other debts can be sorted out," he says.

CAP offers a unique nationwide insolvency service which includes an assessment of the client's financial situation with an independent insolvency practitioner. An official report is presented to the creditors offering the available options.

This was done in Tim's case and his creditors agreed to cut his debts and allow him to pay them off over a shorter period of five years.

"Every client situation is different but the same goal applies to us all - to be debt-free," says Tim.

"Obviously it's down to the discretion of the creditors and it can be a lengthy process but at the end of the day they are getting some of their money back."

Tim says the first step in sorting out money problems is to talk to someone about it.

"From my experience the burden has been lifted and now I feel a lot better about my future and my family's future.

Tim has worked for CAP since September last year and he and two other counsellors deal with between 15 to 20 clients a week.

"Finances are something most people feel embarrassed to talk about yet they can be a problem for a lot of people out there."

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