Got up at 6am. Travelled four hours to a small town near Burnley. Met a family for a Tonight with Trevor programme on debt – meant to be there to do a makeover. Lovely couple, three wonderful little children. Went through their finances. Realised there was not much I could do – they already had a Debt Management Plan from one of the non-profit debt help agencies (the CCCS) and yet had still continued to run up many more debts afterwards. Very firmly told them if they didn’t immediately change they were risking their home and the roof over their children’s head. Saw look of shock, fear and horror on their faces. Brought in a counsellor to talk to them about continuous spending. Know I did the right thing, but left feeling sick. I hate it when all I have to give is the glare of a harsh mirror rather than practical help. It’s 9.30pm am about to arrive back at Euston Station.
Some days I hate my job
Related Articles
-
Practicing for my TV dancing debut!
31 August 2006![]()
I’m due to film a piece for the BBC1 One Show on Friday on the Credit Card Shuffle. The idea of these films is generally to have some fun as well as get the serious point across. So while discussing a ‘theme’ with the producers, as it’s the ‘Shuffle’ dancing was obvious. Keen blog readers may’ve spotted... -
Patient Line. A disgusting disgrace? Judge a nation on how it treats its sick
30 August 2006![]()
Sadly this evening my father was taken into hospital with a kidney problem. Thankfully it doesn’t seem to be too serious. As he’s in Manchester and I’m in London a visit isn’t possible, but of course I wanted to speak to him and check he’s ok. So I find myself having to use Patient Line. For those... -
I’m officially faster than Colin Jackson…
24 August 2006![]()
I’m an athletics fan, so walking into The One Show green room to see Colin Jackson today was great – I felt like quoting back some of his best times to him, but decided that probably wasn’t such a cool thing to do! Still, we were having a good laugh about cheap calls, living in Cardiff and... -
Move over Martyn Lewis, uh oh here comes yet another bigger, badder Martin Lewis
24 August 2006![]()
Finally after years of doing my job, less and less BBC/ITV drivers arrive looking disappointed and saying “I thought it’d be the Martin (meaning Martyn) Lewis from the telly”. Now it’s coming from elsewhere… the US-based humorist Martin Lewis. I’ve known about him for a while as he owns www.martinlewis.com, which on its front page says in...
26 September 2023
-
Martin: It's Meter Reading Week
His 9 energy need-to-knows
-
Martin's savers alert
After base rate freeze
-
Grab 1.5yrs' FREE family insurance
Travel, mobile & breakdown
-
FREE Greggs pizza slice & hot drink
Normally up to £4
-
14,000 Vax codes
Incl £400 cordless for £100
-
Mortgage rates are falling
Is now the time to fix?
-
Now FOUR banks pay you to switch
Up to a FREE £210
-
Read the full email
For all the latest deals, guides and loopholes simply sign up today – it's spam-free!
Recent Blogs
-
Martin Lewis: Is it time to ban unnecessary Christmas presents?
11 September 2023![]()
Update September 2017: It’s eight years since I first braved this subject, expecting a snowstorm of protest. Instead, year after year more join in, like Julia who recently tweeted me, “@MartinSLewis, finally took your advice and told my family I can’t afford Christmas presents. What a weight off my mind. Thank you.” One year even the Archbishop of... -
Martin Lewis: Five things all new English university starters should know
4 September 2023![]()
The 2023 academic year is about to start, and it'll see the biggest shake-up to student finance in England for a decade. The changes are both subtle and massive. On the surface they look like a tweak, in practice they will increase the eventual cost of going to university by over 50% for many typical graduates.
