Kevin Duala initially managed his finances by setting aside separate pots for tax, mortgage, household bills, and cashflow, following standard guidance for self-employed individuals. When work slowed down, he started borrowing money to cover his mortgage repayments. According to Daily Express - Finance, Kevin Duala described how little bits of work came in but not enough to balance the books, leading him to borrow more and max out his overdraft, ending up in a vicious circle of robbing Peter to pay Paul.
He felt ashamed and embarrassed about his debt, hiding it from others. According to Daily Express - Finance, Kevin Duala described ignoring the problem and burying his head in the sand, thinking it would go away, but it did not. Financial worries took a toll on his personal life, relationships, and career.
Little bits of work was coming in but not enough to balance the books...I then borrowed a little bit more money. Then I maxed out on my overdraft, I was just ending up in this horrible, vicious circle, robbing Peter to pay Paul.
According to Daily Express - Finance, Kevin Duala described how the pressure mounted, making it horrible to go through the situation without telling anyone due to embarrassment. A cashpoint swallowed his card, leaving him with no access to money. According to Daily Express - Finance, Kevin Duala described going to a cashpoint, having his card taken, and crying out of annoyance at getting himself into that situation.
He eventually reached out to Citizens Advice for help with his debt situation. The specific steps he took with Citizens Advice and how long his debt spiral lasted before seeking help are not detailed. His current financial status and any advice he recommends for others facing similar issues remain unknown, as broader trends from StepChange Debt Charity beyond energy bill concerns are not specified.
I just thought I'll ignore it, it'll go away. I just buried my head in the sand but as we know it doesn't go away.
I didn't want to tell anybody it was embarrassing. I felt ashamed. I was a grown man, we were bringing our kids up, I had bills to pay. The pressure started to mount and it's horrible when you when you go through that situation because you can't tell anyone or you don't want to tell anyone, you feel embarrassed.
The industry that we're in, our job is to go out and pretend and everything's okay. And I just couldn't do that.
I remember going for for an audition and I just thought to myself; if you get this job, I'll be back in the game, no one needs to know, I can hide it all.
One day I went to the cashpoint, to get some money out and it took my card and it said, contact your bank. I had no access to money. So, I went home and I just thought my goodness, what am I gonna do? I just started crying, not out of pity just out of annoyance that I got myself in that situation.