Share your worries
Sharing your worries with someone you trust can be a relief. But it isn’t always easy. Here are some people who might be able to help.
- A trusted friend or family member. Try and choose a quiet moment when the other person isn’t distracted. It can sometimes help to make notes first or even write everything in a letter.
- A support worker or health professional.
- Student services. If you are a student, you might find it helpful to talk to your tutor or someone in student services. They may be able to help you apply for extra grants or bursaries.
- Peer support. Peer support is when people use their own experiences to help each other. See our pages on peer support for more information.
- Samaritans. Money worries can make you feel trapped and hopeless. If you’re finding it difficult to see a way forward you can talk to The Samaritans Hong Kong (multilingual hotline: 2896 0000) or The Samaritan Befrienders Hong Kong (Chinese hotline: 2389 2222) for free. Our page on suicidal feelings might help too.
If you feel unable to keep yourself safe, it’s a mental health emergency.
Money worries connected with relationships
Money can put a strain on relationships for lots of different reasons.
- You may find it hard to talk to your partner, friends or family about your debt or spending.
- You may be tempted to borrow money from people, but then have problems paying the money back. Or you may have lent money to someone else and feel worried about asking for it back.
- Speaking to housemates and friends about paying their way can sometimes feel stressful.
Financial abuse
If your partner stops you having access to money as a way of controlling you, this could be financial abuse.
“Being able to tell someone I trust helps. If things are bad, my [mother] holds onto my cards.”
