Notes

This book gives general information. It isn't financial, legal or medical advice, and it's no substitute for a debt adviser, solicitor or doctor who knows your situation. Rules on penalties and debt are those for England, or the UK, as I found them in September 2026. They differ elsewhere and they change.

I've kept sources out of the chapters where I could so they read easily. Here they are by chapter, with the limits I'm aware of. Unless I say otherwise, I read the published summary of each paper and not the full text. I checked each paper for a retraction or correction notice in September 2026 and found none. Where a chapter isn't listed, it rests on my own reasoning. That includes chapters 1, 4, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 15, and the method in chapters 12 and 13. All sums of money in the examples are invented for illustration.

Before you start. Citizens Advice, StepChange and National Debtline are named on the NHS page "Coping with financial worries". MoneyHelper is where the GOV.UK Breathing Space page sends people to find a debt adviser. That all four give advice free of charge is from their own descriptions and my general knowledge, and I haven't checked each one's terms. Control of money as a sign of domestic abuse is from the NHS page "Getting help for domestic violence and abuse".

Chapter 2. Golman, Hagmann and Loewenstein, "Information avoidance", Journal of Economic Literature 55, 2017, pages 96 to 135. Karlsson, Loewenstein and Seppi, "The ostrich effect: selective attention to information", Journal of Risk and Uncertainty 38, 2009, pages 95 to 115. They used three Scandinavian data sets. Sicherman, Loewenstein, Seppi and Utkus, "Financial attention", Review of Financial Studies 29, 2016, pages 863 to 897. I read the summary of the working paper version. Webb, Chang and Benn, "'The ostrich problem': motivated avoidance or rejection of information about goal progress", Social and Personality Psychology Compass 7, 2013, pages 794 to 807. None of these papers studied unopened household post, and applying them to it is my step. The list of four reasons is mine.

Chapter 3. The three timetables are from the GOV.UK pages "Parking fines and penalty charge notices", "Self Assessment tax returns: penalties" and "Council Tax arrears". The sums in the parking example, thirty-five, seventy and a hundred and five pounds, are illustrative. GOV.UK says only that the fine is reduced in some cases if paid within 14 days and rises by 50 per cent after 28. What I say about insurance renewals, fixed deals and cheques going out of date is general knowledge and I haven't sourced it.

Chapter 5. Harkin, Webb, Chang, Prestwich, Conner, Kellar, Benn and Sheeran, "Does monitoring goal progress promote goal attainment? A meta-analysis of the experimental evidence", Psychological Bulletin 142, 2016, pages 198 to 229. There were 138 studies and 19,951 participants. The average effect on goal attainment was d = 0.40. I don't know how many of the studies concerned money. That banks ask customers to report unrecognised transactions promptly is general knowledge and I haven't sourced it.

Chapter 6. Richardson, Elliott and Roberts, "The relationship between personal unsecured debt and mental and physical health: a systematic review and meta-analysis", Clinical Psychology Review 33, 2013, pages 1148 to 1162. The pooled odds ratio for mental disorder was 3.24 and for depression 2.77. Mani, Mullainathan, Shafir and Zhao, "Poverty impedes cognitive function", Science 341, 2013, pages 976 to 980. My remark that this research has been debated is from general knowledge, and I haven't reviewed the later literature. That fear fades with repeated harmless contact is a standard principle, and applying it to a banking app is my step. The NHS advice is from "Coping with financial worries".

Chapter 7. The council tax options are from the GOV.UK page "Council Tax arrears". Breathing Space is described on the GOV.UK page "Options for dealing with your debts". It applies in England and Wales. The paragraph on what companies commonly offer isn't sourced, and the chapter says so.

Chapter 12. Gollwitzer and Sheeran, "Implementation intentions and goal achievement: a meta-analysis of effects and processes", Advances in Experimental Social Psychology 38, 2006, pages 69 to 119. The weekly look and its three numbers are my own and haven't been tested.

Chapter 13. The rule and its parts haven't been tested together, and what I say to expect is my expectation and not a finding.

Chapter 14. Breathing Space and the note about fees are from GOV.UK as above. The advice on when to see a GP and on urgent help is from the NHS pages "Coping with financial worries" and "Where to get urgent help for mental health". The paragraph on scams isn't sourced.