Money wasn’t an issue as a teenager, I grew up with a step father who always had cash, no idea where it came from but it was there. If something broke it was replaced and if cash was there it could be taken. This relationship did not set me up well for an adult life. 

I was looking for places to rent from when I was 16, of course this wasn’t possible due to renting laws in the UK but as soon as I was 18 I grabbed a bunch of friends and said “let’s get a place” so we did. The rental was horrible and gross and put it this way none of us talk anymore. The worst part about it though is that I really thought I was a grown up, and grown ups get what they want.

The banker (emphasis on the “B”) told me, an 18 year old boy, that I had an “impeccable” credit score. I was over the moon with that, little did I know that it was going to be good because I was young and barely had credit before this interaction. “Would you like to open a £2,000 credit card with us today?” Well of course I did! that ‘s effectively free money!

It started off as things always do, small purchases here and there and paying them off instantly, but then I got my first proper TV and a Playstation 4 and I stopped paying my credit card off. My issue at the time was not “oh no, the interest is going to kill me, how will I ever pay it off?” The issue was “oh no, I have nothing to spend”.

I had furniture on finance. I did own a car but that car “wasn’t big enough” so I sold it cheap and financed a new one. The debts were piling up and I was getting letters left right and centre. What I didn’t do however was talk to anyone about my troubles. I buried my head in the sand and when the letters got to much I moved. Since I was 18 and 22 I have lived in 6 different places,I was not settled anywhere. I was behind on every payment.

COVID happened and we were told to stay in doors, furlough rolled in and I said “nice free money and nothing to spend it on” of course you’d think I’d start paying off the debts, absolutely not. I bought more and more stuff that I didn’t need, I was renting a three bedroom house and two of those bedrooms where’t used but oh my goodness they were filled with crap!

I could keep up with the payments on my rental and had nowhere to go permanently, the council told me there was a 6 year waiting list for a single man even though I told them I had no fixed abode. I put some foam in the back of my car from work with a quilt and some fairy lights, packed up the important stuff (the TV and playstation) and decided I had no option but to live in my car and sofa surf where I could. On weekends, I still met up with friends and got drunk like a normal young adult and I would stay at the local premier inn when I was feeling flush enough. 

In the August after a few month in the car my Nan managed to get the money together for me to get a deposit on a flat near work, this was a God send, I really thought this was going to be the start of something good, but getting a flat does not mean your debt is getting any better. 

She came into my life at a low, dark and unexpected time, and she saved me. I was upfront about my situation from the start as she was looking for a partner she could have a life with, she wanted to buy a house, excel in careers and live as freely as possible. I was anchored to one place by debt, we sat and worked out my budget, it was dire. A few nights head in hand and I decided that Tori is the reason that I was going to better myself and be debt free. 

I made calls, I stopped being selfish, I got a new better paying job in a field I hated but  could do and I started grafting towards paying these debts off.

December 31st 2024, I made my last fixed debt payment. I am now debt free. I did it all within my salary, I learned to prioritise things, and not just money but life things too. The struggle was so real, and I know being on the edge of life itself that it feels completely hopeless. I want to help you. I want you to be free, and I don’t mean be a millionaire (not straight away at least) but get yourself level. I think we can do that together, and if you get this far into reading I believe that you want the same thing. So let’s do it.