After the pricey summer holidays, and amid sky-high cost of living, all of us are feeling the pinch.
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all → feel → pinch
But this year I’m almost clear of my previously debilitating debt.
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I → ’m → debt
In fact, with a bit of painless cutting back for a few weeks, I’ll be back on track.
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I → cut → track
I’ve learned my lesson, and I no longer owe thousands of pounds.
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I → learn → pounds
I’d got into such a financial mess I was forced to sell my home – a five-bed Victorian semi in a lovely suburb of Manchester.
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I → get → Manchester
As a self-employed writer, I’d made the mistake of not saving enough to pay my tax bill and relied on credit cards to get by when times were tough.
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times → employ → cards
When HMRC called in the full debt, I had the choice of going bankrupt or selling up, and since the former would mean zero chance of getting another mortgage or loan for at least six years, I chose the latter.
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I → call → latter
But in order to pay off the credit cards and the giant overdraft I’d accumulated – all in all, I owed north of £30,000 – I took several other steps.
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I → pay → steps
Here’s what I did to get out of debt entirely.
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I → ’ → debt
Flic Everett had the choice of going bankrupt or selling up, and since the former would mean zero chance of getting another mortgage or loan for at least six years, she chose the latter
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she → go → latter
I thought long-term and consolidated the debt
If you owe money to several creditors, it’s sometimes possible to take out a loan with a more favourable interest rate to pay them all off.
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it → think → them
That’s what I did, via my bank – though various agencies offer the service.
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agencies → ’ → service
I then only had to pay back the bank, which agreed to manageable terms.
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which → have → terms
Settling my bill with the taxman and getting the private companies off my back was a huge relief.
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Settling → settle → back
A consolidation loan can hurt your credit score in the short term, but long term, if you repay on time, it can improve your rating.
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it → hurt → rating
Painful but necessary: selling my house
Most of us don’t go as far as selling our homes – but as a last resort, it’s an option.
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it → sell → resort
It was obviously a wrench, but also a process that taught me the meaning of home: it’s not a particular house, but where your loved ones are.
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ones → teach → home
If you do sell up, you’ll need to move quickly.
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you → sell → ?
Other assets are far easier to shift.
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assets → shift → ?
Downsizing your car or selling off inherited jewellery is painful – but not nearly as agonising as the terror of being in debt.
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Downsizing → downsize → debt
Hit up your local charity shops
Now given thecool rebrand of ‘thrifting’, back then wearing ‘charity shop clothes’ carried a certain amount of stigma.
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wearing → hit → stigma
I didn’t care about that though.
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I → care → that
I’d always enjoyed a rummage, but now I stopped buying new clothes altogether and relied entirely on my local charity shops for outfits.
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I → enjoy → outfits
I learned to love the treasure hunt, and found great satisfaction in washing, mending and de-bobbling to make my picks look brand new.
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picks → learn → washing
Loyalty cards are good, but nothing beats a super cheap supermarket.
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nothing → beat → supermarket
I admit, I once turned my nose up at Farmfoods and Iceland – but frozen food works out a great deal cheaper than fresh, even if you factor in the electricity needed to preserve it.
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you → admit → it
I’d buy my tins, teabags, condiments and frozen fish and veg at Farmfoods, and my fresh produce at Aldi or Lidl.
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I → buy → Aldi
No more Sainsbury's for me – and I saved at least £30 a week, or more than £1,500 over a year.
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I → save → year
Diving into my wardrobe – and eBay
Vinted didn’t exist when I was selling clothes, but eBay did.
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eBay → dive → clothes
I sorted out all my coats, shoes and dresses, saved the ones I couldn’t bear to part with, and sold the rest.
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I → sort → rest
It didn’t make me a fortune, but it brought in a few hundred pounds when I really needed it.
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I → make → it
It helped that I had a habit of shopping in designer sales back then – people will pay a great deal more for a label.
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people → help → label
Flic found herself in a financial mess, having made the mistake of not saving enough to pay her tax bill and relying on credit cards to get by (picture posed by model)
Rustle up cash with a side hustle
I used to read tarot cards at university, and when I needed a bit of extra money to cover the bills I set up a Facebook page offering online readings.
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I → find → readings
I had many enquiries, and earned well over £1,000.
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I → have → 1,000
The downside was the long hours it took on top of my day job.
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it → take → job
If you need extra cash, however, think about the existing skills you have and whether you can leverage them to sell or teach online.
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you → need → them
Getting creative with holidays and restaurants
Holidays were not an option for a while, and nor was eating out.
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eating → get → while
To have fun, I came up with ‘Travels in our House’.
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I → have → House
Every couple of months, I’d spend up to £20 on creating a destination and accompanying food at home.
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I → spend → home
I made a Bedouin tent in the attic and we ate Middle Eastern food.
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we → make → food
…and 4 more, not listed.
The Aporia
