I was £15k in debt trying to pay off six credit cards and Klarna and Next accounts on a teacher’s salary. Now I’ve cleared it all by following 7 simple rules you haven’t heard before – here’s how

Last year, at 2am in the middle of winter, I was wide awake and sitting in bed in a panic. I finally realized what a huge financial mess I was in.

For years I told myself that I was good with money because my credit score was excellent and the balance transfer offers kept coming. But I owed £15,000, excluding the mortgage.

I convinced myself that as long as I could transfer my debt from one interest-free card to another, everything was under control.

But something changed that night. After nine years of juggling, I realized that one change in our family’s circumstances and the entire house of cards would collapse.

As a 35-year-old mother of two, I had six credit cards as well as accounts at Klarna, Next, Argos and Very.

I converted card balances to loans and almost paid them off, but then I realized I was building up new balances and needed to borrow more.

As a school careers counselor in Glasgow, I earn a good salary – in line with that of a teacher – and we have a good household income.

But after my son was born in 2015, money was still tight, so I relied on a credit card for all the parts I couldn’t fit into the budget.

After a chaotic morning, a coffee was had on the way to work. A quick dairy shop that always includes a few extras. A takeaway for those nights when I’m home late and can’t cook.

It was never a big expense; it was always a small and easy-to-justify expense, but the balances were increasing every month.

Two terrible thoughts came to my mind simultaneously that night: If I didn’t get the next balance transfer, mortgage interest payments would be crippling, and if the mortgage increased at the same time, we would go bankrupt.

While I was frantically googling for advice, I came across a book called How to Finance the Life You Want by money-saving experts Jonathan Hollow and Robin Powell; This book taught me something fundamental that I had never done before: how to budget properly.

Everything changed when I started doing this. For the first time, I also have savings behind me: a £3,000 emergency fund in a cash ISA and a £5,000 emergency fund in a stocks and shares ISA.

I now share all my simple money saving tips on my TikTok account @amylearnstosave where I have over 25,000 followers.

While many people are left struggling after Christmas, I’m showing my followers that it’s not too late to avoid using credit for essentials like I’ve been doing for years going into debt.

Here are the seven simple steps I used to finally pay off my debts.

1. Use the 50/30/20 rule

The biggest change came when I stopped guessing and started separating my money into clear categories using the 50/30/20 rule: Half of your income goes to essentials like mortgage and bills, 30 percent goes to things you enjoy, and 20 percent goes to savings or loans.

This didn’t work for me; My expenses were too high and I had too much debt, so I shifted it to the 60/10/30 rule: 60 percent toward household bills, 10 percent toward entertainment expenses, and 30 percent directly into debt and savings.

You don’t need perfect percentages. You just need a structure.

2. Question your ‘harmless’ daily habits

One of the biggest shocks came when I calculated the cost of my morning coffee. I’d grab one most workdays without a second thought. It was only around £4 so it never felt like a real expense.

But when I added this up, I realized the habit alone had cost me around £8,000 over the course of my nine-year debt spiral.

When I saw this, I started to question every ‘just a few kilos’ moment.

I now share all my simple money saving tips on my TikTok account @amylearnstosave where I have over 25,000 followers

3. Separate your money into containers

Keeping everything in one account made me think we were better off than we are now. Seeing a large balance made a £30 takeaway seem harmless, but I wasn’t taking into account all the bills waiting to pop up.

Everything is divided now. Invoices stay in my main account. Spending money goes into a second pot. Food to the other.

I also have a ‘fun’ pot of £400. Knowing that I have to keep this up for the entire month stops impulse buying.

4. Do all your groceries online

I shop online once a week, which means no tempting aisles, no high-end stores, and no kids grabbing things off the shelves. Costs, which had been running around £200 to £230 a week, fell to around £120 as spending was planned rather than chaotic.

5. Conduct three inspections per month

I had no idea what my monthly fixed costs were. I didn’t even consider the weekly grocery store as a fixed expense.

Now I check everything three times a month. Right after payday, I map out what needs to go where. I make sure nothing slips in the middle of the month. Finally, I look at what works and what doesn’t.

This rhythm makes everything visible.

6. Plan for difficult days

Most of my overspending happened on days when I was tired. If I was late for work, the last thing I wanted to do was cook, so I’d order takeout.

Now, I plan those days with quick meals in the freezer and a slow cooker dinner I can make in the morning for nights I’ll be staying up late.

7. Avoid disturbing force

My daughter is three years old and saying no to things she saw in stores would result in a fight that I never had the energy for. I never take the kids shopping anymore. We choose the treats at home and add them to the online store.

This eliminated guilt, pressure, and most importantly, a huge amount of unnecessary expenses.

*As told to Rachel Halliwell