IT was only a £5 payment to top up on petrol – but when her card was declined at the pump, Ambrina Taylor got the wake up call she needed.
The 47-year old mum of two was “trapped” in £21,000 of debt on five credit cards, after years of spending.
Ambrina Taylor started getting into debt after taking out a Laura Ashley credit card in 2006 to deck out her first home with her ex partner. The pair splurged £2,000 on new blinds and furniture.
The interior design spree turned into a dangerous habit. While on maternity leave with her first child, Ambrina spent “more than ever” on clothes, despite her pay dropping.
At one point she put a £3,000 holiday on a credit card to take her children away.
By 2018 her debt had spiralled to £21,000 and when she got declined at the petrol pump she knew something had to change.
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Making payments of over £1,000 per month, Ambrina had cleared off her entire debt in just eight months by working seven days a week and running side hustles in the evening.
Now, she now creates content online advising others on how to pay off their own debt.
‘Our wages didn’t match what we were spending’
Ambrina, from south east London explained: “We put down 10% on our house, moved in and it all went to s**t.”
“Instead of doing it bit by bit I took out a Laura Ashley store credit card, got all the high end stuff and made it look stunning straight away.
“We couldn’t afford it – our wages didn’t match what we were spending on.”
The couple’s spending increased when they had children and on top of the usual expenses Ambrina said she was particular about what they bought.
“When I had my first child it was exciting and everything had to be new, nothing was second hand.It carried on like that until they were ten-ish.”
By the time her card was declined for petrol she had been spending on credit for 12 years and “felt so trapped.”
“We were arguing and stressed and not sleeping,” she said.
Her debt totalled £21,000, dwarfing the average amount of credit card debt per person in the UK at that time of around £2,656, according to The Money Charity.
She was also still spending, adding hundreds of pounds to the debt every month.
She said: “I knew we were in debt and thought maybe it’s around £6,000 and I added it up and it was £21,000 – I was shocked.”
How she paid off the debt
Instead of feeling defeated by the challenge Ambrina said she felt “determined”.
Turning to Google for answers she found Dave Ramsey’s advice and followed the personal finance expert’s programme for getting out debt.
“I listed all of my credit card payments small to large and moved everything onto interest free credit cards and listed my cards from smallest to largest,” she said.
Focusing on clearing the smallest debts first and working up, Ambrina worked through what she owed by taking on multiple side hustles on top of her full time job running a doggy day care business.
These extra money spinners included cat sitting, market research, re-selling, and doing surveys in the evenings.
At the time she and her partner were earning £60,000 a year between them from the daycare businesses. On top of this the side hustles brought in between £300 and £800 a month.
As well as taking on extra work Ambrina made a budget for the first time listing all her income and outgoings, and reduced her spending to the bare minimum.
She cut out TV and phone subscriptions and put payment charts on her fridge to spur her on.
She said: “Every £1,000 we paid off we’d tick off a box and move onto the next one.
“It really worked, it was a huge motivator – I got the kids colouring in the charts on the fridge.”
Her penny pinching ways extended to the family’s food and activity budget.
“I started meal planning and using what was in the fridge,” she said. “I’d create lists and go shopping and stick to it.
“We didn’t buy branded food, we were not going out to eat and had no days out, we went to the park or friends’ houses instead”.
The efforts worked and she was able to pay off thousands of pounds a month.
“We celebrated with a large Starbucks”
By December 2018, just eight months after setting out her plan, Ambrina had paid off her entire debt.
“I went into Barclays Bank and paid off the last credit card payment – it was such an incredible feeling.
“Me and the family celebrated later that day with a large Starbucks”.
Now, Ambrina has changed her spending lifestyle, refuses to pay for travel on credit and does her clothes shopping in charity shops. Although she has a British Airways American Express credit card, she only uses it to earn Avios points and pays the balance off in full every month.
She said: “I’ve got a SIM only deal and I’ve saved myself so much money every year.
“We go out to eat once a month but I’ve always used a cashback app where I get 50% off during certain times.
However there are areas where she is still happy to spend.
“Things like education for the kids, I’ll happily pay for a tutor if they need it for something over something like sweets or the latest trainers”.
You can follow Ambrina on Instagram and TikTok @moneysavvymumuk.
Ambrina’s top tips to pay off debt
First of all list out your debt, make sure you know how much you have to pay off.
- Next, have a clear picture of your income and outgoings so you can budget.
- Then look through what you are spending, and if expense exceeds income make cut backs and if necessary remove all non-essentials until you are on a firmer financial footing.
- Use the money you save from cutting back and re-direct it towards debt. Try and make sure you’re overpaying on your debt, not just meeting the minimum repayments.
- Make sure your debt is interest free by moving it to interest-free cards.
- Use cash back apps to make sure you never pay more than you have to.