A BUSY mum who found herself drowning in credit card debt is now making up to £768 in ‘free' money every month to get out of the red.
Amy, from Clydebank, near Glasgow, owed an eye-watering £15,000 to lenders this time last year.
The careers advisor, 35, had six credit cards plus accounts with Klarna, Next, Argos and Very that were used “whenever needed”.
Now, she has managed to slash her debt to just £7,435 – meaning she's paid off £7,565 on top of her normal monthly bills.
Amy's bad relationship with cash began at just 18, when she was offered a £1,000 overdraft at the bank.
She said: “That was like music to my ears at that time, I suddenly had £1,000.
“But that was definitely a domino effect for me because that started this whole mindset that if I really needed money there was a way to get it that was easier than me making it.
“One of the main things that then kept me in debt for so long was that I thought that you either had to be someone who was like ‘YOLO you just live your life now and you worry later' kind of thing or you have to be someone who was boring and you save money.”
But breaking point came when one of her teeth crumbled while pregnant with her daughter and she was quoted £2,500 to fix it.
“I couldn't afford that and I couldn't put it on a credit card because I had so much debt already”, Amy recalled.
“So that was a wake-up call for me. I was living this life where I was constantly spending but I couldn't even afford to fix my own teeth.”
Amy – who has a son, aged nine, and daughter, aged two –finally decided to sort her finances last February.
She told Fabulous: “I can remember it clear as day I had just got to a point where I had had enough of that whole not knowing how much was on my credit card.
“I wanted more to my life than just paying bills and being in that paycheck to paycheck cycle.
“I ordered a book called How to Fund the Life You Want that taught me about investments, pensions, savings and budgeting.
“It actually really did change me overnight. I feel like once I knew the information, I couldn't unsee it. I was suddenly just so aware of all the ways I had been wasting so much money.”
Amy reduced her monthly bills and direct debits immediately by switching providers and removed lots of bonus packages from her Sky account – which took it from £145 to £37.
She also challenged herself to reduce her weekly food shop from £150 to £130 a week, freeing up another £80 a month to put towards her debt.
Amy added: “For family days out, instead of spending £40 going to soft play or something like that, we go to the library or the park.
“We take a wee packed lunch and the kids have not even noticed any difference.”
The mum of two also gave up ‘luxuries' including hair bonds and eating out every week.
All of these changes have allowed her to pay £500 towards her debt each month.
On top of that, the determined 35-year-old has set herself the goal of making an extra £300 per month, £10 a day, to clear that debt even quicker.
In January, she put away an additional £414.
And for the month of February she managed to raise an incredible £768.
She made £212 from cashback apps – Jam Doughnut, Everup and Rakuten – did one Sunday overtime shift for £200, and got a £175 bonus for transferring her bank account to First Direct.
She also cashed in £14 on her Vinted, made £50 from referrals on Monzo, and got £69 from thr TikTok creators fund.
Finally, she put aside £49 via the Plum app which helps with automated savings and 'round up' payments.
But Amy says her simplest hack of all is having two bank accounts.
“That was so new to me, rather than having everything in one account”, she admitted.
“But seeing all of your money in one account is like going into your fridge when you're on a diet.
“Even though you're trying to be good, when you see it in front of you, you can't help but eat it or spend it.
“I don't spend anything in my main bank account. It's just there for my direct debits, for my bills.
“I have my second bank account, my Monzo, for all my disposables.
“Once I've calculated everything that needs to be left in my main account that clearly lets me see what I've got for the month and I transfer that over to Monzo.
“So the only spending I'll do is with my Monzo card. That was like such a game changer for me.”
Amy's positive relationship with money is even rubbing off on her nine-year-old son who now has his own Monzo account.
He puts any Christmas or birthday money in his account and has a savings pot set up.
The cash-savvy mum also boasts 14,000 followers on TikTok – @amylearnstosave – where she shares her money-saving tips and journey out of debt.
She admits she was “really nervous” about sharing details of her debt with strangers but now gets true satisfaction in helping other people feel less alone and regain control of their own finances.
She added: “I've even had messages from other parents from my son's school that are in really good jobs – really good, professional jobs like dentistry – and they'll be messaging me like ‘Amy i've just came across your page and I just want to let you know that I've been in the exact same situation'.
“So it's people that I would have thought were really well off, living in great houses, going on great holidays, driving great cars but finding themselves in a lot of debt and in that paycheck to paycheck cycle.
“It can happen to anyone if you get caught in the cycle, but I like to know I'm able to help other people now.”
