I couldn't afford to buy food when I was £ 13,700, but I paid off almost everything – this is the way

SAVVY saver Ira Steele had little success in the middle of the month before the grocery cash ran out due to a debt of £ 13,700.

However, a 36-year-old small business owner in Wiltshire was able to clear almost everything by reviewing his spending habits and significantly reducinginvoices.

The repayment amount is only £ 288. That means you have a repayment of £ 13,412 in less than 14 months.

In January 2020, when he changed jobs and reduced his wages, his finances began to skyrocket.

He went from a salary of £ 45,500 to £ 38,000.

It's above the national average, but he lived in London at a time when his cost of living was higher.

Ira said he didn't change his spending after lowering his salary and began to borrow more and more money.

"The things I was spending money on, like holidays and groceries, didn't change. The amount I earned didn't change," he said.

"I was using a credit card to replenish my salary. Before I knew it, I had a huge debt and didn't know what to do."

He has a credit card loan of £ 3,984 and a loan of £ 7,500 from a bank.

He piled up a £ 1,233 invoice on theArgosstore card and paid £ 1,000 for overdraft.

Overall, he borrowed more than £ 13,700 in total.

He never neglected to repay, but sometimes delayed payments to the lender.

"I was worried about my credit score. My ambition is to buy my home. Buy as a single buyer with a bad credit scoreIt's hard to do, "said Ira. His debt is one-time only.

He was in debt and he wasn't the only one who had a hard time paying the invoice.

CatastrophicLiving cost crisisCosts from energy to food and fuel rockets put the family in the red.

1 in 10 people use thebuy now and pay laterservice to pay for their essentials.

While 6 million householdsowe£ 1 billion to their energy suppliers.

First sentiment

The first thing Ira did was to face him, looking up debts, invoices, bank accounts, statements, he Check exactly how much you have borrowed.

"I understand how much I owe and why I spent too much. 

" Before that I had my head in the sand , Didn't understand why I was running out of money right away.

After doing that, he budgeted a month to cover basic costs such as invoices, meals, and rent.

It's a holiday, a meal,

Then he allocated extra money to pay off the debt that was the first to cause the most anxiety.

Experts usually recommend using theavalanche

invest enough money to make all the minimum payments for each debt, Pay the rest of the money to the debt with the highest interest rate.

But Ira should get rid of the debt that motivates him to repay others.

"The first debt I paid back was my credit card, then my store card," he said.

"Storecards have a high APR and were the first debt to pay when using the avalanche method, but credit cards are heavier.

" I'm all I paid off all of my minimum debt repayments, which totaled £ 600 a month. Then I committed an additional £ 300 to my maximum debt.

"That is, per month. He was paying £ 900 for his debt. "

Slash bill

Ira is in another area because he can afford to pay such a large amount for debt repayment. Had to reduce spending on.

He raided his invoice by downgrading the service package, buying better deals, and reducingsubscriptions.

He saved £ 15.73 when he moved to the cheaper Sky package (from £ 26 to £ 41.73 per month). After hismobile contractexpired during the transition to the

SIM, he reduced his bill from £ 55.19 to £ 15.30, saving £ 39.89.

Shopping for a better deal on his pet and car insurance helped him save £ 79.51.

By significantly reducing subscriptions, he saved £ 55 a month.

He uses envelope-saving tricks to monitor his spending on fun things like groceries and takeaways.

Ira takes £ 50 in cash and puts it in an envelope. This will last for a week.

"If I eat out, it comes out of the money I set aside for grocery shopping every week, but these days £ 50 isn't too far away, so I rarely do this. "He said.

Envelope saving tricks can make it easier to keep track of what you're spending instead of billing your card a lot.

Maintaining such a tight budget means that Ira has only £ 288 of debt to pay.

So he was able to clear £ 13,412 in 13 months.

He is now launching his own small business and selling money budgeting tools online to help others get out of his debt.

He's about to earn £ 1,500 a month-and it's now his full-time job.

"It feels incredible," Ira said.

"I felt like I had weight on my shoulders all year long.

" But now I feel like I can do anything in my life. "

How to reduce your debt

If you have a lot of debt, it can really be a worry.

The first thing to do is to check your bank balance on a regular basis. This helps you monitor your spending.

Once you know what you're spending money on, budget for all your necessities, as Ira did.

You must pay the rent, mortgage, council tax and energy charges first. This is because if you don't pay, the results can be more serious.

Aim for repayment that exceeds the minimum repayment amount. If you have a credit card.

If you're struggling to pay off your monthly debt, it's important to get advice as soon as possible before your debt grows further.

Groups such as CitizensAdvice and National Debtline can help creditors prioritize and negotiate and provide a more affordable repayment plan.

Here is a complete list of places where you can get debt aid for free.

Also6 Ways to Reduce Your Debt-From Loan Reduction to Credit Card Brit.