Case Study – Katie
Katie (30) reached out to PayPlan when she was 25 years old, and had £12,000 worth of debt.
Katie went to university and when she graduated had a student overdraft of £2,000 as well as a credit card.
At the time, she was living in Leeds and after a relationship breakdown she decided to move to London, because it was something she had always wanted to do.
Her bank gave her a loan of £8,000. Some of which she used to pay her rent for 4 months upfront. So from having only been in debt by £2,000 it soon escalated up to £12,000 in a few years.
She said: ‘I had no means what so ever to pay this back! But because I had a loan, it seemed like I had money in the bank so I wasn’t too worried’
She worked freelance and also in a chip shop to make sure the bills were paid. Looking back now, she realises it wasn’t really covering her bills but she had convinced herself that it was fine.
She said: ‘Life was harder than I naively had expected it to be. But because I was burying my head in the sand so much and trying not to spend money, which meant I just wasn’t eating for a few days at a time’
During this time, she had met her current boyfriend who was living up North, so she was spending another £80 or so per month on train fares.
For Katie, she realised how bad things had become when letters were being sent to her home threatening to take her belongings. So she turned to the internet and found PayPlan through a forum of anonymous people who were also in debt.
She said: ‘At that point I couldn’t see how anything could possibly get better’
After talking to PayPlan, Katie was recommended a DMP (debt management plan) based on her situation. She had a change in circumstance, while in the plan, which allowed her to pay back more money each month than originally agreed, and meant she could pay off her debt a year or so faster.
She said: ‘PayPlan were great from the moment I spoke to them, they were friendly and completely non-judgemental to my situation’
Having completed her plan and now debt free, Katie is spending her spare time writing blogs talking about money in an open and honest way.
If you, or someone you know could be in a similar situation to Katie, then get in touch with our trained advisers for free debt advice on 0800 716 239 or fill out our debt help form on the website www.payplan.com
Katie went to university and when she graduated had a student overdraft of £2,000 as well as a credit card.
At the time, she was living in Leeds and after a relationship breakdown she decided to move to London, because it was something she had always wanted to do.
Her bank gave her a loan of £8,000. Some of which she used to pay her rent for 4 months upfront. So from having only been in debt by £2,000 it soon escalated up to £12,000 in a few years.
She said: ‘I had no means what so ever to pay this back! But because I had a loan, it seemed like I had money in the bank so I wasn’t too worried’
She worked freelance and also in a chip shop to make sure the bills were paid. Looking back now, she realises it wasn’t really covering her bills but she had convinced herself that it was fine.
She said: ‘Life was harder than I naively had expected it to be. But because I was burying my head in the sand so much and trying not to spend money, which meant I just wasn’t eating for a few days at a time’
During this time, she had met her current boyfriend who was living up North, so she was spending another £80 or so per month on train fares.
For Katie, she realised how bad things had become when letters were being sent to her home threatening to take her belongings. So she turned to the internet and found PayPlan through a forum of anonymous people who were also in debt.
She said: ‘At that point I couldn’t see how anything could possibly get better’
After talking to PayPlan, Katie was recommended a DMP (debt management plan) based on her situation. She had a change in circumstance, while in the plan, which allowed her to pay back more money each month than originally agreed, and meant she could pay off her debt a year or so faster.
She said: ‘PayPlan were great from the moment I spoke to them, they were friendly and completely non-judgemental to my situation’
Having completed her plan and now debt free, Katie is spending her spare time writing blogs talking about money in an open and honest way.
If you, or someone you know could be in a similar situation to Katie, then get in touch with our trained advisers for free debt advice on 0800 716 239 or fill out our debt help form on the website www.payplan.com
This article was checked and deemed to be correct as at the above publication date, but please be aware that some things may have changed between then and now. So please don't rely on any of this information as a statement of fact, especially if the article was published some time ago.