Episode 3 - I Was Almost Bankrupt — Here’s What Actually Changed Everything
There are some sentences you never expect to say out loud.
And one of mine is this:
I was genuinely facing bankruptcy.
Not in a dramatic, click-baity way.
Not in a “things are a bit tight” way.
But in a very real, very legal, this is actually one of my options right now kind of way.
In this episode, I’m taking you back to the moment my money avoidance finally caught up with me — and what actually got me out of £26,000 of debt in 18 months.
Spoiler: it wasn’t a perfect budget.
It wasn’t discipline.
And it definitely wasn’t deprivation.
It was a forced mindset shift, a brutally honest mirror held up to my spending, and one tiny but powerful system that stopped me rebelling against my own financial goals.
If you’re smart, capable, earning decent money — and still feel stuck, anxious, or quietly ashamed about your finances — this episode is for you.
Because this isn’t a story about numbers.
It’s a story about values, beliefs, emotional spending, and learning how to live and build a future — without funding joy with debt.
A bit of context before we dive in…
For years, I believed things like:
I’ll sort my money out when I earn more
Everyone lives in their overdraft — that’s what it’s for
Credit is just how you afford a life these days
People like me don’t get debt-free or financially secure
I was educated. I earned well. I was “good with everything else.”
And yet money felt chaotic, emotional, and impossible to control.
Until one calm, non-judgemental phone call with a UK debt charity completely dismantled what I thought was “normal” spending — and forced me to question where my money was actually going… and why.
That conversation didn’t just change my budget.
It changed how I see money, joy, goals, and my future self.
In this episode, we talk about:
What nearly going bankrupt really looks like (and why it’s more common than you think)
Why budgeting kept failing me — and probably isn’t the real problem for you either
How I discovered my spending didn’t reflect my reality, even though it reflected my values
The moment I realised I’d been outsourcing my joy to future-me (on credit)
Why deprivation-based budgets create resentment — and rebellion
How a £200 “joy fund” helped me pay off £26k of debt faster, not slower
The emotional cycle of debt, stress, and survival spending
Why mindset and systems are both non-negotiable if you want real change
How to measure every spending decision against one clear financial goal
The belief shift that made everything simpler: don’t fund joy with debt
The big takeaway
You don’t need to become someone else to get out of debt.
You don’t need to live without joy.
And you don’t need to earn more before things can change.
But you do need intention.
A clear goal.
A system that lets you live while you work towards it.
And the willingness to question what you’ve always assumed was “normal” with money.
Because you don’t have to sacrifice joy to build a future —
you just can’t fund joy with debt.
Mentioned in this episode
UK debt charities and free debt advice services
Budgeting “averages” vs personal values
Emotional spending and survival mode
Buy Now, Pay Later and 0% credit myths
Cost-per-wear thinking
Values-based spending
The £200 joy fund concept
She Means Money Club philosophy: mindset + systems = freedom
Your Next Steps:
📲 Find Me on Socials
💸 Start Taking Control of Your Money
Get access to free tools and resources:
👉 She Means Money Club – Free Tools: https://shemeansmoneyclub.com/links
Facts, Figures & References
UK Debt & Financial Stress
Around 84% of UK adults use at least one form of unsecured credit (credit cards, overdrafts, personal loans).
The average unsecured debt per adult is £4,352.
Source: The Money Charity – UK Money Statistics (2025)
https://themoneycharity.org.uk/media/April-2025-Money-Statistics.pdf
Savings Vulnerability
1 in 10 people in the UK have no cash savings at all.
27% of adults have less than £1,000 saved.
Sources:
https://www.fca.org.uk/news/press-releases/more-people-have-bank-accounts-one-ten-have-no-cash-savings
https://moneyfactscompare.co.uk/news/savings/uk-financial-wellbeing-crisis-savings-week/
Buy Now, Pay Later
68% of frequent BNPL users are women.
Source: YouGov (2023)
https://yougov.com/en-gb/articles/53194-britains-bnpl-users-younger-female-and-financially-strainedWomen are significantly more likely than men to be targeted with BNPL advertising.
Source: Money & Pensions Service (2023)
https://maps.org.uk/content/dam/maps-corporate/en/publications/research/2023/buy-now-pay-later-review-of-the-market-risks-and-trends-june-2023.pdf
