I cleared £24k worth of debt in 18 months - 1 moment turned my life around

A man managed to clear a staggering £24,000 debt mountain in just 18 months after one pivotal realisation. Sammie Ellard-King was 19 when his money troubles started. As a music student during freshers week at Southampton Solent University in Hampshire, he was offered a credit card by a well-known bank. The 36-year-old told the Daily Express: "I was given thousands of pounds. I went wild. It started from there and spiralled."

A passion for brands and feeling pressure to "look cool" led Sammie to splash hundreds of pounds on designer clothes. He also admitted he didn't know much about managing money at the time.

Most of Sammie's debts were on credit cards, but pay day loans and personal loans also piled up until he owed £24,000 by the age of 25.

After graduating, the grandson of Ronnie Scott's co-founder, saxophonist Pete King, organised gigs and worked in promotions, which required a lot of nights out and added to his debts.

But he kept it all a secret from friends and family, burying his head in the sand, unwilling to face what he described as an "overpowering" financial situation.

Sammie estimated that by his 20s, "everything he had" was spent servicing sky-high debt interest payments, but he still refused to give up the appearance of success.

Realising help was needed, he arranged an appointment with Citizens Advice, but cancelled because he felt so ashamed.

It was while sitting on a beach on holiday in Vietnam with a pal that Sammie finally plucked up the courage to share his secret.

Sammie said: "He basically set me on the right path. I came back from that trip and was obsessed with learning about money."

He explained that his first step to getting into the black by his mid-20s was admitting to his issue with problem debt. He then got to grips with exactly what he owed and spoke to providers for advice.

An entrepreneur by nature, Sammie developed side hustles such as reselling trainers to supplement his hospitality job salary and moved into a house with eight others to cut his utility bills.

He reined in his spending on nights out, too, and worked hard to get pay rises at work, as well as to move jobs to secure better salaries.

Sammie said: "I became very obsessed with bringing money in and by 2016 got rid of the whole £24,000 in 18 months."

But he suggested moving out of the red was only part of the battle. He said: "When debt clears, it's awesome. It's also a pivotal point. A lot of people I know, once out of debt, go back."

He admitted to still overspending on some things, including food and his garden, but has adapted a system originally devised by author Fredric Lehrman in his book Prosperity Consciousness.

Sammie manages his finances across three providers. His income goes into one bank account, while savings and investments are transferred into another. A third account is for subscription and bill payments, which are paid automatically. Whatever is left in the first account is used as disposable income.

The temptation to spend "ridiculous" amounts is still there for Sammie, but he said he has built in "blockers" to rein him in.

This includes a rule where Sammie waits 24 hours before buying non-essentials costing £50 or more, to prevent impulse spending.

He suggested his tactics can help those grappling with the cost of living as well as people in debt.

Charities such as Stepchange and Citizens Advice both saw the number of debt clients hit a record level in March this year.

Of the 66% of adults who saw an increase in their cost of living in May compared to the month before, 15% reported using more credit than usual as a result, according to an Office for National Statistics (ONS) survey.

Debt as a proportion of household income was 117.2% in the first quarter of this year, ONS figures show. This compares to a 2008 peak of 155.8% in the wake of the financial crisis.

After his experience, Sammie now works as a finance educator. In 2021, he launched a platform called Up The Gains and was named Best Money Content Creator at the 2024 British Bank Awards.

Sammie's new, free Gains App launched in May with a mission to help people take control of their finances via its budgeting tools, cashback rewards worth hundreds of pounds and AI chat support. It has been downloaded 10,000 times and has a 4.8-out-of-5 rating on the App Store.

Asked what his best advice on debt is, Sammie said: "You've got to find someone to speak to and share. Communication around money is so important."