I was £40,000 in debt but got myself out of it – here is the rule I swear by and how it changed my life

A SAVVY mum has revealed how she cleared £40k of debt and changed her life by using one golden rule.

Money blogger Maddy Alexander-Grout shared how she scrimped and saved to make a financial comeback - and even runs her own business now.

Now the mum regularly shares money-saving and budgeting tips with her 31,600 TikTok followers. 

It all started when Maddy finished university, having racked up huge amounts of debt after taking out four different overdrafts.

She told The Sun: "I got into a pickle fairly fast, I saw it as almost free money, I didn't care.

"My spending was out of control. I lived literally hand to mouth at the time."

But the carefree attitude didn't last long - in 2005, debt collectors began to call.

Maddy recounted one scary scenario where a bailiff even showed up at her house.

The period was extremely hard on her, as she revealed: "My mental health was on the ground."

Concerned for her wellbeing and ready to make a change, Maddy moved to Southampton in 2008.

She sought advice from the Citizens Advice Bureau on how to pay off her debt.

While she received many useful tips, it wasn't quite enough.

Instead, Maddy took to creating her own methods to try to make ends meet - and pay off the crippling debt she had amassed.

Maddy, known online as , revealed that she also lived off just 60 per cent of her salary while putting the other 40 per cent towards paying off her credit cards. 

Here's how she broke down her debt and paid it off through clever tactics.

The 50/30/20 rule

Maddy started by seeking advice from Citizens Advice Bureau, where they suggested the 50/30/20 method to her.

This method works by helping you divide your earnings between your needs, your wants, and your savings.

And Maddy swears by it as her golden rule and top tip to save cash.

Fifty per cent is for all of your needs - all of your bills. 

Thirty per cent is on your wants. You’ve got hobbies, you want to go to dinner, you want to go shopping, you want to go for brunch. You sure can. 

The final 20 per cent is for savings and paying off debts.

But Maddy wasn't sure this would work for her - she said: "I worked out it would take me 60 years to pay off my debt this way, so I came up with my own method."

Instead, she adjusted the figures to create her own rule - 50/10/40.

Rather than spending 30 per cent of her income on her hobbies, Maddy lived frugally, using only 10 per cent on going out.

The final 40 per cent want towards paying off her debts.

She revealed: "I spent 5 or 6 years living on about £15 a week. I became the most frugal person."

Maddy added: "I shopped for yellow stickers on a daily basis, to try to get a variety of foods.

"I also worked in recruitment so got a lot of bonuses - sometimes £3,000 at a time. The bonuses would go straight to paying off my debts."

Shopping for yellow stickers is a great way to find deals on food - especially as the cost of living crisis continues to affect families across the UK.

According one Marks & Spencer manager, there's even a very specific time you should head down to your store if you're hoping to nab a bargain on food - and it's likely not when you think.

Snowball method

Maddy also swears by the snowball method to pay off her debts.

Traditional financial advice has been to tackle the largest, highest interest debt first, helping to reducing interest payments - but the "snowball method" has the opposite approach.

It suggests starting with the smallest debts can be most effective for people who struggle to make a debt payment plan and stick to it.

Fans of the "snowball method" believe that paying off smaller balances can keep people motivated and on track as you get the regular satisfaction of knowing you have paid off a debt or closed an account.