Money blogger Skint Dad who ‘turned to debt to survive’ reveals how he paid off £43,000 in four years
Ricky Willis, 39, turned his life around and became debt free in just four years – here’s how you can do it too
BLOGGER Ricky Willis and his wife Naomi had to reach breaking point before they addressed the £43,000 worth of debt that they’d racked up.
It started when they were young. When one line of credit ran out, they opened another.
Each time the credit card had higher interest and repayments became difficult.
The couple owed up to £43,000 in credit card, loan, catalogue and payday loan debt, as well as council tax and water bills.
Then in 2008, Ricky, 39, who lives in Tunbridge Wells, Kent was made redundant from his machine operator job at a printing firm.
A year later Naomi, now 34, also lost her job working in insurance.
Ricky added: "It takes hard work, determination and a lot of sacrifice.
"But it’s worth it, just for the feeling of freedom when your money becomes your money, and you can start planning a life being debt free."
Every year, millions of families turn to high cost credit.
Tomorrow, the city watchdog, the financial conduct authority, is set to release a report into the sector.
The Sun is calling on the FCA to extend a cap it already applied to payday loans across the industry. A move which could save customers £2million a year in interest repayments and could help people like Ricky.
Speaking about The Sun's campaign Ricky said: "High-cost credit was what pushed us over the edge with debt.
"Payday loans spiralled our debt out of control and overdrafts kept us living in the red continuously.
"We were trapped because we had to pay back so much in interest each month. We had to turn to debt to survive and had no other choice.
"Even though the new debt was clearly unaffordable to us, the lenders continued to let us borrow so I really hope the high-cost credit review from the Financial Conduct Authority will stop exploiting people who are more vulnerable when it comes to money."
In January, we revealed how a mum of two cleared £4,000 debt and then saved £10,000 in one year.
Another mum, Tori Gabriel, also revealed her secret to clearing £11,000 worth of debt too.
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