Veronia earns less than £30,000 a year
A woman has explained how she cleared £16,000 of debt in under two years while earning less than £30,000 a year. Veronia Spaine, 31, fell into debt in 2018 after finishing university, having maxed out a £2,000 overdraft and taken out a £14,000 high-interest loan to buy a car she later realised she could not afford.
Veronia, from Dartford, Kent, decided to tackle the problem head-on by creating a strict budget and cutting back on spending. She stopped buying clothes, didn’t go on holidays and moved into a family home as a lodger – costing her just £300 a month.
This allowed her to put £700 a month of her £1,900 monthly income towards repayments. By sticking to her plan, she cleared all her debt in just 18 months and now helps other young women take control of their finances. She said: “I paid off my overdraft but ended up stuck there, then took out a loan for a new car. I didn’t understand finance or interest rates – that was a learning curve.
“I realised I needed to get better with my money and started writing down my numbers. Once I paid it off, I began building savings and sharing my journey online. People then started asking me for help.”
Veronia said she initially struggled to save because she would overspend or forget to budget for certain costs. So creating a realistic budget was her turning point, including planning ahead for expenses like Christmas and birthdays.
She said: “People think budgeting is just about debt and bills, but you have to account for real life. Knowing it’s budgeted for gives you accountability.”
To speed up her debt repayment, she reduced her social spending, halving her budget for eating out and planning cheaper activities such as games nights. While she sometimes had to miss events, planning ahead allowed her to stay social without overspending.
She also cut grocery costs by shopping at Aldi and Lidl and meal prepping to avoid buying lunches at work. Veronia stopped buying clothes, didn’t go on holidays, and moved from a shared professional house at £500-a-month, into a family home as a lodger, paying just £300-a-month.
She said: “That meant I had even more money to put towards my debts.”
As a result, Veronia was able to put £700 a month towards repayments. By April 2020, she had paid off her car loan and used savings to clear her overdraft, becoming debt-free. After sharing her experience online, Veronia began receiving requests for advice. By 2021, she had established herself as a money coach.
She said: “We’re not taught enough about managing money, which is why so many people struggle to save.”
Having helped many Millennials and Gen Z women, Veronia said the most common mistake she sees is people avoiding their bank accounts out of fear. She explained that not checking balances makes it impossible to understand spending habits or take control. She recommends using a budget tracker, whether that’s a spreadsheet, notebook or notes app.
She said: “A lot of my clients don’t know where their money goes because they don’t look. Once you start paying attention, you can plan better and feel more relief.”
Veronia advises checking bank statements regularly, knowing bill amounts and ensuring there is enough money in the account regardless of payment dates. She also stressed the importance of budgeting for all spending, including non-essentials like lunches out or clothes, and recommends using separate accounts or spending pots for bills and discretionary money.
That way, once general spending runs out, essential money is protected. Veronia encourages people to ask themselves at the start of each month: “Where do I want my money to go?”
She said: “You should know where your money is going before you get paid. Most people already do – they just haven’t put a price tag on it.”
She also recommends saving small amounts monthly for predictable events like birthdays, holidays and Christmas. She added: “The best thing you can have is a simple budget template. It doesn’t need to be complicated – just review it every month and make it a habit.”
