Loraine says she was left with ‘nothing’ when she left her marriage 15 years ago
A teacher who found herself £3,500 in debt managed to clear it and pay off her mortgage entirely – with the help of the envelope method. Loraine Bertolini, 62, says she was left with “nothing” when she walked away from her marriage 15 years ago.
She had managed to purchase her own three-bedroom ex-council house for £38,000 after swapping her teaching career for a better-paid role as a director of operations in hospitality at a football club. But when her contract came to an end, she found herself out of work — surviving on £50-a-week Universal Credit for four months, before landing a call centre position bringing in £800-a-month.
Then Loraine found a way to sort her money out. She divided her salary into weekly cash envelopes, relying solely on cash to keep her outgoings down, while also purchasing “yellow sticker” reduced food items to cut her grocery bills.
She eventually secured a return to teaching, but was forced to re-negotiate her mortgage due to an estimated £3,500 in arrears and loan repayments. By remaining frugal and making the most of her salary, Loraine successfully cleared all her debts and paid off her mortgage in full in 2023.
‘I had nothing’
Loraine, a teacher from Falkirk, Scotland, says: “I left my marriage with nothing. It’s a big thing for women and the biggest worry they first face – financially thinking ‘how am I going to cope on one wage or no wage?’
“Eventually I started doing a thing where when I got paid, I paid my bills and split the rest into weekly envelopes. Basically I financially cut myself down on everything. At one point I changed jobs to try and get more money in but I got paid off that job as my contract ended.
“Then I was out of that job and took another job which didn’t cover all of my bills – just some of my bills – just to get paid. I was in a position where if I didn’t have a job I wouldn’t get help from anything.”
Loraine says she initially rented her marital home for £450 a month following her separation from her husband of 30 years, later divorcing in 2016. She secured a new position paying one and a half times her teaching salary and purchased the property she’d been renting with a £2,000 deposit in October 2008.
However, when that role ended 18 months later, Loraine found herself renegotiating her mortgage payments – having fallen eight months behind. She explained: “I was constantly in contact with mortgage companies to say ‘I don’t have the money this month’.
“They were very good and said ‘don’t pay that, pay what you can pay as long as it’s something’. It was really embarrassing.
“I would buy second hand clothes instead of new clothes. My phone bill I’d taken it right down and moved to a pay as you go instead of a contract.
“I cut down my Sky package. I got rid of that. I had health insurance – I had to cut that and take that away.
“I would sell things if I had to sell them to make sure I had enough to pay enough for my bills.” Without any dependents – her daughter was studying at university in Australia – she said she only received £50 weekly in Universal Credit.
Her call centre position didn’t cover her outgoings, forcing her to “cut things to the bare minimum”. She also took on occasional catering work for children’s christenings and birthday parties – but still found it difficult to meet her payments.
Loraine changed her habits over her car and clothes
After eight months, she landed a teaching position 30 miles from home – spending £500 on an old banger to make the daily commute. She walked everywhere possible, reserving her car solely for work journeys, purchased second-hand clothes, and bought and sold goods at car boot sales to meet her monthly expenses.
She explained: “I quickly found out people buy more if the clothes are on a rail and everything is a fiver or £5, people will buy it.” Her £33,000 teaching salary enabled her to gradually clear the £1,500 mortgage arrears and £2,000 loan.
Loraine recalled: “I didn’t really go out anywhere, if I wanted to see people I would invite them over to the house. I had no holidays.
“Any money I was making extra I was sending to my daughter in Australia as she was a student. I sold things including one of my two TVs to make sure I had enough to pay for my bills.
“I got to know the times of the shops and when they reduce stuff. I’d go into Tesco’s at certain times, then visit M&S at 5pm and Iceland at 8am, when it opened.”
However, after 15 years, Loraine cleared her property debt in 2023 and now lives mortgage-free. She revealed: “I’ve got money saved and my credit rating is excellent now.
“I have saved £15,000 and renovated my kitchen and bathroom. When I was married it wasn’t like that.
“I wasn’t meant to divorce. People worry about that, worry what others think but they shouldn’t.
“You only get one life, one shot at this. After 30 years I did it. I’m a stronger person than I ever was and more confident than I ever was”.
