Everything I have shared so far has been deeply rooted in self-education. I learnt how to understand money more. With this new understanding, I taught myself how to financially rebuild, restructure and create a way out of debt permanently and move towards a life of financial freedom.

This post will bring together the full picture- how I got into debt, how I’m working through it, and my plans for the future when I get to the other side of debt freedom.

How It Started

No one wakes up and chooses to be in debt all of a sudden. It creeps in slowly.

Why did mine start? Some of it was because of life circumstances. Some of it was because of a lack of financial literacy. And some of it was trying to keep a level of stability when life wasn’t stable at all.

In 2022, I was out of work, as I had just given birth to my first child, and was trying to cover all of the essentials with an income that wasn’t keeping pace with the cost of living. When you are in that space, missed payments stop being a choice and become routine. A temporary solution that turns into a long-term habit.

The Turning Point

There wasn’t a dramatic event or wake-up moment. It was more of a slow realization that I couldn’t keep ignoring the problem. It had started taking up too much mental space. Even if I wasn’t directly thinking about it, it was ever-present in the background like the low-level white noise machine that my child used to sleep at night. This realization was an important one. It made me realize that I didn’t just want to manage the debt. I wanted to be free from it.

Not just financially, but mentally. I wanted to be the best version of myself so that I could be the best mother to my child. That was becoming increasingly difficult with the worry and anxiety I was feeling due to my debt. That is when I stopped burying my head in the sand and treating the debt as something I would sort out “someday”. I started treating it as a priority.

How I’m Fixing It

Clearing debt for me hasn’t been about one big solution. It has been about being consistent, honest, and having a solid structure in place. I have had to use self-discipline constantly, even if the motivation wasn’t always there. Here is what I focused on:

Awareness: I faced the full breakdown of what was owed, who it was owed to and what I needed to pay back. It was uncomfortable to face the harsh reality, but necessary. You can’t fix what you cannot fully see.

Small changes: I couldn’t change everything at once. My income was low and I had a dependent to raise, so I had to spend less and be more intentional with how I spent. These small shifts create big momentum over time.

Consistency: This is probably the hardest part and many people struggle with it. It’s also the most important step. The aim isn’t to be perfect, as I had blips along the way. But I showed up anyway and that’s what turns small changes into progress.

Stability: Before anything else, I needed to stabilize. Things were getting out of hand and felt chaotic. I didn’t need more money, I needed more control with it. This created breathing room and helped to reduce the stress I was feeling overall.

Not accumulating any new debt: You don’t have to clear your debt in one go but you do have to stop making it any worse. Borrowing, using credit and quick fixes are actions that keep you stuck in the debt trap. Stability starts only when the situation stops getting worse.

Clearing debt wasn’t just about changing my finances. It was also about changing my mindset. Avoidance became awareness, Impulse became intention. Short-term relief became insignificant compared to long-term freedom.

My Future Plans

I am now entering the end stages of clearing my debt and have started thinking about what to do once I make the final payment and officially become debt-free. Not in a fantasy way, but in a practical way. Becoming debt free isn’t just about “no money owed”, it becomes a question of “what now?”.

For me, it looks like saying yes to more opportunities without calculating my survival first. I can start to grow my savings and keep it as savings. Investing without fear. Planning and making life decisions with flexibility instead of limitation. Most importantly, I can breathe again, as mental space will not be occupied by repayment timelines.

This is ultimately about choice. Debt removes options. Financial freedom restores them.

Why This Matters Now

I used to be ashamed and embarrassed about my journey with debt. But not anymore. Now I just see it as something I’m working through. I am speaking out now because I realise that I’m not alone in this. A lot of people are quietly carrying financial pressure. Most of us aren’t taught how to navigate it- we have to learn from experience.

While I may not be at the end of my journey just yet, I am not where I started from either.

I am choosing to keep going until debt isn’t a part of my story any longer.

What will you chose?