‘My head spins trying to work out the smartest move.’

It wasn’t easy but, these change meant that, in just under six years, I was out of debt.

Welcome back to Me and My Money, Metro’s series taking a peek into the nation’s wallets and bank accounts.

This week we meet Ambrina Taylor, a 47-year-old money blogger and mum, who lives in a London rental property with her two children and partner, Paul.

After facing a series of obstacles including more than £20,000 of debt, navigating divorce and walking away from her business, she now makes around £3,000 a month sharing her expertise to her 75,000 folllowers through her Instagram account.

Hi Ambrina, tell us about yourself and your history with money

Growing up, I remember my parents were always stressed about bills. 

I went to the University of Westminster when I was around 18, to study psychology, and then did a second undergraduate degree in physiotherapy at the University of East London, but accumulated mountains of student debt, because I didn’t know how to manage my money.

Most of the time I wasn’t using my loan to live, I’d buy books with it but I also paid for a breast reduction and bought clothes. 

I worked part-time as a waitress in a cafe too, so I had money coming in, I just had more going out.

How did debt continue to build?

I moved in with my ex-husband aged 18 and got my first job as a physiotherapist aged 27. By then I owed £6,000 towards student loan and credit cards. My former partner worked in construction but payment could be irregular.

We managed until we bought our first house in London in 2006. Despite our debt we scraped together a deposit of 10%, but we were spending more than we brought in.

The house was decorated in Laura Ashley and I regularly splurged on days out or used credit cards.

Then I gave birth to my son Jake, now 17, in 2008, and ten months later I had my daughter Olivia, now 16. 

When did you realise things had got out of hand?

Sometimes I’d be out with the children and my card would get declined and it would bring me back to reality.

One day in 2017 I tried to get petrol for the car. I prayed the card would go through but it didn’t and I had to leave my phone with the staff so they knew I’d come back with the £5.

I’d never felt shame and humiliation like it before – and so much guilt because I felt I’d failed my children. Enough was enough.

At home, I sat down and calculated our debt. I had thought it was £10,000, but it was actually £21,000 and we were already making debt repayments of £1,000 a month.

Instead of feeling upset, that gave me a boost, because I realised we’d have much more money around when we’d paid off the debt.

I stayed in debt for so long because I thought everyone else was doing well. But I had to realise, no one was coming to rescue me, I had to do it myself.

How did you tackle paying it all off?

I settled on the ‘snowball’ approach pioneered by Dave Ramsey, involving paying off the debts smallest to largest, moved all the debt to interest-free credit cards and cut out all non-essentials. 

This included new clothes, haircuts, trips out and even activities the children were doing which I felt a huge amount of guilt about. That was the worst part of the journey. There were times when I wondered if I was doing the right thing, but the children got involved and helped out. They’d colour in our debt chart on the fridge and were a part of everything we did.

We cleared the debt in eight months and I earnt extra money through side hustles like completing surveys.

When we cleared it, it was Christmas time 2017 and we took the kids to Bluewater shopping centre and picked names of disadvantaged children off the wishing tree and bought presents for them. It was wonderful to use the money we now had to do something lovely for someone else. The kids still talk about it and I feel really proud that we did that.

What was your biggest financial challenge?

After the debt, my separation from my partner. We ran a successful doggy day-care business but I left in 2023.

It was a blow to my finances but by then, my social media account was growing in popularity.

I didn’t start off that way, but I wanted to share the journey because being in debt is lonely and soon brands started reaching out to work with me, including my dream money-saving brand Plum, in 2023.

Sometimes being self-employed was a worry, I wondered how I’d cope paying the rent on the small flat I’d moved to, paying my bills and paying towards the mortgage on my ex’s house. 

But I made it work – something would always drop into my inbox. Now I can earn around £3,200 a month, although my income is variable. 

Splurge or spend?

Travel is my biggest splurge – we travel a lot now from 24-hour day trips abroad to longer holidays.

Money isn’t everything. It can become everything when you’re in this job, but it isn’t everything. When I’d paid off the debt, I wanted to hoard every penny when it came in, but now I know what interests me and it’s seeing the world with my kids so I have learnt how to spend again.

Has your experience had an impact on your children? 

The children have learned they can’t just have what they want, they have to save money, and having seen my struggles, I’m sure they don’t want that for themselves.

Jake particularly is good at earning and saving money, but they haven’t taken on my frugality completely, they say I’ve put them off Primark whenever I go in because I used to drag them in there so often, but instead they both use Vinted for clothes and will always look for a deal.

What would you say to others struggling with debt?

Take a day, go through your bank statements and work out where money is coming in and going out.

The whole debt-free community on social media, including Facebook pages and other Instagram accounts is very supportive and you never feel alone. 

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Since that night, our lives have never been the same.

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I’ll never forget being a naive, 18-year-old fresher, checking my bank account at the end of the month to see if I had enough money to go to the pub after uni.

Usually, after rent, splitting bills with housemates, and paying my gym membership from my part-time job, I’d be left with enough for a couple of pints.

Until one day, £2000 magically dropped into my Santander student account. Confused at first as to where it came from, these concerns soon transitioned into ‘I’m rich,’ when I realised my bank had ‘gifted’ me a lovely overdraft to spend at my leisure.

This, of course, was followed by a shopping spree at Beyond Retro, lunch in the Brighton Laines, and an afternoon sesh at East Street Tap. Looking back, I can see how silly my spending habits were and how dangerous they could become.

But with 2K casually landing in a few of my friends’ accounts – during the height of summer – it was safety in numbers.

Thankfully, I managed to pay my overdraft off before the charges kicked in, which saved me a whole lot of future debt. It also forced me to become more responsible with money, focusing on saving it, rather than spending.

But the whole scenario got me thinking: what should your overdraft limit be, according to your age? Because at 18, a random and unasked-for £2000 doesn’t seem like the brightest idea. Hopefully, almost a decade later, it’s a thing of the past.

With this in mind, Metro spoke to Matthew Sheeran, money saving expert at Money Wellness, and finance specialist Pernia Rogers, founder of Your Finance Travel Buddy, to get the low-down.

What should your overdraft limit be?

‘There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to how much your overdraft limit should be, but we do see some patterns based on age and life stage,’ explains Sheeran.

Rogers agrees, adding: ‘A more practical approach is to set your overdraft limit according to your income, which usually grows as you get older.’

But for clarity, the pair have split these guidelines into age groups:

18-24

‘If you’re 18 to 24, your overdraft limit will typically be somewhere between £100 and £500,’ says Sheeran. At this stage, most people are studying or just starting out in work, so they don’t need or qualify for a large buffer.

If you’re unsure of what bank account to go for as a student or young adult, Rogers says that many student accounts offer interest-free overdrafts of around £500.

‘These can be useful if managed carefully, but it’s important to treat it as a buffer, not free money,’ she warns. If only I’d had such advice back in the day.

25-34

According to Sheeran, this is when we expect to see limits rise to around £500 to £1,000. ‘As people’s income increases, they start taking on more financial responsibilities like rent or bills,’ he states.

Rogers elaborates: ‘Early in your career, between the ages of 25 and 30, when your income is more stable, banks may offer larger overdrafts.’

However, the expert still urges you to be sensible. Rogers says it’s a smart idea to limit your overdraft to about one month’s salary and only use it in emergencies.

35-44

By the time people are in their late thirties or early forties, their overdraft might be as high as £1,500, Sheeran reveals. But ideally, it’s used only for unexpected costs, not everyday spending.

The amount is likely increased to this level due to higher earnings and the expectation that people this age are more financially mature. Meaning, they typically refrain from splurging on superficial purchases.

Once you’re older – around the 30+ age – and more established, you’ll have access to higher limits, explains Rogers. However, your overdraft should never be part of your regular income.

45+

‘Once people reach their mid-forties and beyond, it’s common to see limits start to shrink again,’ Sheeran says. He puts this figure at around £500 to £1,000, as people become both more financially stable and look to reduce their reliance on credit.

Overall, he says it’s important to remember that your overdraft is still a form of borrowing, and if you’re constantly in it, that could be a warning sign that something’s not quite right with your budget.

‘It’s designed to be a short-term safety net, not a regular source of money.’

Every little helps, right?

The cost of being able to be me, and the value of my happiness at finally being free? Priceless.  

The cost of being able to be me, and the value of my happiness at finally being free? Priceless.  

Charles Thompson shares how he turned his finances around (Picture: Supplied)

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More than half of Brits saw a drop in disposable income last year.

‘After all of my repayments had gone out, I’d be left with 30p for the whole month.’