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In our How I Manage My Money series we aim to find out how people in the UK are spending, saving and investing money to meet their costs and achieve their goals.
This week we speak to Samantha Brook, 48, a learning and career coach, writer and founder of the Happiness Club, who lives in Ipswich with her partner, an accountant, and their two cats, Charlie and Gabby. Samantha said she has been an overspender all her life and once got in £18,000 worth of debt. She has £5,000 in her work pension and has never purchased a property.
Monthly budget
My monthly income: The monthly take-home pay from my part-time job is £1,263. I also make around £200 per month from the Happiness Club, freelance writing and marketing consultancy work.
My monthly outgoings: I’m not currently contributing to the mortgage. Groceries, £300; donations to charities, £120-£140; gas and electric, broadband and mobile via Utility Warehouse, £120; water, £22; pet food, £60; Vet VIP Plan, £32; health insurance, £40; TV licence, £6.50; car insurance and service plan, £35; petrol for car, £30; subscriptions like Netflix and Spotify, £31; hairdresser, toiletries and beauticians, £85-£110; vitamins and supplements, £120-£200; Boots contact lenses, £20; bus and parking fares, £22; entertainment and eating out, £80; money into cash savings account, £171; minimum credit card payment to pay off, £17; Debs de Vries, a spiritual teacher and healer, £37.
I work part-time as a learning and career coach, taking home £1,263 per month. I also run my own business, the Happiness Club, which helps people fed up with feeling fed up. I had a long struggle with depression, but managed to stop taking antidepressants after being on them for 26 years. I don’t make huge sums from the Happiness Club, but am keen to start a membership programme at some point.
I’ve been an overspender all my life and have always found saving money difficult. Previously, whenever I had any savings, I would use them to buy things. I still have some way to go in this regard.
I first got into debt when I was 17 and took out a Marks & Spencer charge card. Shortly after, I took out a £600 loan to buy my first car. I then put myself through university, without support from my parents. I received a grant and worked part-time. Luckily in those days higher education was free.
On top of my student loan, I had two student bank accounts, which each came with an overdraft and credit card. I had other store cards too. I ran up large mobile phone bills and wanted to have fun and I needed money to be able to do that. I spent money on clothes, eating out and socialising. I loved the feeling of spending money and ended up in over £8,000 worth of debt.
Occasionally, reality hit and I realised my outgoings were higher than my income. The thing that worried me most was how I could continue funding my lifestyle. I was also worried that I might go to prison, especially as I owed money to HMRC. I nearly ended up in prison when I was 19 for non-payment of a fine.
With my mum’s help, I eventually managed to get these debts paid off. However, the debts soon stacked up again and by 2018 I was in £18,000 worth of debt. I had credit cards and loans and owed HMRC tax on income from self-employment.
At one point I was so worried about my finances that I tried to take my own life. I didn’t really want to die. It was just a cry for help. I felt so hopeless.
I’m a spiritual person and tried to use Buddhist chanting and Abraham Hicks’ debt elimination plan to help me with my finances.
I joined Debtors Anonymous (DA) in 2011. It helped me create a spending plan and learn how to monitor my spending. DA also helped me realise that I didn’t have to spend all my disposable income paying off my debt and it was good to spend some on myself.
Step Change was very helpful. They helped me prepare an income and expenditure statement. They also provided template letters for me to send to my creditors to negotiate payment plans and freeze the interest.
I paid off around £350 a month or more when I could. My auntie received an inheritance and gave me £7,500 of it, which I used to help get my debts paid off. I also negotiated a settlement of my student loan. I managed to get the £18,000 debt paid off in December 2020. It felt fantastic.
I still love eating out and I treat myself to brunch or lunch most weeks. I am lucky that my partner takes me out for dinner most weeks. I do think it’s important to spend money on self-care and I spend a lot on my health and hair and beauty. I have an underactive thyroid and prefer natural supplements to conventional medicines. I can spend up to £200 on vitamins and supplements a month.
I have three credit cards and pay off two in full each month. The other one has 0 per cent interest and a balance of around £1,600. I pay off the minimum each month, which is £17. I know I still spend more than I earn each month.
I have a regular savings account via my bank, First Direct. I only opened it recently, but add £171 to it each month. This will help me get my credit card paid off. I also have a cash ISA with True Potential, but there is only £10 in it. I withdrew nearly everything from it when I had a spell of unemployment last year.
When I was in my twenties, I opened a private pension, but I stopped putting anything into it after a few months. I’ve had a work pension for five years and have £5,000 in it. I add £35 a month to it, with my employer adding £26.
I think the state pension will be just about enough for me to live on, provided I still have the support of my partner. Sometimes I worry about having enough money as I get older, but I think I will be fine if I live a simple life. Plus, I am a spiritual person and know the universe has got my back.
I have never had sufficient savings, income or stability to be able to buy my own home. Occasionally, I think I’m 48 and should have my own property, but on the whole it doesn’t bother me. I am a free spirit. I’ve had a varied and interesting life, including living in Egypt for three years.
Once my credit card is paid off, I intend to save £100 per month for holidays once or twice a year. I also want to save £88 per month extra for the long term. My intention is to earn enough from the Happiness Club and my writing to be able to leave my part-time job. I am also writing three books. They probably won’t be bestsellers, but you never know!
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