THIS time four years ago, mum-of-four Laura Bentley was on the brink of bankruptcy
The Australian mum lived in fear of picking up the phone in case it was a debt collector – and after years of burying her head in the sand, Laura came clean about the state of her finances to her husband.
Since that day in 2017, the couple drastically altered their spending to start living within their means and have now bought their first home together.
Speaking to 9Honey, Laura shared her top budgeting tips which helped her turn her life around – while also still having a monthly £45 "splurge".
Don't be afraid to confront the issue head-on
When you've been overspending, it's only natural to want to ignore your bank balance.
But in order to change your habits, Laura says you have to be brave and confront your issue with money straight-on.
Explaining how it was more of a "sore point" for her than it was for her husband, Laura said: "I was happy to just keep my head in the sand, and pretend like our money issues didn't exist."
Once they eventually had that uncomfortable situation about their finances, Laura says they were more equipped to deal with it as they had a grip on where their money should (and shouldn't) be going.
Have a small 'splurge' fund
If you've got a huge credit card bill, then most people would assume you'd put all your money towards paying it off.
But Lauren says it's important to still put some money aside every month to do something nice – and it prevented her from carelessly spending small amounts on other things.
She wrote: "The biggest thing we changed was that we gave ourselves a 'splurge account' – so we weren't allowed to spend anything outside our daily expenses except for that.
I was happy to just keep my head in the sand, and pretend like our money issues didn't exist…
"Our splurge account started with having $20 [£11] each per week to spend, on whatever we wanted. In doing so, we managed to pay everything off, bit by bit."
Examine your old bank statements
Even if you think you know where you're spending your money every month, Lauren says this is a good exercise for couples who are saving up together.
When they were almost bankrupt, Lauren and her husband printed out their individual bank statements and examined every purchase.
She added: "It wasn't an angry conversation, but it was just like, 'How are you spending $100 every week at Kmart?'. It was a big wake-up call, and the effect was almost instantaneous for us."
Start living within your means
Even though they were struggling with crippling debt, Laura and her husband felt like they had to keep up with their friends – which resulted in buying cars, houses and clothes they couldn't really afford.
Four years ago, the couple weren't earning enough between them to pay off their debt and therefore had to drastically curb their spending.
For a whole year, the couple say they "didn't do much" or have many treats but it helped get them in the saving state of mind.
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Negotiate on monthly bills
It can be intimidating calling your energy supplier or phone provider and enquiring about a better deal.
But as Laura points out, the worst thing that'll happen is they'll simply turn you down.
However, on occasion the mum says they can knock some money off your bill or offer a better perk if you choose to stay with them.
Know you won't have to live super frugally forever
When you're used to spending money without a second thought, Laura says reining in your lifestyle can be a big shock to the system.
However, the mum says it helped her enormously to be aware of the fact that she wouldn't have to live super modestly for the rest of her life.
She added: "Even taking three months to cut back and keep track of what you're spending will help."
And now the couple have taken charge of their finances, Laura says it's like a "black cloud" has lifted and they're incredibly proud of what they've achieved.
For more real life stories, this mum was in £27k of debt last year – here’s how she shaved £10k off it and STILL managed to save.
Plus this mum revealed how she buys £300 worth of Tesco food for just £40 every week- here’s how you can too.
And this student shared exactly how she lived on just £5 for five days – here’s how you can too.
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