TAKING a deep breath teacher Rachel Noakes started adding up her debts and a wave of sickness came over her when she realised she owed £11,000. It was December 2020 and the now 37-year-old mum-of-one who lives in Devon had taken out credit cards, an overdraft and a car loan. 2 Rachel Noakes started adding up her debts and realised she owed £11,000 Credit: Rachel Noakes 2 Rachel set up a YouTube account to film her journey Credit: Rachel Noakes “Feeling sick I looked around my two-bedroom house.
I didn’t see any flashy technology and there were no designer clothes in my wardrobe. So how on earth had I got here?,” she told The Sun. “I got my first credit card at 18 when I was still living at home and had an admin job.
It was exciting to use the card for nights out and clothes. It felt grown up.” At first, Rachel paid off the bill in full each month, but when she started a new relationship at 19, that all changed.
“We moved in together and money was tight. Earning £11,000 each we were soon relying on credit cards and payday loans. It was a constant money struggle.
” The couple married in 2007 and had their first child Noah in 2009, then in 2012, Rachel went to university to study teaching. In 2014, the marriage ended. “It was hard, and I coped by keeping myself busy.
That meant doing things with Noah, going out with my friends, or buying things.” “It was lunches in cafes, cheap fast fashion or bits for the house. Nothing extravagant.
But it felt good as I s.
