A man who left university with £24,000 of debt says he managed to clear it in 18 months and has already put almost £3,300 into savings this year with simple budget rules. Sammie Ellard-King, from Ramsgate, says he never received a financial education, and when he first left home and graduated, he found himself deep in debt.
Sammie, now 36, said: “I had a student loan, a credit card and an overdraft and I ended up peacocking. I was always out, always with nice stuff, showing off but racking up expensive debt. I was basically layering debt on top of debt and by the time I was 25, a third of my wages was going on interest payments and not even clearing the balances.”
Despite having a well-paid job in marketing at the time, Sammie took a ‘long hard look at himself’ and decided to deploy some side hustles and belt-tightening to clear the debt. “I didn’t want to live like a pauper eating baked beans for seven years, so I did trainer reselling, online surveys, freelancing, focus groups online, literally any side hustle going. And it massively paid off,” he says.
Debt free in 18 months, Sammie launched money-saving website Up the Gains in 2021, has generated one billion content views and was named Best Money Content Creator at the 2024 British Bank Awards. At the beginning of the year he deployed ten hacks that have already helped him save £3,278.
His tips include waiting a day before buying items over £50 online to get discounts or realise you don't want them; switching energy, mobile, broadband and insurance providers; using cashback apps like Top Cashback and Quidco; switching bank accounts for incentives; cancelling unused subscriptions; and meal planning to reduce food waste.
