Kieran was in debt. He felt he’d left it to the point where it was heavily impacting his life. “I’d racked up some pretty ridiculous debt. About $30k,” he says. His parents wanted to help him pay off the debt, but Kieran was determined to sort it out himself.
Kieran had a good job with a good income. He’d worked his way up from a labouring job to project management at a civil construction firm. “I’d racked up some pretty ridiculous debt. About $30k,” Kieran explains. After searching the Sorted website, he was referred to Kingdom Resources by the Moneytalks helpline.
Speaking with someone who didn’t know him personally felt more comfortable for Kieran. He was nervous at the start, but he says, “Jude [Kieran’s Kingdom Resources Financial Mentor] was awesome. The way she explained things. Once we set the goals, I was just gunning for it.” He explains that talking to Jude was like “talking to my mum. She was amazing and really supportive.”
Kieran was motivated to meet his target of becoming debt free, reducing his debt down to $9K in six months. He set goals for what he wanted to save, budgeted carefully, and worked out what his essential versus frivolous expenses were – even selling items on Facebook Marketplace for extra cash. “I cut right back because of the goal. I wanted to nail it. I’ve been very strict, to the point where Jude had to tell me, ‘Enjoy your Christmas break, maybe reign it in and enjoy that time.’” Kieran eased off a little but kept paying down the debt.
Now Kieran is on target to fully pay his debt off within nine months of starting work with his Financial Mentor Jude. Once his debt is gone, he has a goal to save a house deposit. He feels that his journey has been positive and exciting and explains, “I wanted to see how quick I could get rid of debt. I saw a way through it.” Of the new financial skills Kieran has gained he says, “They’re actually really simple skills and they’re quite easy to learn. I’d never thought of putting away money for expenses like doctors’ appointments or the dentist.” He now has separate accounts for expenses and says, “It’s just easy. You know the money’s just doing its own thing, automatically going into the account.”
Kieran is keen to recommend others to “take the plunge and face up to their debts,” and says, “sometimes you just need a third party who’s not involved to just look over things, because it’s quite easy to stick to what you know.”
By Janine Millington