Friends discovered I was £22,500 in debt when they found my secret Instagram

Welcome back to Me and My Money, Metro’s series taking a peek into the nation’s wallets and bank accounts.

This week we meet Megan Archer-Fox, a 33-year-old journalist and mum, who lives with her two children and partner David in Birmingham.

In her twenties and early thirties, Megan racked up £22,500 worth of credit card and overdraft debt. David wasn’t far behind, with £17,500 of loans to his name.

Wanting to hold herself accountable for change, Megan started sharing her debt journey via a TikTok and Instagram account, using the alias That Girl In Debt.

She didn’t hide her identity for long. A week after launching the anonymous accounts, she’d gained 3,000 followers and decided to show her face.

The problem? She hadn’t told any of her mates she was struggling with money in real life.

Today, Megan has a staggering 150,000 followers and just a fortnight ago, she and David finally paid off their £40,000 combined debt.Here’s how they did it.

Hi Megan, tell us about yourself and your history with money 

I didn’t really have a relationship with money growing up, I’d be given money for Christmas or birthdays and would always spend it. When I was 16 I got a job in a garden centre and spent my wages on clothes. I didn’t learn much about money, budgeting or debt when I was growing up. 

When I was 18 I went to the University of Northampton to study journalism. I lived in halls and bills came straight from my student loan. My parents each gave me £100 a month for food and fun and that £200 would keep me going. 

Early on, I spent it all in one week and my dad took me to a coffee shop, sat me down and gave me a lecture about being responsible. 

Soon after that, I took out a £200, interest-free, student overdraft which I used regularly, until one day I went to the bank, only to be told my overdraft was actually £1,200. 

I was delighted. Paying it off felt like tomorrow’s problem. 

How did debt continue to build? 

On leaving university I got my first job in Cirencester, so my overdraft wasn’t interest-free anymore. Instead I got a 0% interest money transfer from a credit card, so I paid off my overdraft and the debt was on a credit card. I made the minimum payments and thought I’d pay it off one day but it didn’t feel like a priority. 

When I was 23 I moved to Oxford, but shortly afterwards my relationship broke down. I started living in a houseshare and met my current partner David. I still had my credit card, which had now gone up to £2,000 and I was using my overdraft again as well. 

A year later, aged 24, I moved to Birmingham, with David, for a fresh start but I didn’t have any savings. Instead one day, I was on my banking app when I got a notification that I could take a loan out. I was able to click a button and scroll along, choosing how much I could take out- so I took out a £10,000 loan and it was instantly in my account, which is scary to think about now. 

I spent the money on moving, my half of the deposit and items for the house, but also on a spa weekend. I saw it as play money and it was probably one of the most reckless things I have done. I thought I’d solve it in time. Occasionally I’d panic and ring my dad in tears. I’d tell him I had loans or a credit card and he’d help a bit, but his advice didn’t stick. Then I took out another credit card to go on holiday. 

I got confused by the terminology and thought I wouldn’t have to pay interest on anything I spent within the first three months, so I spent what I wanted and booked a £2,000 holiday to Turkey. 

After that I cycled between being really upset by my debt and burying my head in the sand and hoping the problem would fix itself.  

When did you realise things were out of hand? 

It was only David, who had debt built up before we met, and I who knew the full scale of our problem. We both liked to spend and on our best months the debt didn’t go down, but on our worst months it increased. 

After two years, we bought a house on the outskirts of Birmingham, with help from family, and got two dogs and soon after, we had two sons, now aged four and two. Suddenly we were paying childcare fees, our mortgage and other costs while still in debt. 

I woke up in the mornings, worrying about money.  

For my partner’s birthday in 2024, I wanted to buy him trainers. The shoes cost £70 and I suddenly realised we needed to sort out our money and David agreed. I bought the trainers, but following his birthday, we decided to tackle our debt once and for all. On 3rd June, 2024, we sat down and added it all up and despite thinking I owed £20,000, I learnt I owed £22,500. Alarmingly we owed £40,000 together. 

How did you tackle paying it all off? 

We’d never had a budget before, but we sat together and worked out how much we’d have left over each month after paying bills and repayments. It wasn’t much, but it was something – I had about £250 a month leftover and David had slightly more. 

At the start we made lots of mistakes. Sometimes one of us would go out for dinner or drinks and overspend, but instead of getting cross, we’d sit together and work out what we’d do without, to balance the budget.

It was hard, we changed our whole life. I did anything I could to get extra money, like selling items on Vinted or picking up extra work shifts. I didn’t want the kids to grow up and see us in a financial hole. Eventually I started earning from social media, then my childcare costs went down, but it was very overwhelming at the start.  

Did you ever discuss your debt among friends? 

Occasionally I dropped into conversation that I couldn’t go to an event because I was waiting for payday. I think it was a bit of embarrassment and a bit of the stigma around debt. I was a mum, with a job, and in my thirties and I had so much debt – I felt like I’d somehow failed. But I wish I hadn’t felt like that! I try and share the message now that if you have debt, please don’t feel embarrassed. I think it stops us from speaking up about it. 

I was anonymous on my TikTok for a week but I got a huge response. I suddenly had 3,000 followers and loads of supportive and ‘me too’ comments and messages. I was surprised by how many others were in debt too. I realised how much being open was helping others, and it gave me the confidence to show by face and own up to the debt. It was only when my friends learnt about my social media accounts that they knew the truth.

They’ve been overwhelmingly supportive since, cheering me on the whole way. Whenever they invited me to meet during my debt payoff journey, they’d often suggest cheaper ideas too as they were aware of my situation. 

I’ve had more frank money conversations with them too since becoming more open, which I love.

What did it feel like to pay off the debt? 

Paying off the debt last month felt like a dream. We made our final repayment together on September 28, and now the last 17 months are a blur. Knowing that next month we won’t need to spend any of our money on debt is lovely. To celebrate, we took the boys out for lunch. 

I used to say the debt was the one thing which was bad in my life. I have beautiful children, a great partner and a good job, but an awful financial situation. Now my life feels wonderful. 

Talk us through your monthly income and spending 

My salary is £2,018 and I also earn from social media, but that amount fluctuates. Before, that money would have gone on paying the debt, but now I will be able to save it. 

I split the mortgage with my partner David, paying £511, and my half of the council tax, water bill and energy comes to £214.99 all together.  
I pay £12 each month for my phone and £39 for the internet, Disney and Netflix subscriptions and the television license.  

Car insurance is £24 a month and childcare comes out at £293 per month, my biggest expenditure after the mortgage.  

Other than that I pay £35 a month for travel to work by bus. 

Together we spend about £600 a month on groceries. I need to get better at tracking this so we can make savings.  

Whilst savings are low at the moment, now we are debt-free we can save for emergencies, Christmas or birthdays. 

My top savings tip?  

Give your savings a purpose, don’t just save for nothing. I’m much better at saving if I know it’s for a holiday, an emergency or something specific. If I’m saving for the sake of it, I’m more likely to spend the money. 

What would you say to others struggling with debt? 

I felt it was impossible and I’d be in debt forever, but it’s not true. There are so many options.  

I do think it would have been good to have a budgeting class at school and what I want to do now is go into schools and universities and share my story, because my passion is talking about debt and helping others. It’s the opportunity to make it into something wonderful. If anyone wants to talk about debt, they know where to find me. 

Follow Megan on Instagram @that_girl_in_debt and TikTok @thatgirlindebt.