A 24-year-old Queensland woman who racked up $75,000 in debt and lost her job has revealed how declaring bankruptcy has helped her gain control of her life.
Brisbane woman Chantelle found herself in financial strife after losing her full-time job while trying to pay off a debt the size of her yearly wage.
The unemployed 24-year-old owed the bank $75,000 after taking out two personal loans and maxing-out a few credit cards.
She desperately tried searching for another job but eventually declared bankruptcy in September.
In a video shared to TikTok on Monday, Chantelle revealed how bankruptcy helped her despite initially being ‘so against’ the idea.
Brisbane woman Chantelle declared bankruptcy at just 24 years old after she found herself in financial strife when she lost her job and had amassed a debt the size of her yearly wage
‘If anyone out there is considering bankruptcy, I’m going to tell you my story and how it helped me and I hope it helps you make your decision,’ Chantelle said.
‘When my partner brought up that I should go bankrupt, at first I was so against it and I was like, “Absolutely not.”
‘I was just going to power through and scrimp and save… but at the end of the day, it’s not really best.’
She noted the bank had given her a ‘ridiculous’ amount of money and was surprised by how quickly she was able to spend it.
Chantelle said she was $75,000 in debt – ‘a lot for one person’ – and was struggling to find a job and a place to live, and also did not have savings or help from family.
The young woman explored her options and even called the bank claiming to be in financial hardship and unable to afford her repayments.
‘I had called the banks and I was like, “Please, I’m in financial hardship, I can’t afford this,”‘ she said.
‘They gave me useless options that would just pause [repayments] for a month or two and then I’d have to pay double. So it was not helpful.’
Chantelle said it was ‘impossible’ to keep up with her repayments as she owed $200 a week for each loan on top of her credit card debts and weekly rent.
‘It was just impossible. I wasn’t getting anywhere, and I would try and would use money from one to pay another,’ Chantelle said.
‘The interest alone each month – I’m paying for nothing. It was so frustrating and I was just really upset.’
Chantelle said she could either ‘scrimp and save’ and be ‘miserable’ or declare bankruptcy and opt for an immediate ‘fresh start’.
‘The breaking point was when you sit down and realise “I’m going to live only once, I’m going to die one day, who cares if I was bankrupt?” No one cares,’ Chantelle said.
‘I can scrimp and save and be miserable for seven years and start from zero again or I can have it all gone now and start fresh now and enjoy the next seven years of my life, so f**k it.’
![The 24-year-old explained she was initially against the idea of declaring bankruptcy but wanted a fresh start after realising she could not pay off her two personal loans and numerous credit cards](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/10/05/04/76187407-12595701-The_24_year_old_explained_she_was_initially_against_the_idea_of_-a-28_1696477813579.jpg)
The 24-year-old explained she was initially against the idea of declaring bankruptcy but wanted a fresh start after realising she could not pay off her two personal loans and numerous credit cards
Chantelle claims to have learned her lesson and has to deal with the repercussions of declaring bankruptcy.
Declaring bankruptcy is a legal process where a person who is unable to pay their debts is released from their obligations, giving them the chance of a fresh start, but faces certain restrictions in return.
The process normally lasts for three years and one day and affects a person’s ability to apply for credit, travel overseas or even gain certain types of employment.
A bankrupt’s name will also appear on Australia’s National Personal Insolvency Index (NPII).
A person must gain permission from their registered trustee manager for their bankruptcy if they wish to travel overseas.
The manager also has the power to sell the assets of the person who is declared bankrupt.
In another video, Chantelle said she took out one of the loans to go on an international holiday with her boyfriend – an international student who works part-time as an Uber Eats driver.
Chantelle believed that she could pay back the loan once the pair returned home because she had received a promotion at work and would work overtime.
However, on her return she became very sick and realised she could not go to work because of her illness.
‘After the holiday, I got Covid, and something went wrong. I started feeling faint all the time, and my vision was blurry,’ Chantelle said.
‘I couldn’t focus and I didn’t register where I was. It started giving me panic attacks and freaking me out.
‘I took all my sick leave, went to doctors, and even went to a long Covid clinic but no one could help.’
The young woman went on a management plan and reduced her hours but her health did not improve and eventually lost her job as working from home was not an option in her role.
Chantelle said she had no ‘savings’ and was frequently visiting doctors to get her health back on track – all of which ‘cost money’.
She and her partner were also hit with a rental increase of $250 per week and were forced to find a cheaper alternative – which put them further into debt.
‘We then had to move and buy furniture. Then after six months I still was trying to find a job, using credit to pay for rent and food and using one loan to pay another, and it was snowballing,’ Chantelle said.
![Statistics released by the Australian Financial Security Authority found personal insolvencies across Australia increased by 17.6 per cent in the quarter to June 2023](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/10/05/04/76187771-12595701-Statistics_released_by_the_Australian_Financial_Security_Authori-a-27_1696477812631.jpg)
Statistics released by the Australian Financial Security Authority found personal insolvencies across Australia increased by 17.6 per cent in the quarter to June 2023
The young woman admitted she had made some ‘bad choices’ financially and should have saved money but did not think she would be in this situation because she had a well-paying job.
‘I was fit. I was healthy. I always worked overtime. Because of those choices when something did go wrong, I had no safety net, and it fell apart so quickly,’ Chantelle said.
She encouraged others thinking about declaring bankruptcy to do what makes them happy or to just ‘do it for the plot’.
Statistics released by the Australian Financial Security Authority found personal insolvencies across Australia increased by 17.6 per cent in the quarter to June 2023.
There were 2,705 new personal insolvencies in that period – up from 2,301 in June 2022, with 1,569 of those bankruptcies.
National data shows personal insolvencies rose in all states and territories, except for South Australia and Western Australia where numbers remained steady.
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