I hit rock bottom after spending $300,000 on booze, designer bags, shoes and so-called ‘friends’. Here’s how I turned my life around

An Aussie woman has recalled the horrifying cycle of abuse that landed her in $300,000 of debt and how she finally broke her destructive spending habits. 

Liz Porter, 54, hit rock bottom after seven years of spending her $4,000-a-month income on partying, clothes and designer bags while failing to pay her bills and sinking further into crippling debt. 

Ms Porter turned to spending as a way to cope with the abuse she suffered at the hands of boyfriends as well as being conned out of money by so-called friends.

Today, Ms Porter is an IT manager in Australia’s health sector and a proud home owner in Melbourne’s Docklands, an achievement which seemed impossible when she was declared bankrupt at the age of 28. 

The 54-year-old explained how her problems spiralled because she had low self-esteem, which began while she was at school.

‘I was made to feel stupid, I even had teachers tell me that I will never amount to anything so I spent a lot of my younger years believing I was stupid and that everything I did was my fault,’ she told Daily Mail Australia.

‘When you feel bad about yourself you attract people that are not good for you and I had relationships that were abusive. They used to tell me I was fat, ugly, disgusting.’

When the abuse turned violent, Ms Porter turned to spending.

Liz Porter, 54, hit rock bottom in her 20s after seven years of abuse and out of control spending

Today, Ms Porter is the proud owner of an apartment in Melbourne’s Docklands (stock image)

‘The only way I could ever feel good was buying frivolous stuff to make myself feel good,’ she said. 

The 54-year-old admitted periods of spending coincided with moments in her life where she felt worthless.

She recalled a horrifying incident with an ex-boyfriend who pushed her down the stairs and then accused her of being ‘clumsy’. 

‘Even old school friends would come into my life and they’d rip me off, take advantage of me and get money out of me,’ she said. 

In one such incident, Ms Porter’s friend tricked her into signing a lease for a three-bedroom property and then refused to pay her share.

At her lowest, Ms Porter was spending her $4,000-a-month income on clothes, shoes and bags, admitting she now has ‘nothing to show for it’.

She turned to alcohol and food for comfort, and ended up weighing 130kg at her heaviest. Over the course of seven years, Ms Porter’s spending racked up to over $300,000. 

‘I would spend, spend, spend and then think “I haven’t got money for rent”,’ she said.

Ms Porter struggled to tell her family her spiralling debts as she feared her loved ones would think she was ‘stupid’.

Ms Porter turned to spending after suffering abuse at the hands of ex-boyfriends

After being sexually and violently assaulted, Ms Porter finally opened up to her family who advised her to speak to a counsellor. 

‘When I spoke to a counsellor about the abuse it was like opening a can of worms and initially my spending habits worsened because I was so upset and I needed to feel better about myself,’ Ms Porter said.

The counsellor suggested she see a financial advisor and she was subsequently declared bankrupt at the age of 28. 

With $40,000 worth of debt, she first entered into a Part IX debt agreement, which is an alternative to bankruptcy for individuals struggling to repay their debts. 

After paying back $10,000, Ms Porter’s counsellor said her debts were taking too great a toll on her mental health. 

They advised the ‘broken’ Melbourne local to file for bankruptcy, a legal process where you’re declared unable to pay back your debts. 

In Victoria, bankruptcy typically lasts three years and one day. Credit reporting agencies keep a record for five years from the date of bankruptcy or two years after your discharge, whichever is later.

Ms Porter said her counsellor’s belief in her completely changed her mindset. 

Ms Porter admitted ‘the only way I could ever feel good was buying frivolous stuff’

Ms Porter was spending her $4,000 a month income on alcohol, clothes and shoes

She rebuilt her life and landed a job as an IT supervisor at Telstra, where she quickly rose through the ranks.

Years later, she took voluntary redundancy and used the money to enroll in a financial management course. 

After believing she would rent for the rest of her life, Ms Porter was shocked to learn that her consistent rental history, strong income, and savings from the redundancy made her an ideal candidate for a mortgage.

Ms Porter went on to get a new job and bought a unit in Melbourne Docklands, the same area where she had rented for 13 years. 

The 54-year-old is now looking to the future and hopes to retire early, something that would have seemed impossible when she was younger.

She stressed the importance of being kind to yourself during hardships and ‘learning to love yourself’ and realising ‘you’re stronger than you think you are’. 

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