Loraine was left with ‘nothing’ with 15 years ago – but things changed
A teacher with £3,500 of debt succeeded in clearing it and settling her mortgage completely – with assistance from the humble envelope. Brit Loraine Bertolini, 62, claims she was left with “nothing” when she departed from her marriage 15 years ago.
She had succeeded in buying her own three-bedroom ex-council property for £38,000 after exchanging her teaching profession for a higher-paid position as a director of operations in hospitality at a football club. However, when her contract concluded, she found herself unemployed – subsisting on £50-a-week Universal Credit for four months, before securing a call centre role earning £800-a-month.
Subsequently, Loraine discovered a method to organise her finances. She separated her wages into weekly cash envelopes, depending exclusively on cash to maintain her expenditure low, while also buying “yellow sticker” discounted food products to reduce her shopping expenses.
She ultimately obtained a return to teaching, but was compelled to re-negotiate her mortgage owing to an estimated £3,500 in arrears and loan repayments. By staying thrifty and maximising her income, Loraine successfully eliminated all her debts and settled her mortgage entirely in 2023, reports the Mirror.
Loraine, a teacher from Falkirk, Scotland, states: “I left my marriage with nothing. It’s a big thing for women and the biggest worry they first face – financially thinking ‘how am I going to cope on one wage or no wage?’
“Eventually I started doing a thing where when I got paid, I paid my bills and split the rest into weekly envelopes. Basically I financially cut myself down on everything. At one point I changed jobs to try and get more money in but I got paid off that job as my contract ended.
“Then I was out of that job and took another job which didn’t cover all of my bills – just some of my bills – just to get paid. I was in a position where if I didn’t have a job I wouldn’t get help from anything.”
Loraine explains she originally rented her former marital home for £450 monthly after separating from her husband of three decades, eventually divorcing in 2016. She obtained a new role paying one and a half times her teaching wage and bought the property she’d been leasing with a £2,000 deposit in October 2008.
Yet when that position concluded 18 months afterwards, Loraine was forced to renegotiate her mortgage repayments – having fallen eight months into arrears. She said: “I was constantly in contact with mortgage companies to say ‘I don’t have the money this month’.
“They were very good and said ‘don’t pay that, pay what you can pay as long as it’s something’. It was really embarrassing.
“I would buy second hand clothes instead of new clothes. My phone bill I’d taken it right down and moved to a pay as you go instead of a contract.
“I cut down my Sky package. I got rid of that. I had health insurance – I had to cut that and take that away.
“I would sell things if I had to sell them to make sure I had enough to pay enough for my bills.”
With no dependants – her daughter was studying at university in Australia – she revealed she received just £50 per week in Universal Credit.
Her call centre role failed to cover her outgoings, compelling her to “cut things to the bare minimum”. She also took on occasional catering work for children’s christenings and birthday parties, yet still struggled to keep up with her payments.
Loraine changed her habits over her car and clothes
After eight months, she secured a teaching post 30 miles from her home – spending £500 on an old banger to complete the daily commute. She walked wherever possible, using her car exclusively for work trips, bought second-hand clothing, and traded goods at car boot sales to cover her monthly costs.
She explained: “I quickly found out people buy more if the clothes are on a rail and everything is a fiver or £5, people will buy it.” Her £33,000 teaching salary allowed her to steadily pay off the £1,500 mortgage arrears and £2,000 loan.
Loraine recalled: “I didn’t really go out anywhere, if I wanted to see people I would invite them over to the house. I had no holidays.
“Any money I was making extra I was sending to my daughter in Australia as she was a student. I sold things including one of my two TVs to make sure I had enough to pay for my bills.
“I got to know the times of the shops and when they reduce stuff. I’d go into Tesco’s at certain times, then visit MandS at 5pm and Iceland at 8am, when it opened.”
Yet after 15 years of careful budgeting, Loraine paid off her mortgage in 2023 and now owns her home outright. She disclosed: “I’ve got money saved and my credit rating is excellent now.
“I have saved £15,000 and renovated my kitchen and bathroom. When I was married it wasn’t like that.
“I wasn’t meant to divorce. People worry about that, worry what others think but they shouldn’t.
“You only get one life, one shot at this. After 30 years I did it. I’m a stronger person than I ever was and more confident than I ever was.”
