Ruth Langsford opened up on her past struggles with debt on Loose Women earlier today (January 31).
The presenter appeared on the ITV programme alongside fellow panellists, Judi Love, Jane Moore and Brenda Edwards.
During the show, the group went on to discuss the topic of ‘buy now, pay later’ shopping schemes.
Ruth Langsford shares debt struggles on Loose Women
Judi and Brenda revealed that he had both had their own problems with debt.
At one point, Judi even struggled to pay her bills and had her electricity cut off.
Meanwhile, Ruth went into detail on how she managed to get into debt with store cards.
He took the cards and he cut them up
Sharing her own experience, she explained: “I remember at a very young age, when I got my first job, of getting into store card debt. So I remember going to Chelsea Girl – as it was then – and buying one thing.
“Then there was something on the counter that said, ‘You can have £200-worth of clothes right now for just £5 a month!’ And I was working and I was like, ‘That’s good actually!’
“So I filled in the form, I had a bank account and so I got my £200 worth of clothes.”
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However, Ruth admitted that her debts began to pile up after signing up to various other store cards.
She continued: “But I didn’t do just one store. I was somewhere else and I ended up with three store cards, which were all £5 a month and with my first wage, suddenly it wasn’t manageable anymore and I started to panic.”
The star was helped out by a bank manager, who was able to guide Ruth in the right direction.
Ruth reveals how she managed to get out of debt
“[He] called me in because I was overdrawn two months in a row,” she added.
“He called me in and said, ‘What’s going on here?’ and I said, ‘Oh, I’ve got these cards.’
“He took the cards and he cut them up and said, ‘Right, this is what we’re going to do – I’m going to give you a loan, we’re going to pay all of those off and you’re never to use them again because you’re not using them properly.’
“I was young – 18 was my first job – and he made me only have cash and I had to write down everything that I was spending. When you actually see the cash and not a card… and you start to panic.”
Meanwhile, viewers at home also shared their view on the debate.
Read more: Ruth Langsford reveals real reason she won’t join husband Eamonn Holmes on GB News
On Twitter, one said: “This is another issue now, people don’t use cash. You swipe a card or your phone so it doesn’t feel like you’re spending money. It’s so easy to get into debt but so hard to get out of #LooseWomen.”
A second added: “Ended up homeless due to illness, leading to debt. It’s horrible. #LooseWomen.”
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