How I manage my moneyI'm a 23-year-old nurse in Leeds paying off my overdraft while living at home

I am 23, I qualified as a nurse eighteen months ago and I work on a respiratory ward in Leeds. My basic salary is £28,400. With unsocial hours it varies a little, but I budget on the basic.

I live with my mum, dad and younger brother in the house I grew up in.

How it got here

By the end of university I had a £1,500 overdraft and £1,900 on a credit card. None of it was dramatic. It was train fares to placements, food, a laptop that died in second year, and saying yes to things because everyone else was.

The overdraft was interest-free while I was a student. After I graduated, the bank gave me a grace period and then started charging. That was the push I needed.

I did not feel like I was in debt. I felt like I was a student. Then I was a nurse with a student's debts.

The plan

I take home about £1,950 a month. I give my parents £300 towards the house and food, which is far less than rent anywhere in Leeds and which I insisted on, because I did not want to feel like a guest.

I put £550 a month towards debt. The credit card went first, because it charged more interest. That was cleared in four months. The overdraft took another three.

Since then, the £550 has gone into savings. I have about £2,800 put by now, and that number still surprises me every time I see it.

Shift work and spending

Twelve-hour shifts change how you spend. After a long day I used to buy dinner on the way home because I could not face cooking. That was easily £100 a month. Now I batch-cook on days off and take food in.

Parking at the hospital is around £40 a month. Travel and my phone are another £90 together.

The guilt

Some of my friends are renting their own places and I feel behind. My mum tells me this is what the house is for. I am trying to believe her.

Living at home was not a failure. It was the fastest, cheapest way out of a hole I dug for perfectly ordinary reasons.

Pension

I am in the NHS Pension Scheme. I briefly thought about opting out to clear the debt faster, and I am glad I asked a senior colleague first. She explained that I would be giving up my employer's contribution, and I stayed in.

What's next

I want three months of expenses saved before I move out. Then I would like to rent with a friend from my cohort, ideally somewhere I can walk to work.

What I'd tell a student nurse

Your overdraft will not stay free forever, so find out when the charges start. Pay off the most expensive debt first. And if you can live somewhere cheap for a year after qualifying, it buys you a lot of breathing room.