Alaina Tonga took a two-and-a-half year journey out of debt to become the mother she felt her children deserved. “I feel like the coolest mum on earth.”It is a far cry from where she was in 2018, when she had $17,500 in personal debt. About 65 per cent of CAP clients said they had struggled to provide adequate clothing or shoes for their children. Tonga feels the insidious eroding effect debt has on mental health is not widely recognised, and she can see the signs of debt-induced mental unwellness of people with debt. Tonga says she has been humbled by her experience with debt, and the help she has had to go debt free.

Source: Stuff March 13, 2021 16:00 UTC