Katie Radford's debt has escalated to such an extent that she's has to return her new car. The financial struggles of the 22 year old were revealed on the latest episode of 22 Kids and Counting, where she spoke publicly for the first time about her split from boyfriend Connor Carter, a year after their baby was born. Shortly after giving birth to her son Ronnie Hudson last year, Katie and Connor moved into a small flat two hours away from the rest of the family, and making ends meet has proven difficult.
Katie, who is the eighth eldest in Britain's largest family candidly discussed her financial woes. She said: "I have £700 for rent, council tax, gas, electric, water bill, that can all come up to £600 a month, so it is quite tough. "I am getting a lot of bills. I'll pay them as soon as I can, but just not right now. I am afraid to open them.
"You see all these people with all this stuff and you're like, I want that as well. So then you get it, even if you can't afford it, you get it, just to fit in. In the end, I feel like I can't match up so I'm failing. " She then added: "There's a brown envelope and I'm pretty sure that means you owe money," reports the Mirror.
She was also lagging on an £850 water bill and had a £50 Wi-Fi payment, a £160 gas and electric bill, as well as a £230 council tax payment. Katie also revealed she is shelling out £250 for car insurance and even had her card declined on a recent shopping trip.
"That's a lot of money. This letter says I missed my payment," she continued.
"This has made me realise that having a baby does change the way you spend your money, I can't carry on spending money the way I did before I went on maternity, something needs to change. I can't give Ronnie the lifestyle I'd like to. I don't know what's going to happen.
"We can't put this off any longer. I'm the only one that can fix this. I don't want to be in debt anymore. I don't want the fear of having someone knock on the door or bringing a letter. Enough is enough."
Katie then informed viewers about her decision to return her car back to the finance company. "It was a tough decision but it was the right one. That means I've got £800 a month to get Ronnie what he needs and get me out of debt. I've been thinking what mum and dad would do and dad would say, spend what you earn.
"I guess I tried to buy the world for Ronnie - I paid too much attention to what I think I should have, but at the end of the day, all I need is a smile from Ronnie and that costs me nothing. I am very proud of myself with how resilient I've been and dealt with all of this on my own."
Katie moved from the family's 11-bedroom mansion where she lived with her numerous siblings to a small flat miles away. She welcomed her first child with her boyfriend of six years, Connor, in October last year, but it hasn't all been plain sailing for the 22 year old and they have now split.
Struggling Katie confessed that she particularly misses her parents and feels like she's on her own. Later in the episode, she says that she misses the bustling nature of living at home with her many siblings.
