Brought up on the beautiful Gower Peninsula, I left school in 1984 having completed my ‘O’ levels. (Yes – I was the last ever year to complete the old style exams!) I then went on to train as a chef and spent several years working at various different establishments throughout the Swansea area Having inflicted my culinary skills on too many unsuspecting residents, I then joined Lloyds TSB in the early 90’s where I was part of the management team that set up the first ever Lloyds Bank Call Centre in the UK. (Don’t hold it against me!) I led both personal and business banking teams, until I decided my future lay in a business environment.

After a number of years studying a variety of Institute of Banking qualifications, I became a Business Manager based in one of the main City branches where I worked for a number of years, assisting sole traders, partnerships and company directors in the day to day running of their businesses.

Whilst on maternity leave with my first child (never one to let the grass grow under my feet) I studied my CeMap mortgage exams and became a qualified Mortgage Broker. I returned to the Bank and became one of the first ever Mortgage Brokers to work out of a commercial business centre where I provided mortgage services for corporate clients.

Whilst expecting my second child in 2004, (told you, I can’t sit still!) I decided to take the plunge and leave the Bank altogether, setting up on my own as an Independent Mortgage Advisor.

In 2006 I was approached by another Mortgage Broker and asked to join forces with him.

Following what turned out to be a disastrous business partnership, where my business partner walked out and left me with huge debts, I was made personally bankrupt in July 2008 by a very aggressive creditor who wanted to ‘make an example’ of me. The worst part of this process was the fact that even though I was in a position to trade through the crisis and had done for the previous six months, repaying most of the debt that had been left, the creditors still pursued me. The last year has had an enormous impact on my life, for numerous reasons. I went from ‘having it all’ to losing the lot and it has taught me some very salutary lessons.

Now under new ownership albeit under a different name - Gower Mortgages has grown and thrives as a busy Mortgage Practice in a suburb of Swansea. I continue to work in the practice on a consultancy basis and spend a lot of time helping people who are in financial difficulties finding suitable solutions to meet their needs. We also specialise in various forms of commercial finance and give advice on secured loans and unsecured lending. We have many years of experience and are qualified to sell Life Insurance, (Term and Decreasing Term), Permanent Health Insurance (PHI), Critical Illness Insurance (CIC), and various types of general insurance, including Accident, Sickness and Unemployment Insurance (ASU) and Buildings and Contents insurance. There are four of us in the practice, three qualified mortgage brokers, two of us who are also Commercial Lending Specialists, and Claire, our Office Manager who keeps us all in check!

I also write a regular financial column in the South Wales Evening Post and for various other local publications in and around Wales.

Having experienced some very tough times, both personally and also professionally, and now living as a single mum with a very busy four year old little boy and a dance mad daughter of seven, I understand what it is to have severe financial worries, and I have first hand experience of sorting them out as well!

Having now been discharged from my bankruptcy, I feel I can relate to peoples anguish and trauma when they are faced with mounting debt, and I can understand the all too overwhelming panic it can cause them to feel. I really do hope I can use my experiences to help many people over the coming years.

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