I Went Into Debt to Look Like Kim Kardashian

Getting paid to impersonate Kim Kardashian is apparently not enough to pay for all the surgery it takes to look like her in the first place. Claire Leeson, a 24-year-old Londoner, knows this from experience, Metro reports, but she doesn’t seem too bothered by the collectors hounding her for the $30,000 of credit card debt she racked up for her transformation. After all, she looks like Kim Kardashian, whom she idolizes.

She’s not done with her nip/tuck spree, either. Leeson said she plans to have fat removed from various parts of her body and have it implanted into her butt, because at the moment, she replicates Kardashian’s rear end using butt pads. Those alone set her back about $600.

The bulk of Leeson’s makeover involved a breast augmentation (about $8,600), hair extensions ($7,700) and a new wardrobe ($5,400). The padding for her derrière was actually the least expensive thing she charged. Teeth whitening cost roughly $4,300, and makeup and spray tans totaled about $1,700 each. Kardashian’s nails are apparently exquisite, because Leeson spent more than $800 on hers.

Now she just needs to find a good Kanye West impersonator to marry.

Chasing Happiness & Falling Into Debt

On a British morning show, Leeson said being in “debt up to my eyeballs” pales in comparison to the way she feels after her transformation. Before her surgeries, Leeson said bullies told her she was ugly, damaging her self-esteem.

“When I get my Kimmy on I feel like I’m unstoppable and untouchable and I feel like no one can stop me and I can make something of myself. I feel strong… and I feel that I have built enough confidence to love myself a little bit more,” Leeson said on ThisMorning.

Typically, debt isn’t much of a self-esteem booster, particularly after the novelty of whatever you bought wears off. It’s unclear how she plans to pay for more surgery when she is already $30,000 in the hole, but perhaps she has more credit at her disposal. That likely won’t last long if she fails to make payments on her debt.

Leeson’s story is a perfect example of how easy it is to abuse credit cards and wreak havoc on your finances in the process. Credit cards, while fantastic financial tools when used properly, take something designed to be used to fulfill your needs (credit) and makes it easily accessible for satisfying your wants.

Carrying high levels of debt and failing to repay it will trash your credit, which makes it more difficult to access credit in the future, not to mention necessities like utilities and housing. Credit card debt isn’t a death sentence to financial success, but it takes a while to recover from, and you can only make progress once you thoroughly evaluate where your debts stand. To get started, review your annual credit reports and check your credit scores, which you can get for free through Credit.com.