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Moving on
Welcome to my new thread: my old one is here: Cherry takes the reins — MoneySavingExpert Forum and my very old one is here: Coffee and chocolate — MoneySavingExpert Forum Quite a lot changed in 2023, and now it's time to move on. I left the job and career path I'd followed for many years and don't feel I can or should go…
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The Diary Of Onebrokelady Aged 60 And A Half
New Year new diary 😀 erm that's all I've got to say 😂😂
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Paying off No 27 - Back again and £34K in the red!
Hello I am back again... :) It's been awhile since I have been here so for those of you who were around then, I have paid debt down and built back up and I am trying (again) to face the music. To those of you who are new I am a Single mum of 2 who works full time and lives miles beyond her means. :s I should have cared way…
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Teetering on the brink
Where to start! My life has not been without challenges and I have had times where I’ve had a lot of debt, and times where I have had none. I always felt proud to say I have never missed a payment and always managed to get out of a sticky situation myself no matter what. But this time, I am not convinced I will find a way,…
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Keeping afloat till I can get round to the debts!
So here goes with a brand new diary. With the financial situation across the country as it is I'm going paycheck to paycheck and debts seem to be going up not down. It's time to take stock. Focus on the money actually lasting the month and forming a new plan. I've never been one for following the American debt fella but I…
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The Cutting Down Alcohol challenge for August & 2025 :)
Welcome to the Cutting Down Alcohol challenge for the month of June and for 2025! This challenge is all about helping people cut down or even give up on their alcohol consumption, mainly for health reasons, but it can also save a lot of money, because the cost of buying alcohol really mounts up over time and sometimes you…
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We will get this debt down & the savings up
Several years ago I joined MSE with a different user name, but then it all went a bit wrong with losing job and other things, so I sort of fell by the wayside. Now I have created a new profile and am starting again with more determination. I have read so many people's diaries and can see that it helps you focus and it is…
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Seasidegal's Scrimpy Retirement Diary!
Hi there!😀 Having finally retired from work last Friday as my State Pension kicked in, I have decided to start a new diary as I begin the next stage in my life. I began my first diary on these boards in 2014 when I was 58 and in £31,000's worth of debt!😱 I realised time was fast approaching to retirement and that I needed…
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Progress not Perfection
Happy New Year! I thought it was about time I started a new diary. I've been on these diaries since 2008. My last diary is here Things
can only get better My first diary is here Champagne Lifestyle Lemonade Budget and the one after that here Looking for the Silver Lining. That's a hell of a lot of waffle over the years 😆…
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My Off-grid and need to be frugal diary
New year, new start - trying to save in 2025.
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A Ditherer's Diary (again)
I'm baaaack. When I started my original diary "A Ditherer's Diary" My kids were littlie's aged 5 and 15 months. Nothing except their age and the amount of debt has changed, it's all got higher! They are now 11 & 7. Having had a quick read through, a lot of it was me coming and going with a few months/years in between. I…
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An in-between phase
I am largely starting this thread so as to not rudely put a long whinge on the lovely @foxgloves and @EssexHebridean threads! I will talk a little more about my slightly unsettled life situation in due course, but for now, just whinging 😂 Today I have been trying to switch to a more money saving phone contract. It has been…
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Do it for your future self
Hey all, Here i am again, my third diary and each time i come back with more and more debt. I have been feeling so hopeless recently, this debt has been weighing on me so heavy - was it 100 percent my own fault by living beyond my means (yes) but its making me not want to exist i feel so trapped to be honest. I’m not…
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Debt Free at 63... What next?... [Equity release on mortgage free house 2025]
Hi, I need some sage advice from our fantastic hive-mind :) I am considering equity release on mortgage free house in the next couple of years. Sadly my son died a couple of years ago so I now have no family I want to leave my inheritance to. * I am single, 63 (still work teaching 3/7 days and reach pension age at 66) * I…
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Should itsthelittlethings spend less on coffee?
Hopefully this works as an all new diary for me. Will add my debt into my signature and keep track of how I do going along.
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Living Large, on a Small Income, by the Sea.
I am living by the sea in a beautiful house. (I can’t believe that sentence is about me) I have spent two years living in other people’s homes. I ended up on a sofa for several months. The joy of my own home, my own key, my own bed…it is indescribable. I had to go to the top of my budget to buy the house, but it is exactly…
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Hopefully debt free before Mortgage renewal in June 2026
Hi, So, My mortgage is due for renewal in June 2026. I bought a house for £190,000 with around a £48,000 deposit on a 5 year fixed rate of 1.63% interest which comes to an end on 30th June 2026. I currently owe £129,363 and pay £517.72 and i have 25 years and 6 months left to pay (i will be 68 when this ends). I know…
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The Frugal Hearth: Stories of Simple Living and Living Well
Hello, and welcome, one and all to my new debt free diary! My Journey I started my old diary at the beginning of 2020, a couple of months before the pandemic hit the UK and we went into lockdown. That diary can be found here…
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Plodding Along
I've been on here for a good few months now so it's about time I start my own diary. I have been in debt since I was 18 when I got my first credit card and I'm 41 and a half now. The debt has fluctuated over the years with the highest being around the £20k mark, but my head was firmly buried in the sand then. I started to…
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Back again
Morning everyone, I closed my DF diary a few months ago for various reasons at the time. However on reflection I think I haven't been myself for months , but I feel myself coming out of the place I've been and wanted to be back here. The last two years have been very testing with RL things going on in the back ground but…