-
Turning Straw into Gold: Creating Long Term Security & A Solid Home
Hello, I am joining you on the debt free journey, for a couple
of loans that are giving me anxiety and also my mortgage. I have been reading
these diaries for inspiration and it’s time to start my own. I hope to get to
know many of you as time goes on. I moved into my home last April and I have some
loan repayments that…
-
The Cutting Down Alcohol Challenge for August & 2026 :)
Welcome to the Cutting Down Alcohol challenge for the month of August and for 2026! 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…
-
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 😆…
-
Debt and Caring
An unprovoked attack on my ankle by a metal workout bench has me lying down with a foot up this evening. Which makes this the ideal time to start this diary. And possibly to declutter some exercise equipment... Yesterday I was £9993.61 in debt. Today I have made a £1500 payment to one of my credit cards taking me down to…
-
Balancing the books
After some pondering, I've decided to start a new diary to reflect a new focus chez la maison Blackcats. My previous diary (giving every £ a job) was pivotal to moving from early retirement wannabe to achieving early retirement and it has kept me on the straight and narrow through my first years of leisure time. Being on…
-
After 20+ years here I'm not sure where I belong anymore ...
So it's time for a brand new diary, welcome to anyone new, welcome back to anyone who has followed my journey along the way. I've been on here since I became a single parent in 2005, recording the highs, the lows, and mainly the hum drum of everyday life, all while trying to save my pennies. I've always loved this board…
-
And so a new journey to being debt free begins
Hello, I have lurked on these pages so long, carrying the shame of debt, never quite being able to get on top of things, finding myself spending in times of being down, trying to impress, trying to exist and because really during most of my adult life not having a very good relationship with money. I now find myself…
-
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…
-
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…
-
Advice for SOA
How do I get an accurate SOA? This is the recent result and it is sooooo far off correct. On a good month I get to around 10 days from payday before I'm using the credit card for basics. With the buildings insurance (arrives Dec) and water rates (Mar and Sept), I pay on receipt. Currently by using C/C, which I want to…
-
2026 - consolidation and calm
I've decided to start a fresh diary for 2026. 2025 was a bit of a rollercoaster year for us: * My post being put forward for redundancy at the end of 2024, though it was then reinstated thankfully * Restructure at work meaning many great colleagues (and loads of knowledge) going * DH's redundancy at work, then finding a…
-
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…
-
The Little Cottage by the Sea
Hello my loves, I've wandered these threads for a few years and old versions of myself have had different user names and different diaries. I feel like this is a new chapter. One where I'm content and capable and I hope to bring you along for the story. The diary title is me manifesting the dream. I have come a long way,…
-
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…
-
Need to stop spending and chasing dopamine!
Hello! I’m creating this diary to hold me accountable, as I’ve been trying to pay this debt off for 3 years now and I just keep kicking the can down the road so to speak. The good news is it’s all on 0% interest. The bad news is I need to have the most boring year next year (aside from a holiday) to be able to pay it all…
-
Let's get this sorted then!
Hey everyone, I went back to uni just before I turned 40, so have quite a lot of debt from that, and from generally trying to live whilst working and studying. I tackled a bit before the end of 2024, but that was mostly getting on top of things, doing some 0% balance transfers, and I paid of two small debts of about £250…
-
My Off-grid and need to be frugal diary
New year, new start - trying to save in 2025.
-
Hopefully cruising, with focus, towards retirement
hello and welcome to my new diary. I’ve been kicking around here for a fair few years and dealt with debt for a lot longer. I am however happy to declare that I am debt free and mortgage free. This is despite my last mortgage starting at £160k on the same house where my original mortgage was £38700. Multiple consolidations…
-
Road To Financial Recovery
Ah, time to get back into the race so to speak, can’t believe I am doing this again.It is time to start taking finances seriously again. It is a rubbish feeling to be back in a position where I feel my finances are back in a mess. There isn’t any major debt so that is a positive of course but feel like a plan is needed…
-
Next steps; grip-relaxing bimbling, and avoiding the temptations
Time, I think, to start a new diary. My first was about removing our debts, paying off our mortgage and working towards, and through, the first few years of not working. I don't call it retirement at that point, because a wealth of volunteer activities were taken on or continued, and a number of hobbies aspired to or taken…
