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The Debt Free Roll Of Honour
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Congratulations :TLong time lurker here....
a. The date of your lightbulb moment - there have been a few! Oct 2008 the proper one where I consolidated debt and made a concerted effort to stick to paying it off.
b. Debts at their highest - £15000 plus 5 years worth of student loans
c. Debt-Free Date - Feb 2012. Would have been a month earlier but i decided to start saving!
d. Your one pearl of wisdom - Keep track of everything.
I have been a long time reader on this site albeit I don't say much, but I would like to thank people for the advise I have read along the way. Now, off to sort out my savings spreadsheet - 2012 is the year of SAVE!
Here's to saving money rather than paying off debt :T0 -
Congratulations :Ta. The date of your lightbulb moment: Honestly can't say I had one; more a growing recognition over the last few years that I'd been in some degree of debt or other since uni which wasn't really going down, and now in my early 30s, it was time to get rid.
b. Debts at their highest: £6,000 credit cards, three years of student loan £9,000
c. Debt-Free Date: Today!!
d. Your one pearl of wisdom: Education and learning is everything - I read Martin's books, lurked here for years without posting, and kept telling myself about pizza. You get a nice pizza in your paycheck, and a slice has to go to rent, to your bills, another to your pension, and to your debt repayments. Work out your outgoings, and be absolutely clinical!
Today is my DFD! It's a lovely feeling to know that I owe absolutely nothing to anybody. No credit cards, no student loans, no anything.
I've always been lucky enough to have good jobs, but those wages, until a couple of years ago, were always mismanaged where I was living ever-so-slightly beyond my means. Not enough to be in 'trouble', but enough for a chunk of debt (that £6k) to sit, tarting from card to card to card, not going down. And nothing POSITIVE was happening with my money.
At the the exact time I was getting serious about MoneySaving - budgeting, planning, and thinking about pizza, I received a promotion at work. I used all but every penny of my pay rise towards repayments, and really "went for it". And today is payday where the slices going towards the repayments are the last ones.
The best part - I can now actually use my money for positive, constructive means without having slices go to repayments. Fantastic.
I've got a wedding to save for, my pension in the UK to really bolster (I'm currently on a work placement overseas, hence wanting to rid of the UK student loan, which were being paid from my post-tax overseas income), and an emergency fund to build up for piece of mind. Me and my Mrs are now reguarly paying a small amount, standing order, each payday, for that purpose.
Thank you to everyone who posts good advice and support on this board - it's really appreciated, even by those who don't post but just read. Also, my absolute best wishes to everyone out there who are a little behind me or just starting to MoneySave. It's well worth it! :beer:
Enjoy your debt free life
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Can there be a more inspiring, impressive thread on any other message board?
People at the end of a bad patch, having sorted themselves out through pure hard work and education, allowing themselves a moment of celebration, with the support of the MSE community around them.
Just brilliant!!0 -
What Kayfabe said ^^^^Can there be a more inspiring, impressive thread on any other message board?
People at the end of a bad patch, having sorted themselves out through pure hard work and education, allowing themselves a moment of celebration, with the support of the MSE community around them.
Just brilliant!!0 -
Long time lurker here....
a. The date of your lightbulb moment - there have been a few! Oct 2008 the proper one where I consolidated debt and made a concerted effort to stick to paying it off.
b. Debts at their highest - £15000 plus 5 years worth of student loans
c. Debt-Free Date - Feb 2012. Would have been a month earlier but i decided to start saving!
d. Your one pearl of wisdom - Keep track of everything.
I have been a long time reader on this site albeit I don't say much, but I would like to thank people for the advise I have read along the way. Now, off to sort out my savings spreadsheet - 2012 is the year of SAVE!
Congratulations!!0 -
a. The date of your lightbulb moment - December 2004 was when I took the bull by the horns and consolidated my debts and vowed to not borrow another penny
b. Debts at their highest - £12000 plus around £4500 in student loans
c. Debt-Free Date - 16th December 2011.
d. Your one pearl of wisdom - Budget, budget, budget! The biggest thing for me was to use personal accounting software. Before, I used to bury my head n the sand. Now I know exactly how much money I've got, and if I don't have the money I don't buy it/do it. This is the free software I've been using
Finally, thank you to everybody on these forums. I've not posted much over the last several years, but it's been a constant source of inspiration.
Onwards and upwards to the Mortgage-Free Wannabe board!
Cheers :beer:0 -
a. The date of your lightbulb moment - December 2004 was when I took the bull by the horns and consolidated my debts and vowed to not borrow another penny
b. Debts at their highest - £12000 plus around £4500 in student loans
c. Debt-Free Date - 16th December 2011.
d. Your one pearl of wisdom - Budget, budget, budget! The biggest thing for me was to use personal accounting software. Before, I used to bury my head n the sand. Now I know exactly how much money I've got, and if I don't have the money I don't buy it/do it. This is the free software I've been using
Finally, thank you to everybody on these forums. I've not posted much over the last several years, but it's been a constant source of inspiration.
Onwards and upwards to the Mortgage-Free Wannabe board!
Cheers :beer:
Well Done! :T:T:T0 -
Date of light bulb moment: December 2009
Debts at their highest: 32000
Debt-Free Date: 17th February 2012
Pearl of wisdom: I was totally 100% aware and in control of my actions when misusing my credit cards and requesting loan increases. It was easy money, and fast. A huge debt was built up in no time at all without noticing the cliff that would need to be conquered later on. My advice is simple - any time you want to borrow money think hard about whether you really need it. Is the product or service essential? If the answer is no, I guarantee you will feel worse in the struggle to pay it back than whatever short lived joy the borrowing bought. And for a much longer period of time.
DFW debt diary: My light bulb post0 -
prunesquallor wrote: »Date of light bulb moment: December 2009
Debts at their highest: 32000
Debt-Free Date: 17th February 2012
Pearl of wisdom: I was totally 100% aware and in control of my actions when misusing my credit cards and requesting loan increases. It was easy money, and fast. A huge debt was built up in no time at all without noticing the cliff that would need to be conquered later on. My advice is simple - any time you want to borrow money think hard about whether you really need it. Is the product or service essential? If the answer is no, I guarantee you will feel worse in the struggle to pay it back than whatever short lived joy the borrowing bought. And for a much longer period of time.
DFW debt diary: My light bulb post
Well Done :j0 -
Wow! Never thought this day would come, but I've been dreaming about it for a very long time. Today I have become debt free. Wahoo!
Date of Lightbulb moment: I think there were several flickers but joined here in 2010 and got down to things so feb 2010
Debts at their highest: £18,000
Debt Free Date: 24.2.2012
Pearl of Wisdom: Erm..... Not a lot to say really. Don't put it off, grab the bull by the horns, and never give in. Never!
Debt Free Diary: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3694979
M&S £2878.22/ Natwest £3526/ Loan £405/ [STRIKE]Sofa £0[/STRIKE]/ [STRIKE]Ring £0[/STRIKE]/
Savings £12.04 NSD 3/10 :cool:Total £6915.88
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