Its official....

I am now debt free. Whoo!!

I couldnt wait until lunchtime to go to the bank, so did it now. I have to say, it did hurt giving them a cheque for £8603.10, but I managed it (through gritted teeth!!).

So I am officially debt free, yippee!!

I have paid off a staggering £19,000 in total, and sadly a lot of that were charges & interest added, so the debt spiralled out of control quite rapidly from around the £15,000 mark. I dread to think what couldve been and what I could have spent the money on, but oh well, its done now, and made me a better person for it, suprisingly enough!!

It feels a bit surreal to be honest, and probably wont truly sink in until I get paid next month & wont have to pay anything out.

I want to say a big thanks for all of your support on these boards, and all the nice messages from you. I havent done anything special, and it wont be long until you are counting down your days til debtfree-ness.

It is definately a godsend having this Board, a place to moan, be encouraged and just talk "money" to others who will listen. Its comforting that there ARE people in the same boat, and that you are not alone. When I was starting my debt free journey, there were people on here that had just become debt free, and those at different stages of debtfreeness and that in turn encouraged me, and spurred me on, so I hope I can do the same for you.

As for tips on how to speed up the debt free journey, make regular visits to this site of course :0). I ebayed, used the online discount codes, found local farmer markets & greengrocers (courtesy of those helpful chaps on the Old Style Board), batch cooked meals for when I was too tired or lazy to cook, become a DVD tart, re-discovered the library rather than buying books brand new, I also became a primark & charity shop queen, and no longer felt embarrassed at handing over money off coupons in the supermarket!! Or any kind of money off coupon now I come to mention it :0)

It is about changing your habits, and this can take a while. I had been spending way above my means from the age of 18 (when I could get credit!!), so for a good 4 years I had spent, spent, spent, so it does take a while to get used to this new lifestyle, but I can honestly say that I wouldnt change it for the world now. See it as a challenge. See how many bargains you can find, and how little you can spend on things, why spend more if you dont have to?

I was going to start counting down the days til I go travelling in my signature, but figured I might get things thrown at me :0)

Have a wonderful day everyone, I know I will.

Lots of love, Ms_London

xx


Huge congrats Ms London. Your story is inspirational to many in debt.

For those who are first timers welcome to the debt-free wannabee board. Here lots of people will talk through you debts and share their experiences. Like many why not add 'worst debt level xxxx, current debt level xxxx, and debt-free day Xxxxx' to your signature, if you don't know how to work it out, then people here will help.

Important Links

• First read my'where to start with problem debts' article
• Then come to the 'debt-free wannabee' main board