The Debt Free Roll Of Honour

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  • Please add me to the debt free roll call! :)

    Lightbulb Moment November 2014 - i was about to move out of the safety of my parents house and make it on my own. i had to get my life sorted!

    Debts at their highest £6500 - not huge but a mixture of payday loans and student overdraft!

    Debt-Free Date 9th February 2017

    Your one pearl of wisdom My one piece of advice to anyone is: Don't be afraid to ask for help! I had a DMP with stepchange and they were so helpful, and understanding. Talk to someone, be it your partner, family or friends. Things for me became a lot easier when i fessed up to my partner what was going on - he couldn't understand why i was on a decent salary but always seemed to be skint, when in reality £300+ a month was on debt repayments. When I told him, he re-worked our house budget and it made things a lot easier for us!
  • a. The date of your lightbulb moment
    February 2012

    b. Debts at their highest
    £18,030

    c. Debt-Free Date
    11 Feb 2017

    d. Your one pearl of wisdom.
    Snowball payments and BUDGET!

    e. Links to the MSE guides that helped you
    Most of them helped me.

    f. Which forum threads helped you
    I read and re-read the DFW board and Old Style Money Saving board.

    g. And if you had a debt diary on the Debt-Free Wannabe board (DFW), a link to it
    No diary. And this is only my second posting I think! You don't have to be posting to get the best from the site. I've just lurked for a very very long time. But reading everybody's advice has helped me enormously so I'm posting today to say a big :T THANK YOU!:T I couldn't have managed it without you all. I wish I had found this place much sooner than I did in my journey.
  • I am happy-dancing today :D

    a. The date of your lightbulb moment - June 2012, though it had been flickering a long time before that. Made a couple of bad business decisions and ended up with credit cards and overdrafts totalling....
    b. Debts at their highest - £27,560.88
    c. Debt-Free Date - 17th February 2017
    d. Your one pearl of wisdom - remember that the way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time. Keep slogging away at it.

    My DFW diary is here: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?p=72117113#post72117113

    and I'll be heading back to the MFW boards, where I started before things went pear-shaped, to start working towards my goal of paying off the borrowings on both my house and the one I'm renovating at the moment.
    Home: 06/08: £145,145.00 Currently: £106,249.36 Amount paid off: £38,895.64 (26.8%)
    Ethel's: 05/18: £99,000.00 Currently: £99,000.00 Amount paid off: £0 (0.0%)
    Tor: 05/18: £82,500.00 Currently: £82,500.00 Amount paid off: £0 (0.0%)
    Debt-free: 17/02/2017
  • crunch_time
    crunch_time Posts: 1,353 Forumite
    Well done caz!!! You were the first diary I started following nearly 3 years ago. Will hopefully be joining you soon xx
    19/8/19 vs now Current Total debt £14,188 Savings £2757
    Overdraft £1600 vs £1050
    HSBC1 £1900 vs £3868
    HSBC2 £4100 vs £3730
    Virgin 1 £3050 vs £2800
    House stuff and improvements £4460 Virgin 2 £2740
  • A. The date of your lightbulb moment
    July 2016

    b. Debts at their highest
    £1400

    c. Debt-Free Date
    28 Feb 2017

    d. Your one pearl of wisdom.
    Fun can be free.

    e. Links to the MSE guides that helped you
    I read pretty much all of them and used little bits from each.

    f. Which forum threads helped you
    All the debt free diaries
    All the NSD challenges
    The frugal challenges

    g. And if you had a debt diary on the Debt-Free Wannabe board (DFW) - search SKINTTEACHER


    :beer:
  • anxious2
    anxious2 Posts: 15
    Debt-free and Proud!
    Forumite
    edited 28 February 2017 at 12:45AM
    a. The date of your lightbulb moment
    February 2013

    b. Debts at their highest
    £44,724 :eek: This seems insane to me now!

    c. Debt-Free Date
    26 Feb 2017

    d. Your [STRIKE]one[/STRIKE] two pearls of wisdom.
    Don't let your past rule your future. Once I had my lightbulb moment, I came here, realised I was not an awful human being and I did have a way forward, and drew a line under my financial past that same day. From then on, my finances were very firmly separated in my mind - the debts were something separate to be dealt with, and my financial life from then on was something I could change and control. Looking at it this way meant I felt hopeful for my future for the first time in years.

    My other, less emotional pearl of wisdom is to be completely honest about how much you need to live on. When starting my DMP, the temptation to trim my budget to the bone was huge. However, it realistically would have only shaved a few months off the debt-free date, and by accounting for every eventuality in my budget, and following the advice from StepChange, I was actually able to have a small emergency fund saved throughout, which removed a huge amount of stress and pressure. This had the added bonus of making me feel like I had some money of my own that I was in charge of, and that was such a positive thing for me! Good practice for being debt-free too :)

    e. Links to the MSE guides that helped you
    Too many to post!

    f. Which forum threads helped you
    I read the DMP Mutual Support threads religiously! I am not one for posting lots, but I did post for advice at the beginning - mainly to reassure myself I was doing the right thing! The people on those threads are absolutely amazing. It truly was my safe space when I was petrified about what was going to happen to me at the beginning, and they really made me see that the sky wouldn't cave in, and that life would go on and get so much better. I feel guilty that I never post on there any more, and that I took all the advice and basically disappeared. However, I found I coped so much better when I mentally moved on from the debts, as I said earlier. I began to feel that by dwelling on them every day, it was just bringing me down. I still look in on those threads occasionally though, and I love to see the people that started their journey along with me doing so well now.

    g. And if you had a debt diary on the Debt-Free Wannabe board (DFW), a link to it
    No diary, kind of wish I had one to look back on now though!

    Thank you to every single person that gives support and advice on this forum. Being deep in debt is so totally isolating, I felt so ashamed and hopeless at my lowest point, and the people on here make you realise you are not alone. Nothing is insurmountable, every debt problem really can be solved, and the sooner you start, the sooner it's over and you can move on with your life!
    DMP with Stepchange started 1st April 2013
    Total debt as of Apr 2013: [STRIKE]£44,724[/STRIKE] [STRIKE]£41,050[/STRIKE] :eek: £0 Finally debt-free as of 26th Feb 2017!!! :j:T:beer:
    Finally facing up to my finances :)
  • Ellieseleven
    Ellieseleven Posts: 2,118
    Combo Breaker First Post Debt-free and Proud!
    Forumite
    a)The date of you lightbulb moment

    Friday 16th July 2010


    b)Debts at their highest

    £46,215.90


    c)Debt-free Date

    Wednesday 1st March 2017


    d)One pearl of wisdom

    I have several that have kept me going over the years:


    Budget - this is the key, having a realistic budget keeps you on the straight and narrow. You know what you have and what you can spend. I did use YNAB for the last couple of years and it made a massive difference to me and I will continue to use it now I am debt-free.


    Seek Help - this forum and the people on here are so knowledgeable. They have given me the strength and motivation to keep going and their advice is priceless...Thank you.


    Don't give up - It's hard at times but no problem is unsolvable. Set yourself achievable goals along the way so you feel you are making progress. Allow yourself small treats so you don't feel you are missing out. I took up sewing as a hobby and found it relaxing and it didn't have to cost a lot. I also volunteered in the community and have made lots of new friends.


    e) MSE Guides - Insurance guides, What's the cost calculators and anything else where I could save some money.


    f) Forum threads - I used (and will continue to use): DMP and Mutual Support, Milestone Inn, Without a Paddle, In for the long haul and of course The Debt-free roll of honour (I used this as my ultimate goal, this is where I wanted to post and now I have). I also entered into various challenges and the one that surprised me the most was the clothes challenge, I went from spending thousands on clothes to keeping under a £200 budget for the year;)


    g) Link to my diary


    http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=2599257


    ...and finally, there have been so many virtual friends over the years that I feel so thankful to. They have kept me sane, given invaluable advice, provided laughter, seen me through the difficult and the sad times and are now celebrating with me as I become debt-free. I want to thank each and every one of them.
    :T:T:T


    Take care
    Ellie xx
  • crunch_time
    crunch_time Posts: 1,353 Forumite
    Well done Ellie!!

    Crunchy xx
    19/8/19 vs now Current Total debt £14,188 Savings £2757
    Overdraft £1600 vs £1050
    HSBC1 £1900 vs £3868
    HSBC2 £4100 vs £3730
    Virgin 1 £3050 vs £2800
    House stuff and improvements £4460 Virgin 2 £2740
  • Fortune_Smiles
    Fortune_Smiles Posts: 5,018
    First Anniversary Name Dropper Photogenic First Post
    Forumite
    So lovely to see you here Elllie

    Fortune x
    Mortgage: 86% paid Mortgage Neutral: 100% Emergency Fund: 100%
    A Better View 🌄 'Being on the edge isn't as safe, but the view is better' - Ricky Gervais
  • Ellieseleven
    Ellieseleven Posts: 2,118
    Combo Breaker First Post Debt-free and Proud!
    Forumite
    So lovely to see you here Elllie

    Fortune x


    It's lovely to be here Fortune Smiles. This thread has been the ultimate aim throughout my DMP. I used to come on here and read everyone's achievements and it spurred it me on that one day I would also be debt-free...and now I am:D


    Ellie x
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