Debt Free by 30?

Well I hope so (I'm 28). I left Uni with quite small debts really (not even 10K) but silly me, spent money like water (well, credit) and my debts spiralled. I don't know how much I owed at my most in debt and to be honest I dont' want to know. I've fully cleared six of my debts and recently shrunk one by 5K. I did it by a combination of paying twice the minimum to avoid paying interest (on one HP), using savings to pay off the balances, and by taking out new (much much lower interest credit). It has not been easy. At one point last year, when it finally hit my how much the interest was costing me, especially when I was only making the minimum repayments, I tried to take out cheaper credit - and was refused. I recently managed to take out a cheaper loan - what would have taken me until I was nearing retirement to pay off in full will be paid off in less than three years, and I will be paying less each month than I was to the Visa people! I have also cleared my overdraft. I could have used more of the money to pay back higher-interest debt, but knowing that ALL the money in the bank is now ALL mine gives me such a good feeling, and I finally feel like I'm in the final stretch towards a debt free life.

I may not have managed it yet but I do have one pearl to share. I only wish I had realised this years ago:

Only ever making the minimum repayment is really, really daft. In November 2004 I paid off the balance of one store card with £600 savings. There was about £50 left, which took two months to clear because the £50 extra I paid by cheque didn't clear fast enough. At that point, I owed just over £500 on another store card. During the next 12 months I saved again, and paid off that card at the end of the year. I had not spent one single penny on it, just made the minimum payment each month. I had to use £500 savings to clear the debt. One whole year of religiously making the minimum repayment had made only a few pounds difference to the full amount I owed. OK, so I was on a "payment protection" plan I can't recall requesting, and the interest rate was nearly 20% but still... I've learned my lesson now. It's a shame that it was only looking over a few old statements whilst thinking what to type in this message that I realised this!