The Debt Free Roll Of Honour

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  • mrskingandthescarecrow
    mrskingandthescarecrow Posts: 105
    Debt-free and Proud!
    Forumite
    edited 14 January 2017 at 8:03PM
    Light bulb moment: 2008
    Debt at highest: 97k but some were still accruing interest so have repaid over 100k
    Debt free date: September 2016
    Threads: Pay your debt off by Xmas. Great motivator and good to look back on each year.
    Pearl of wisdom: Budgeting for the future rather than just doing income and expenditure for that month. I have a spreadsheet that I balance to my accounts every day. It enables me to put future income and expenses in and turns red if my account looks like it could go under a certain level. This helps me keep spending in line. I also allocate every penny of income into a pot on my spreadsheet. This means that any money not needed to pay this month's bills or this year's car insurance gets put in the savings pot. I also detached myself from the balance I see at the cash machine. (I may have x amount in there but only y is available to spend).

    Probably had one of the highest debt balances I've seen on here. It wasn't all from overspending. I had a failed business and me and my then husband had debts from previous marriages and he had child support to pay on top of their debts. Husband wasn't very good at being frugal and the debt did cause a lot of arguments. Being single does make it easier to manage my accounts now that no one else is dipping in when there's just enough left in to cover the direct debits. But the debts were one of the main factors in us splitting up. Which is sad.

    Once I'd taken proper control of my finances, the debt balance seemed to reduce after quite easily and this was enough to keep me motivated. I have also changed my spending habits too over the years and now buy what I need rather than what I want. I had to strip my budget to the bones to free up as much money to clear the debts as quickly as possible. I took (and still do) my lunch to work everyday, the kids also take a packed lunch despite having to make 20 sandwiches a week being an extra chore. Holidays were out of the question and I stopped spending on clothes, alcohol (don't smoke anyway) and anything else that wasn't essential. It took me 8 years to clear all the debt. We went on our first camping holiday last year, which we all loved. It cost a fraction of a foreign holiday or caravan holiday and it was all paid for from savings.

    I am now saving for a house deposit and have joined a savings challenge over on the savings board. Once I have bought my house, I will join the mortgage free wannabes.

    My advice for anyone reading this who is aiming to be debt free is to be prepared to reduce your lifestyle to increase debt repayments and get a good Budgeting tool to track current and future expenses. Preferably create your own free spreadsheet with pots for each category. Then allocate all income into a pot and stick to your budgeted amounts.

    Finally, I need to say a huge thank you to all the users who took the time to reply to my posts over the last eight years. Your support was hugely appreciated and kept me on the DF path. Also thanks to the users who's diaries kept me motivated and the administrators of the challenges I have taken part in over the years. Thank you x
    Debt in 2008 - £97,417 :j*DEBT FREE - SEPTEMBER 2016*:j
    #107 - Save £12k in 2017 Challenge - £2,315.22/12000
    HOUSE DEPOSIT - £6,499.76/20,000
  • Congratulations to everyone on becoming debt free, well done :)
  • sillyvixen
    sillyvixen Posts: 3,612
    Photogenic Name Dropper First Post First Anniversary
    Forumite
    After an inheritance from my mum I am debt free just paid the last bit off and I have £1000 emergency fund set in place. It's a shame my mum never got to see me debt free but I think she would be happy I used to money to get back on track.

    At it's highest I was 16.5k I had 8k left and I received £8500 from my mum but after settlement figures were given I still have £1000 left. Now I'm not in debt now it's time to start saving for a deposit to buy my house.

    It will take a long time to get my credit rating back up enough to be able to get my mortgage but that will give me time to save for my deposit. I am going to do this :)

    I spent 4 years getting my debt down from 12500 to 8500 with help from lots of lovely people on this site who taught me ways to save money, stop living in my overdraft and use the money I had saved to pay more than the minimum amount on my credit card. My mum died in Sept 15 and in January 2016 I got a cheque for £10,000 inheritance the first thing I did once the cheque cleared was pay of my debt and put the rest into my building society account. I still look at my account every few months and decide how much I can put into the building society.

    My mum's death has given me freedom from debt, but it is bitter sweet, I would rather still have my mum.
    Dogs return to eat their vomit, just as fools repeat their foolishness. There is no more hope for a fool than for someone who says, "i am really clever!"
  • i made myself ill with worry and ended up in hospital. Ive never been good with budgeting etc. Family mosaic put me in touch with Christians Against Poverty they are brilliant, and you dont need to be a Christian to get help. They sorted through my creditors and started the ball rolling. https://capuk.org/i-want-help/cap-debt-help/how-cap-can-help . they sorted out a plan and a way forward. More importantly they taught me how to budget , Now I'm debt free , no longer scared to open the door or pick up the phone . They listen and dont judge. I would highly recommend calling and it doesnt cost you a penny .:j
  • LBM - March 2013

    Debts at highest - £29,890

    debt free date- 26/01/2017

    Pearl of Wisdom - take credit cards out of your purse and hide in a sealed envelope in a box. Budget for everything and stick to your budget. Before you buy any indulgences think twice and think about the money going towards those debts first.

    Guides - credit card switching

    Forum threads - debt free diaries

    Diary - didn't have one
  • lcc86
    lcc86 Posts: 2,313
    First Anniversary Photogenic Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    Forumite
    Light bulb moment - around August 2012, a few months after I bought my first property

    Debts at highest - in the region of £10,000-£11,000.

    Debt free date - 30/01/17 (I don't think I'll ever forget that date now!)

    Pearl of wisdom - if you end up in debt, don't beat yourself up over it. Budget - I've used a spreadsheet for years and have finally got it working for me. Also get support from places like this. There have been times I've felt like a mad woman rambling away to complete strangers, but it's really helped get me through the worst times.

    MSE guides used - various debt free diaries, challenges, particularly the NSD ones and low spend Christmases etc.

    Forum threads - debt free diaries - I would've read more if there were more hours in the day but subscribed to those I could :)

    Diary - http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=5124473

    Thank you MSE forum for all your support!!
    Save £3,000 emergency fund #79 - £1,408 as of 03/24
  • FireWyrm
    FireWyrm Posts: 6,557
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker Debt-free and Proud!
    Forumite
    I have been gone for a while, but some of the old hands might recognise the name.

    So, what a year 2016 was. I didnt make my 2015 deadline, but boy did I smash it in 2016. A new baby arrived in February and by June I had decided that I had no intention of being a wage slave anymore. I finally decided to go self employed and started by first contract on July 4th, a date that was independence day for me in every way. I finally paid off the last of what we owed by the end of the month following. I decided that even if we had to eat ramen for that first month, the debt was going, so I took my first independent invoice and paid off everything outstanding. We were and remain debt free and I can finally say it is all over. My business is growing and there is more work than I know what to do with - hence my long absence.

    Light Bulb Moment - Flickered on and off for a while but really crystalised in 2013 when I found myself standing at a checkout with a belt full of food, first day of the month and we were broke and my card was declined. That meant that our overdraft was maxed out and even the bank had lost patience. That was it, we had to fix it.

    Debt Free Date - August 2016. I forget the actual date, but it doesnt matter really.

    Total Debt Paid - Somewhere north of £25K when all was said and done. The final push was £4000 and it hurt, but it was worth it.

    Pearls of Wisdom - plan everything. Get yourself a good accounting package (see my signature) and stick to it. Be ruthlessly honest with yourself and if you want to buy something, write it in a book and let it sit for 7 days. If you still want it and you can absolutely afford it for cash on the 8th day, buy it.

    Forum Threads - I usually hang out on DFW. I like to help where I can.

    Thanks MSE for everything.
    Debt Free! Long road, but we did it
    Meet my best friend : YNAB (you need a budget)
    My other best friend is a filofax.
    Do or do not, there is no try....Yoda.

    [/COLOR]
  • NigeWick
    NigeWick Posts: 2,714
    Name Dropper First Post First Anniversary Debt-free and Proud!
    Forumite
    Paid off the mortgage November 2015 which was our last debt. Just paid the last instalment for my pre paid funeral so once again now have no debt at all.
    The mind of the bigot is like the pupil of the eye; the more light you pour upon it, the more it will contract.
    Oliver Wendell Holmes
  • FireWyrm you are back, well done
    GOAL 30th November 2017 - 100% paid off, 0% debt left
    31st March 61% paid off:T
    March 2015 Debt at Highest
  • DFW Nerd Number 600
    reporting DEBT FREE today
    DOH's house finally sold as has mine. We've bought a new place together and paid off every penny (apart from the mortgage).
    So happy. xx
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