11 years a slave - end of my journey from £103,500 in debt

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  • Lonire
    Lonire Posts: 64 Forumite
    Wow this is inspirational. Shows everyone what can be done. I will def keep your story in my thoughts to achieve my own goals.

    Thanks you for sharing and well done. Big congrats!!!
  • What an amazing and inspiring journey sentientpoet - enjoy your new found freedom - I bet it feels amazing. xx
    Jan 2017 - Unsecured debt - £28,600 :eek:
    2017 - A year of Austerity -
    planning to have fun while doing it
    :j
    Vanquis CC - £2500 now £350 :)
  • Happy end of January DFWs :) It's my least favourite month as it always spelled the hardest point in the year for me - the start of another long year of debt repayment, the longest stretch since payday (I get paid before Xmas in December) and the fall following the relative high of Xmas. Hopefully you are managing to keep motivated - it's the times that we feel the lowest that the temptation to relapse hits hardest. But Feb is always a short month - that's what used to keep me going.

    I'm still quite overwhelmed by the comments to my post - thank you everyone so much for your kind words. I am pleased to report that my fears of reverting to old ways have not materialised, and although I really do need to constantly keep myself in check I am so determined to build my savings pot that it appears the discipline I have learnt from the last 11 years is starting to pay dividends. I had a couple of big expenses earlier in Jan that ate up nearly all my first savings attempts, and it really, really annoyed me!
    Will be focussing very much on that teaspoon this month.

    That's the spirit!

    Sentient
  • dktreesea wrote: »
    Awesome. What a great post! Soon, very soon, in fact, that is going to be me, completely debt free after just on 12 years. I can't wait. Just the idea that we'll actually own 100% of our business. For sure, when I embarked on this journey I did not think it would have taken 12 years to get to this point.


    Thanks So Much for sharing your experience.

    Congrats on your mammoth undertaking and for nearly reaching the end! I must admit, somewhat shamefully, that there is a teeny tiny part of me that wishes my journey had gone on another year - it would have made for a much better thread title!

    Sentient
  • Flugelhorn wrote: »
    I am the 103rd to thank you ! One for every £1,000 of debt you have magnificently beaten

    Haha - that's awesome!

    For anyone who is in for the long haul and struggling with motivation, the other mantra I used to repeat frequently was to quote Dory from Finding Nemo to myself - 'Just keep swimming, just keep swimming'. Her voice in my head worked wonders for me :)
  • Your resilience is an inspiration. Wishing you many happy debt free years. :T
    Just when I'm about to make ends meet, somebody moves the ends
  • Windofchange
    Windofchange Posts: 1,166
    First Anniversary First Post Name Dropper
    Forumite
    Whilst I didn't quite get into the level of debt you have described, I wasn't a million miles off I don't reckon. Same thing, living well beyond my means in London during my 20's. Nice car, nice bars, nice holidays, endless good times. I have been on a similar journey. Had a wake up about 10 years ago that this couldn't go on. Ended up quitting my job to get the redundancy payout which was the only way I could see of getting out of the mess without going bankrupt. Worked on minimum wage for a couple of years whilst I got myself sorted. Luckily the redundancy allowed me to clear the biggest debts so I could survive on just over a grand a month.

    Went back to uni to retrain and this obviously put me in more debt as I had to pay my way through life as opposed to the parents doing it for me as per the first time around. Came out of uni (again) 5 years ago with about £35,000 of debt in student loans, cards, graduate loans etc.

    My signature below represents what is left of this (except for a loan for a car I use for business). My goal is to have all this paid off by the time I turn 40 in January next year. I should realistically get it sorted by the summer I reckon. That will be a momentous day much like you have just had - many many congratulations.
  • As so many others have said this is a truly inspirational story and thread
    A massive congratulations on clearing such a debt and i am sure there must have been times that it seemed like too much of an uphill battle but you stuck to it and can now reap the rewards
    I can tell you that the post is already being shared in other parts of the forum as its a link i followed in someone elses thread that brought me to it
    Fantastic post and should be read by anyone trying to empty their own lake
    Well done
  • Congratulations - such an inspiration!
    Car Loan: £13,609.66
    Emergency Fund: £150 / £500
    Mortgage £140,000( House value £165k 2013)]
  • DJB343
    DJB343 Posts: 54
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    Forumite
    Truly amazing work, I hope a few months on you are able to now reap the rewards of what you have actually achieved
    DEBT - £34,469 | £6,224.01 REMAINING - 81% PAID OFF. GETTING THERE
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