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A Fresh Start, a year of growth and balance.
Here we go – a brand-new year, and a big milestone: I’m finally DMP-free! 🥳 A fresh diary, a clean slate, and I’m feeling ready to take on 2025. First up: finances. By the end of February, I want to have £2,000 safely stashed in an emergency fund. Having that security will be such a weight off my shoulders. By July, I’m…
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Must try harder!
To echo the words of many a school report, I must try harder! My dad often quoted ‘a fool and his money are soon parted’ and it’s taken many years and losing my dear dad before I really took it to heart that I am that fool. My position isn’t terrible, but I’m terrible with money. I often get to the middle of the month with…
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Designing my new life
I have often thought about starting a diary on here but always chickened out. However having recently started a running training journal around 4 months ago I have been surprised at how much more accountable it has made me, so figured the same principle would hopefully apply. A bit of background I am married with 2 adult…
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Time for Change
Hello everyone, Since taking out a DMP with PayPlan last year I've been observing on these boards and I thought it was about time I took the plunge and shared my story in the hope that it might help someone else that may be in a similar situation to mine. Apologies it's a long story. I used to be that person that was great…
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Boring Diary
I used to frequent these forums about ten years ago but started to drop off in 2016. I got myself into a situation where I didn’t have a lot of debt, but the monthly payment was high for my income at the time. The diary fell by the wayside and after coming to the realisation that I will never be able to afford to move…
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Target December 2026
.I don't have debts so that is a good start. I have added up commitments for the coming 20 months and this includes presents (basically my 4 kids, their partners and the GC, all 8 of them, for Christmas and birthdays.) On top of that I have some commitments I've made, some of this is some expenses for grandchildren that…
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Debt payment tracker
This isn't a diary really but I need somewhere to write this stuff down all in one place so I can keep track and see it all together. Will probably just edit first post as needed. Advice welcome (esp if I'm missing something obvious) Debts Priority - Tesco credit card - £1,567.02 (interest rate something like 20%) Priority…
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Clearing my debts 1% at a time
I've been in a dmp since September 18 and am managing to have a little left over some months, I saw a thread from last year about paying 1% at a time, currently I'll be debt free in September 27 and my last negative marker will disappear in may 2026. Hopefully I can pay off 1% at a time which seems more manageable at £250…
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Let's face the music and dance...
Well this is 100% scary... I've got into a pickle with money, it all started when I left uni was unable to find a full time job and worked part time put the extra each month onto the credit cards. I was a mature student, graduate 2017, swore to myself I will never be in debt again, had about 5k of debt in my 20s, so I know…
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+6 Year Debt (actual 13 years) - started receiving demands from NEW COMPANY?
I had alot of debt, from various banks and credit cards around 2002, and I lost a job around 2006 and stopped paying the debts, 6 years quickly passed and I moved address After around 2012 I never got any debt letters But this last few weeks I got one from from a company called VERIFY, which is for just under 2000£ - its…
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5 Years Come To A Head
So after 5 years of debts accruing (over £21k on 5 CCs), what I had been hiding came to a head early this week. I revealed to my wife that I had messed up; I'd built this debt without saying anything, without asking for help, without shouting for support. It's one of the hardest things I've had to do, and I almost…
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Lurker's forum: what has been your most helpful tip?
Hi everyone, I get so much from reading these pages: both practical help and also reassurance that there are so many kind people in the world who are willing to offer help to strangers. I wondered if anyone would like to just celebrate some of the things they have learned on this forum - or to call out the people on who…
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From rock bottom to debt free. My journey
I'm at the very beginning of my debt free journey. I've recently lost my job and a relationship has ended so I've gone from an almost £60k a year income household to Universal credit and staying on my mums sofa as a 44 year old. This really does feel like rock bottom but I'm determined to get out of this for my own mental…
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F&F settlement letter offer or CCA . Not sure where to start. Thanks
Hi everyone, Thanks for reading my post. I have been reading through the forums and not 100% sure where to start. I am looking for some advice as I don't know whether I should try and negotiate F& F settlements or first to ask for my CCA, all taken out around 2011-2014. I have been paying £5 a month to each creditor for…
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A Better Life.
I want a better life. I know with the crisis in the cost of living, the war in Ukraine, my mum's illness, the state of the government and the fact that it is winter it is probably the wrong time to start trying! but I am so tired of my life, I feel put upon and trapped but if we are being totally honest I do this to…
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Back to Square One
I thought I was making progress, but since I live in Jersey, the situation is so much worse because for example HSBC will only agree to a £500 monthly through DMP--this info I got from a different thread.
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Debt free in less than 2 years - Which card to pay down first?
Hi all, I've decided to start this debt-free diary as a way to keep myself accountable and on track with paying down my debts. I have a debt free date goal of December 2026. I'm just not sure where to start and what card to pay off first? Here are a list of my debts with the interest rate and balance. I do have 2…
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Struggling along as best I can
Hi everyone, I have just been catching up on my banking and budgets and I am really fed up of getting to the same point of having very little for the last 6-10 days before I get my pension. Don't get me wrong my bills are all paid and I have no debt and I only need to buy just a couple of bits of food (coffee!) But I'm…
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Debt management plan paid off in under 4 years
On the 1st of July we make our last payment on our debt management plan with Step Change! It has taken under 4 years to pay over £9000 in debt - this because of lock down and loss of income during that period. It has been tough, we started paying £88 a month, and we have been paying £400 over the last 6 months. Things can…
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Frugal, thrifty, make do, mend! Let this debt come to an end!
Hello all, So by my reckoning, that magic spell in the title should take about 4 years and 4 months to take effect at current debt repayment and spending rates. :rotfl:. However, there is no harm in trying to help things along a little, is there? I am recently divorced and live on my own in a rented house with my 2 cats.…
