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Minimum wage, is petrol allowance an expense or not?
Hi I am an employed photographer for an estate agency. I am trying to work out if I am on a minimum wage or not. If I include the money I am allowed for petrol (which incidentally doesn't cover my costs) I am just over minimum wage if I don't I am under. How does this work? Thanks
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Loan options or lack of…
Hello all, Ive currently got a series of credit cards which I’m paying more than the monthly repayments on, unfortunately some of those cards are sitting with a 49.9% APR. Unfortunately despite not missing any payments and paying more than the minimum my credit score doesn’t seem to be rebuilding and I do use these cards…
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Don't Dilly Dally Dolly - 2025 and Beyond
So it's getting close to the new year and I've decided it's time for a new diary! Why not eh! I've got big plans and can't dilly dally any longer, I want to be; * Debt free in 2025 * Goal weight in 2025 * Mortgage free in 2030 Once I've managed to sort all that out I've got changes to make in the flat. New bathroom,…
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Mimis money makeover
I am sharing my journey to become debt free to hopefully keep myself accountable. I have been in and out of debt for the last 15 years and although I can pay everything every month I don't want it hanging over my head anymore. I have in total £28509.95 in debt. Some of these are front loaded interest so if I can over pay…
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Starting Over...
Hello, and thank you for reading. I have wanted to start a diary for a long time, but part of me has held back because of fear/shame/life/overwhelm...the usual, really. I read your diaries and posts and find a lot of support and comfort in them, so thank you for that. Essentially, life feels like a bit of a mess right now.…
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Feeling Motivated
Howdy and welcome to my DebtFree diary. (which I hope very soon will be a savings diary) I have been a long-time lurker on this forum and have learnt SO much, i just wish I had known about this site when I was £17k in debt in 2019 following a mixture of bad choice, bad habits and doing what I could to survive. But here we…
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Which to pay against first
Unsure where to post - lingerer but not totally au fait with posting. At the point of near breakdown with the extent of debt (15k) only fully brought to light through remortgage / monthly increases. Question is, what to pay first? Lots of 0% CC (£200 - £4K), but one has ended so interest is through roof and declined for…
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New Year, New Me
Right. I've got myself into a bit of a financial mess. Now is the time to sort it out. My current situation: * Credit card balances: £20,661.37 * ZOPA loan: £23,355.57 [took out this loan to consolidate previous credit cards... and then maxed them out again. Foolish in the extreme. Sigh.] * Pay in 3 loans: £1,129.16 Total…
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Affordability complaints
Evening everyone. This forum has been so helpful for me on my self managed DMP and I wanted to check in with people re their experience with affordability complaints. I have had rejections from Santander and also Novuna but have put these off to the Financial Ombudsman as I was carrying high credit card balances and…
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No regrets. We only have debt.
Having been in 59k debt, and cleared it with help on this forum, and now I'm back in debt due to renovating a house, I would make the same decision again. We now have a lovely place of our own for our family to live in, so I have no regrets about taking the decision to borrow to achieve that. Short summary: 2015 - 2017 ->…
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Becoming debt free within 18 months
Hello, Just an intro into me, i have tried many times but something happens as i give up. This time however i am not stopping. If i create a diary i will have to answer to myself. I am mid 30s with a partner who is studying and working part time and i work full time and study. We have a dd who is 10. I am going to try and…
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Here Goes...Starting Up on a Journey
Hi All, I've made some reckless decisions recently, tried to invest money, kept borrowing to invest more and lost it all. Ridiculous I didn't learn after the first one, two, three, ten attempts. But we are here now: Essentially I am up to my eyeballs in debt and have about the same amount of debt and interest payments)…
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Almost debt....free
Hello everyone! Long time lurker but first time poster. Hope new year has started well for everyone. I just wanted to share the progress that's been made since Jan 2024 and where I am now to keep myself accountable in the last few steps of the journey. As a background, I was debt free in 2023 but was lucky enough to…
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Trying to get the balance right
Hi all, Long time lurker over here 👋 and thought I'd finally bite the bullet and create my own diary. Mostly for my own self motivation and to keep tabs on myself as I am my own worst enemy at talking myself around or out of situations. I have stalked these forums for a number of years as I find reading other people's…
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Old member returning in tough times
Good evening! I’ve not been on since the forum changed and goodness it’s taking some getting used to. I have to admit to being a sporadic forum user, life often got in the way, things got tough and I would let things slide. Unfortunately this is no longer an option. Not too long ago, my other half was diagnosed with…
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Debts to clear first
So I need your help I have the following : I now earn 30k a year work full time after a year of no work due to illness but I have 2 defaults from sept 25 now on my record one for hsbc £6200 pay £55 a month and other vanquish £2235 pay £15 a month I am in with lowel for another credit card £2250 no default pay £15 a month…
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Chasing that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow
Welcome to my brand new shiny diary. I contemplated writing in my old diary again but that is just a reminder of how I start things and don't see them through. I started my last diary in November 2023 when I had £66k of debt, my total debt now stands at £39,575.66. My debt isn't going to disappear in 2025, I'll be lucky if…
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My husband doesn't know all the truth...
Let me start by saying that I'm crap with money. Give me any amount and I'm going to spend it. I'm utterly reckless with it and I start to feel really bad about it. I honestly think I have a spending addiction. I'm also in debt. Some of it - the credit card and a buy now pay later my husband knows about, and I have a plan…
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2024 - The year to finally be debt free!
Hi I’ve never created a diary before but now I feel like I need to put things down in writing and see it all in black and white As the title suggests I want 2024 to finally be the year I become debt free! I’ve had some kind of debt my whole entire adult life and I need to finally get rid to then move on to the dream of…
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My debt-free journey diary
The realisation A while ago, I was diagnosed with ADHD and started medication. For the first time in years, I’ve been able to think clearly—and it’s been both a blessing and a wake-up call. With this fresh perspective, I realised what a pickle I have gotten myself into with debts, mainly on my credit card. Historical…
