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Debt free diaries

A place for MoneySavers to share their journeys towards debt-free living.

One day at a time
Im starting this dairy to keep track and hold myself accountable. unsecured debts of £54k. Have clearly been living off CC more than i ever realised. All been low apr or 0% BT, now coming to an end this year, interest is killing me, monthly payments circa £1200. My OH knew nothing of any of it, they knew we had a loan and…
It's the final countdown...£10k to go
It's too long a background to go through, but I have kept a handy, if not 100% accurate, log of what debt I've paid off over the last 4 years, which gives some context: 2017 I paid off £6,164.44 2018 I paid off £2,184.60 2019 I paid off £8,928.25 2020 so far I have paid off £10,297.08 That's a lot of money. It includes 2…
Trying to reboot my journey without burning out
Hi there in diary land, I have been here before but diary long since been archived, so thought I’d start a fresh. A bit of quick background: single, 50 year old gal, no children, love travelling. Due a disastrous business investment, a long term relationship breakdown, I found myself with 25k debt, no home, no savings, a…
My Debt Free Journey
So, took a recent stockade of my debt situation and realize how bad things have gotten. I've had pretty high credit usage for a number of years but constantly just swapped to 0% deals and never took a great concern towards it as it was always more than manageable. My debt was around 11k around the time the pandemic started…
Feels like im going under!
Hi Guys, i posted in July but cant find the topic. I could give you the reasons but it'd be a long write, and the content of the issue would be the same. Bottom line started a new job and by the time I did everything had changed (had to give 4 months notice in old one): NI increase Energy bill doubled fuel (petrol)…
My overhauling journey to debt freedom
After lurking in here for a while and seeing how people find themselves more accountable by posting regular updates I have decided to give it a go myself I find myself in debt after having low income jobs for a few years. Things are on the up as after finishing uni as a mature student last summer I started a new job in…
It gets better!
Hi, I don’t have much people to tell but I’m almost at the end of my debt journey. I have one final payment left of my DAS and that’s it - £32,000 paid! I started looking at this forum 6 years ago and got some advice. I got help through stepchange and started a DAS. To cut a long story short I had the typical reasons for…
Time to slash the shopping budget and use up the store cupboard
This coming year I have to be more mindful of how much I spend on shopping and also want to save $1000 for an emergency fund; making this diary to keep accountable and to track progress as well as organizing myself. For the EF I will aim to sell what I can, mainly craft supplies, yarn etc and for the shopping I have set…
Queen Bee fighting for her Hive!
In my head I had written this post many times but not yet have I been brave enough to get pen to paper and go for it. I'm Queen Bee aka a nearly 40 yr old mum of two boys whose had quite a stressful couple of years. I seperated from my husband early last year, moved house twice and finally settled in my current place with…
Time to be an adult about this!
I have just turned 30 and just can't stop spending! Doh! I have been on this journey for a bit so we are down to no credit cards as we are clearly not credit card people (Caleb Hammer anyone?) but we do have two substantial loans bringing our debt to circa £27k. There's just me and husband (DH) and my two kitties but…
Slaying my final Debt Dragon: The Capital One Card.
So, here I am. The last pernicious debt. Background : Years and years of debt problems coming to an end with this diary. Notable mentions go to the "wonderful" debt providers - some bust, some claimed against for unaffordable lending, some still draining blood from others. From memory ( probably more ) : Wonga, Lending…
Future net worth millionnaire
Hi, As the title say, I want to be a net worth millionnaire. I'm french and leave in France. I have a dh, 4dds, 3bfs and 3 dgcs. Obviously, I won't put up a SOA as things are so different here. Every amount will be in euro. I'm not in debt at the moment, but would be soon if i'm not really careful. A little background I…
Semi Retirement and Beyond.
As I said in my previous diary I would start a new one as in six weeks I cut my working hours in half to 18 hours , working two days a week. I have chosen to start this part time working on half my salary before one of my pensions kicks in , in December . Therefore I am going to have to be very frugal for six months , I…
What should I do? Use my disposable income to pay off outstanding debt?
-Mobile phone debt one £64pm (around £1.7k left) -Mobile phone debt two £6pm (few payments left) -Loan one £80pm -Loan two £100pm (13 payments left) -loan 3 £25 (£710 left) -dwp £27 (4 payments left) -mobile phone £13 DD £317pm Food £120pm Travel £200pm Rent £200pm Roughly: £837 left -Monthly wage £1630 -Around £793 left…
Strange Truths
It is time to face the truth - my debts, mainly credit cards, are well out of control and I need to get it under control before I can no longer make the minimum payments which is terrifying me! Times are tough and I have been putting food shops and other necessary spends on my credit cards and maxing them out and then…
Pippi's Diary, 2024 edition.....
Hello folks Back again after a long break to get some focus as I change jobs.....long time no see! Off to do a budget! I seem to have lost my mojo so starting with the MSE love to find it all again! Haggis says Hi too.
Self managed dmp
Hi I have switched onto self managed dmp and after working some overtime I am looking to pay one of my smaller debts of in full with very. Few queries I have, my payments managed by direct debit via a debt company to very have been marked down on my credit filed as missed payments for over 12 months. Very and the debt…
Spendthrift Anonymous
People tell me the first step is to admit you have a problem! So here I am at a virtual 'Spendthrift Anonymous' meeting, I've just stood up and I'd like to say my name is ****** and I am a spendthrift and this has led to mounting credit card & personal loan debts. So as of today I have changed my bank account, cancelled my…
The Debt Marketplace
Do you know there is a debt marketplace where businesses sell and buy consumers' default debts in the UK? I became aware after finding myself in a debt situation where multiple buyers bought my debts and I had to contact each one of them to find out the origin of the debt. You could be paying one debt to more than one debt…
A New Beginning
I've been AWOL for a while and now seems the right time to start a new diary. A brief history - we moved to our forever home in 2021. Twelve months after moving in, I discovered that the children and I had been betrayed in the worst way possible. My marriage ended overnight and I was suddenly a single mum with a huge…

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MSE News

NatWest to complete takeover of Sainsbury's Bank this week – here's what it means for savers and borrowers
Sainsbury's Bank's savings, credit cards and loans will be taken over by NatWest from 1 May. For most, this means little change for now as the Sainsbury’s brand will remain, though it's expected to be phased out towards the end of this year. However, if you've over £85,000 saved across both banks, you'll need to move any excess elsewhere to ensure your cash remains protected.
NatWest to complete takeover of Sainsbury's Bank this week – here's what it means for savers and borrowers
From Thursday 1 May, Sainsbury's Bank credit cards, loans and savings accounts will be run by NatWest as part of a deal between the two banks. You'll be moved to NatWest in the future, likely towards the end of this year, but for now the Sainsbury's Bank brand will remain and you can continue to use its products and services as before.
Martin Lewis: Is the £20,000 cash ISA limit about to be killed off? What you need to know
Plans to cut the £20,000 cash ISA limit later this year are being considered by the Government. In his latest video, MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis explains what's likely to happen, what the changes would mean for savers and what you should be doing now.
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Small pension pots to be automatically combined in future under Government plans – here's what it could mean for you
If you have a number of small pension pots you've built up over years of changing jobs, they may be automatically combined in future under new Government plans. This could make it easier to stay on top of your pension savings and reduce costs – but it's still very early days, and we don't yet know exactly how the scheme will work in practice.
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Went to an employment tribunal between 2013 and 2017? Can you reclaim £100s?
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Applied for South West Trains 'boundary fares' compensation? Act now to claim it
If you applied for compensation from South West Trains before the deadline in January 2025, you now need to provide your bank details to the claim administrator so it can be paid to you. Here's what you need to know.

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Debt free diaries

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