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Damsel in Debt Take 2
So this is my second diary, I’m in a better place, not financially but mentally! With my debt this time and more determined to get rid of it. And need to post on here to give myself some accountability. I’ve accumulated it from spending above my means for too long a few years ago and then the interest spiralled and here we…
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What Not to do When You Move House
Hello! So I am back to it and back here with my tail between my legs… On the one hand, I haven’t fully learned my lesson. On the other hand, I’ve acknowledged there is another problem and I need to fix it; silver linings I suppose! I was hoping I would never have to write about debt again, alas, here we are. Previously I…
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Debt and Budget (Reset) plan
Hey, Ive lurked around the debt Free wannabe diaries for a while, looking for inspiration to clear my own Credit Card debts. I have always been in debt for as long as I can remember! At my highest in 2017 it was £25766! A bit like a roller coaster, balance goes down and then up and its just never ending! I want to be held…
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Fresh start
Hi been looking at getting some money saved. Just wanted to know what methods you used that worked or helped and how you even worked it all out to start to get out of debt. currently I have a CC 0% with 600 on this is used for emergency only. My phone contract has 221.18 left and a 5000 loan which has 4218 left and a…
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A lifetime of debt, or a lifetime of shame?
Hello. First post here and for some reason I feel quite emotional. You see, as I know lots of people experience similar but I feel huge shame. So much shame, it consumes everything about me. £24k in debt, divorced, rocky relationship, 2 kids and about 4 stone of ineffective eating habits to overcome a stressful job for the…
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Driving Down Debt
Hello! I've been lurking around these parts for what seems like forever, so I guess it's time to bite the bullet and start a diary to keep the momentum going. I'm more doing the diary to keep me on track with my targets rather than for advice, although of course any words of wisdom will be heeded! A bit of background: I…
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Taking control
Hi, Thought I would start a diary to hold myself accountable, even if nobody reads it! Three days ago I spent a long time on the phone to Payplan and they are setting up my DMP for me. My biggest fear is the letters and calls I'll get which I'm dreading! I have spent all weekend researching these forums though and do feel…
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Single Mum - Struggling to get realistic SOA
Hi Everyone, I'm a single mum, albeit on the older side (turning 50 this year) with a 14 year old daughter. No Dad in the picture as he died when she was a baby and I've stayed on my own ever since, apart from gaining two cats. That may be irrelevant but they also cost money. I've had my Light Bulb Moment and decided to…
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Debt free by 50 (Dec 2023), 1 day at a time
Hi MSE world, I’ve been here a long time and have been in and out of debt far too many times but I’m back for support to clear approx £14,500 by Dec 2023. It’s a lot of debt but at least I know where the money went and why I land myself in debt - no such thing as delayed gratification for me :# , which I really need to get…
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Second Chances! Life in a Tourer
Not sure where to start, not even sure if I’m in the right board but here go’s Hi there, I’m here for a few reasons other than to be debt free, I had a diary on both this board and the mortgage free board many years ago and have been on MSE for 14 years!! As there has been a 6 year gap I thought I would start a fresh…
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Hiding debts from family, partner & spiralling - time for change!
I am hiding my debt and my money struggles from my family and boyfriend and while I don't have the courage to tell them right now what's going on, I hope this debt-free diary will help stop the spiralling and keep me focused on the plan! I've never been 'good with money'. My parents remind me of a holiday we went on when…
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Building Better Habits
Hi everyone, long time lurker and got some helpful advice from these boards back when I set up my DMP in 2019 (I wish I found this board sooner!). I came back recently because of some shenanigans from TSB and once again got great advice and decided I would set up a diary and tell my story, and also use this as a form of…
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time to face the music and get this debt dealt with once and for all
where to start? At the beginning I guess! last January, we had debts that we paid and it was fine but then out of the blue with no warning, my husband lost his job with one week's notice ( a self-employed contractor ) and the !!!!!! hit the fan. Luckily we had an excellent storecupboard and an emergency fund because as a…
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Anyone have any info on Gemphoria?
Hey there I'm helping someone out with some bills and spotted a number of transactions on their bank statements each month from a company called Gemphoria in Redditch. It seems unlikely that this person would be buying from them as they seem to be all online (which the individual isn't) but I didn't know if they had other…
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So what's next?
I have recently started to address my debt, it is definitely manageable at the minute but I have a lot of uncertainty regarding jobs at the minute and am due to be made redundant in September. I have figured out how I intend to proceed with repayments either way but feel like writing this diary will make me a bit better at…
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Finally facing my problems
hi, I've read a few diaries and now its time to start my own, mainly to keep me accountable i hope. Well where to start???? i finished a dmp in 2021 which were mainly all little depts to payday loans i had took out while i had a gambling problem. This time i want to do it myself. so when my dmp finished i got a credit…
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Baby steps all the way to Financial Freedom
Hello everyone, Welcome to my sparkling new diary for 2023. I have recently re-read The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey (having only read part of it earlier this year) and have decided that despite the fact that its an American Finance book, it is an actual solid plan to become debt free and financially secure, and…
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Limping Along - Debt Free Diary
Well I had slightly hoped I would never be back here, but here we are. 2 years after my last diary I am back again! With debt! I've actually had a total of THREE diaries prior on here. All feel very much different part of my life. My first was when I had just graduated, earning a pittance and struggling to pay off an…
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Dolly's Diary
So this diary will help me with the following; - Becoming debt free for the last time! - Become mortgage free for the first and last time! - Stop relying on credit to get me through life - Have an emergency fund - Cancel all of my credit cards - Save for my OAP days I'm just sorting through the CC's and other debts that I…
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£29,303...Enough is enough!
So, I’ve had “lightbulb moments” before, but today I’ve reached breaking point. The realisation that we could lose everything, including a roof over the children’s heads, has slapped me in the face. From £4844 of debt 18 months ago, we are now at an all time high of £29,303. Yes, we have things to show for it. We’ve bought…