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A return to MSE with a DMP so I can be debt free
Hi everyone, my name is Pencakes and I joined MSE around 8 years ago. I'm single, 33 and live in the big old smoke. Living on your own in London isn't cheap, but I love my job and my little flat. I'm a huge motorsport fan (it's also my job, lucky me :D ), slightly obsessed with dogs and I'm doing the London Marathon in…
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Dancing my way through the daily grind
Hi, long time lurker first time writer. I am self employed and my income fluctuates depending on demand for classes, my husband is fulltime employed and it's just the two of us and our two dogs. A bit of background, just under a year and a half ago my husband and I decided on a whim to start taking paying off our credit…
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SOA budget advice
So I posted earlier about having 10.5k to pay off debts. I feel an SOA may help better understand our situation. Me and my husband are going through everything later this week to plan on reducing our budget and basically get things into the black. So I thought I’d post this on here so we can look at the advice when we go…
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This debt has got to go before I turn 40!
I have started diaries before and let them lapse. This time
I am determined. I really want to make some inroads into the debts that I have
accumulated and start to build some savings. I’m a single, divorced mum to two lovely primary school aged
children. I work in a reasonable job earning £35k. I own my (mortgaged) home,…
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So close to the end, advice needed
Hi all, it has been an incredibly difficult journey, but by working hard and some luck I’ve managed to reduce my out of control credit cards (was £40k) to manageable levels and I now have a monthly amount to pay stuff off but now I need advice on what to do next. I’m planning to retire in 5-7 years and will have a lump sum…
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To absent friends…
Just wanted to drop a little message to say merry Christmas to all on DFW Diaries - whether you post or you lurk, may you have a splendid time over the next few days. Also, I suspect like many others - those we have lost tend to be at the forefront of my mind this time of year, so I’ll make mention of Taxi & Kissjen - both…
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*sigh* this may take a while
**updated SOA on page 155 dated 17th July for anyone who's interested!** I've been using this site for years, although I haven't posted for a while and my account seems to have been lost! However, I've decided to accept that as a clean slate :-) I'll post an accurate SOA over the next few days... but the short version is…
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The time is now...
Hi everyone, So I've had debt for as long as I can remember, and it's always been manageable. But I'm conscious that any simple life change, such as losing my job or becoming ill, could mean I'm in trouble very quickly. I have about £1k in savings, but that wouldn't last very long if my income dropped. So my focus going…
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The last obstacale: it's the path.
I am starting fresh for the last leg of this journey. In the last 16 months, I have worked really hard. I am more than 50% of the debt paid. Next month it should all be on 0% interest and payable by September. Then it will be saving, but let's not discuss that now. I am going to push hard to pay off as much debt as I can,…
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Aiming To Finally Be Debt Free by 2025
Hi everyone. After a long hiatus, I’m ready to come back with a new diary and new challenge. For anyone that doesn’t know me, I’ve been on the forums for years on and off. I’ve got Cystic Fibrosis and am on oxygen 24/7. I’ve been in debt for as long as I can remember, but I’ve got a plan to pay it off once and for all so…
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Late to the game – midway through my DFW journey
Hi all, I
only recently delved into and registered for the forums, having long mined the
main site for tips. Long story short: My lightbulb moment that debt needed
tackling was right at the start of the first lockdown in March 2020. At the
time I was earning little (around £11,000 freelance WFH, having devoted my time
to…
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Doing up the House (and me) while doing away with the Debt
So my first thread was all about finding myself in a really depressing state and the mammoth journey to get out of it. It worked but after an absence I came back with a thread to wake myself up, stop being pushed about and start thinking about making the most of my life. I feel in a really good position now and haven't…
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Carrot cake in the oven
I've just made my first ever carrot cakes and they are baking in the oven. It was actually quite soothing, I'm glad I made the effort to get the ingredients yesterday, it might be my new Sunday morning alternative to mooching about worrying. We've quite a few debts - yet again! I guess I'm not the only one on here to be a…
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Debt stopping us from starting a family
I have so much guilt and regret for the decisions that I made around money throughout my 20’s. I am now 29 and I have £13,791.14 of my own personal debt to my name. I lived very ‘for the moment’ thinking I had all the time in the world and I never really felt maternal so starting a family didn’t seem like a priority. I…
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Home Goals
Good Evening Ladies, Gentlemen and Others, This is my first time to the forum, so please do bare with me. I have done a lot of thinking and I have decided it is time to open up about my debt issues. At 23 years old, I have probably been in debt since as soon as I could obtain credit at 18. Starting off with a small credit…
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EH - Essex > Hebrides...the next step of the adventure?
Well well - here we are again then, new diary as [STRIKE]threatened [/STRIKE]promised - the previous one can be found HERE - there are others too - if I can be bothered to go find them I'll add in some links, otherwise feel free to go stalking if you should wish to! Previous diary to the previous one mentioned above...…
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Staying debt-free? Being sensible and not letting it build up again?
Hi All, I'm looking for advice on staying debt free, as well as sharing my story of the situation and where I want to be I've shared a fair bit lately that I'm currently in the process of selling my flat after moving in with my grandma to help her more around the house due to her ill health, and decided that the equity…
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Drowning in puddles!
Hello, my name is Rainy. I have reached the bottom of a big puddle. Everything has fallen apart. My finances are a complete and utter mess. My relationship has ended. My health is potentially in trouble, as waiting on biopsy results. This is the first step in taking control again. I need to find out exactly how much debt…
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Rambling on...
Where do I begin? This is hard... OK, I'll begin with my SOA: Household Info Number of adults - 1 Number of children - 0 (they are with their Mum) Number of cars - 0 Monthly Income After tax - 2104 Benefits - 0 Other Income - 0 Total Monthly Income - 2104 Monthly Expenses Rent - 295 Council Tax - 80 Elec - 30 Gas - 30 Home…
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Debt Free Journey Starts Today!
27 year old man here, making good money as a construction project manager. Always relied too heavily on credit and it’s crept up on me and I’ve realised I need to get a grip now before it gets any worse. Personal Loan - £7151 - 11.1% CC1 - £3200 - 39% CC2 - £1097 - 0% Monzo Flex (BNPL) - £550 Very - £398 - Next - £450…
