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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…
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A basic cordless phone..
My elderly mother struggles with technology - as do I! She needs a basic cordless phone so she can make and receive calls. If it could also store her ten most used numbers, that would be great (and a speaker phone feature would be a bonus. But that's all. Why is it so hard to find such a phone out there? Surely there must…
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Debt...
I owe sister - £3,323. Credit card - £3,553.36. PayPal credit - £647.27. I will be debt free after 2-3 years.
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Fit and debt free by 40ish
Hi everyone, I've been using the MSE site for years but only just discovered the forum a few months ago and have been very inspired reading some of the debt diaries here, so I thought I'd start my own. I've got a few debts that have built up over the years, due to a combination of taking out a few loans to fund the cost of…
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Three(ish!) years until I ditch the rat race?
I previously had a diary whilst getting out of debt but unfortunately I can't find it and I got locked out of my account when the forum changed over. I found the encouragement and accountability invaluable so I'm back again! In the next 3 to 5 years I want to move back up north and drop my hours (I'm currently working a 50…
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Everything's An Opportunity
Hello everyone :) I'm new to posting, but I have read the forums and the posts from you wonderful people for many years. I've recently had a bit of a wakeup call and thought a diary might do me some good, and maybe anyone else in a similar situation (that'd be great!). In September, my fiancé decided to leave after 10…
