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Debt free diaries

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

The 6 year plan!
I've had diaries before that have for various reasons lost their purpose. Last few years have had big changes in my life, I now have 2 children, I've completed my academic studies and now have a more driven passion for career progression. With this it feels like we have come to the top of our debts and now want to bring…
AAAAAARGH
Hello! I thought that I should set up a diary to hopefully hold myself accountable for my finances. So to preface this I am 20 years old - yep… quite young. I’ve just set up a debt management plan with StepChange for my £7k consumer debt, with it costing about £170 for just shy of 4 years. How did I get in this debt? Well,…
One Day More...
...another day to becoming debt free I want this diary to be my accountability mirror and to inspire others who find themselves in the darkness and grip of debt, wandering the abyss as they drowning in struggles to find hope and solace in the knowledge that they're not alone and that there is a way to get their life…
5 Years Come To A Head
So after 5 years of debts accruing (over £21k on 5 CCs), what I had been hiding came to a head early this week. I revealed to my wife that I had messed up; I'd built this debt without saying anything, without asking for help, without shouting for support. It's one of the hardest things I've had to do, and I almost…
A new chapter is ....... FINALLY HERE
So i'm sloping back in with a new diary, been missing (but still reading) for 10 months, MH took a nose dive in October, all work related and quite frankly horrid. After lots of chats with DH,crying and not really knowing what to do with my life I spoke to my manager and as of September I will be working less hours with a…
A marathon not a sprint……
I’ve been knocking around this board for a few years now, but never been consistent with posting. I’ve decided to start a new diary to celebrate the small wins and help to keep me accountable. I feel like I’m at a bit of a crossroads in my life and feel motivated for change and improvement in several key areas of my life.…
Dreaming of being Debt Free
Hi. Like many people, I've been lurking in and out of these rooms and the main website, dreaming of being debt free. I've been living in debt since I went to uni. To put that into perspective, almost half my life. Ive tried many times, and come close, sometimes a run of bad lucks set me back, children being born, or…
Evasive action! Stop the trench becoming a hole.
I need to take evasive action, and I need to hold myself accountable. I'm not going to call where I am a hole. It's still a rut. A trench. I've got savings, but they are in accounts where they earn good interest rates so I hate touching them. I've just moved house, and I've been doing a money shuffle every month, borrowing…
Never-ending story
It’s been about 6 years since I last had a diary and a lot has changed during that time apart from still being in debt. So a quick rundown I work in education, I have three children who live with me and three who are adults and live elsewhere, my relationship broke down in 2020, my mom passed away 2 months later, my nan…
Fun vs focus
Hello. I've been wanting to start this debt diary since the beginning of the year, but I didn't want to get caught up in the ‘new year, new me’ frenzy. However, now feels like the right time to share my journey and keep myself motivated. I've already made some progress this year by paying off **£7,341.79**. Current…
The Three C's - Coffee, Clothes & Credit Cards
I'm back again and I thought I would start a new fresh diary. Life has been hectic for me in the last 6 months with some unexpected expenses that have sadly led to me getting into some more debt. Fortunately it is all on 0% credit cards and I plan to tackle it £1 at a time. Technically I do have enough in savings to cover…
Divorce debt be gone!
Newly divorced but with big debts to clear here - moving and divorce legal fees, furnishing and essential repairs on the new place for me and my 2 teenmonsters who live with me 50/50. I managed to secure a 0% 15 month purchases card a few months ago when I moved to pay for furniture and have just secured a 0% balance…
Recovering Gambling Addict Aim To Be Debt Free
Hi I have struggled with controlling my gambling addiction for the past 13 year and I seem to be in a much better place at the minute. I am happy to say I have been gamble free since 8th June 2019. However this has resulted in various debt problems due to my addiction. I am hoping to be debt free by the end of 2021 when I…
Target December 2026
.I don't have debts so that is a good start. I have added up commitments for the coming 20 months and this includes presents (basically my 4 kids, their partners and the GC, all 8 of them, for Christmas and birthdays.) On top of that I have some commitments I've made, some of this is some expenses for grandchildren that…
A Lifetime of Debt - F, 40s, autistic, parent, professional
Hi, I'm starting a diary, as I always have a lot of thoughts, but I'll try not to disclose myself, as I really am a librarian and I'll want to talk about being autistic, which narrows down who I am already, although I should be safe! Between me and my husband we are in about 9k of unsecured debt, I owe just under 7k to…
Trying to stay out of debt! [35/AuDHD/Cats/Frugal Living]
I'm not in TOO bad a situation but I get the feeling it could really get out of hand. I have two more payments to make to pay off a loan/credit card thing with my Mum. Work is difficult for me to access. I'm autistic and have a lot of difficulty with other people. Trying each day to remind myself that I don't have money…
A space for my thoughts - tackling debt once and for all!
Good afternoon all, I've spent the last three weeks lurking and very much enjoying reading other people's diaries, seeing their journeys - the ups and the downs - really resonates with me. I like the idea of this being a safe place for me to write down my journey. A few things have led me here - our fixed rate mortgage is…
I have a plan - so everything is fine
First of many posts….Currently I’m 49k in unsecured debt. I’ve posted SOA and had some support and so I’m going for a DMP. This was back towards the end of June/July so thought I would post what’s happened and where I am. So my SOA compared to today…..isn’t it strange that in my head I was thinking I was paying £1400…
Debt and Caring
An unprovoked attack on my ankle by a metal workout bench has me lying down with a foot up this evening. Which makes this the ideal time to start this diary. And possibly to declutter some exercise equipment... Yesterday I was £9993.61 in debt. Today I have made a £1500 payment to one of my credit cards taking me down to…
Will I ever get it?
Many moons ago I was a DFW and did really well for a while but then life drastically changed but I find myself here again but in very different circumstances. I am in my fifties, happily single with a variety of pets. My debt isn't huge (about £2300) but I am unable to work so finances are limited. I do get frustrated with…

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Winter Fuel Payments to be reinstated for millions – Martin Lewis explains how it'll work, what it means and if it's an improvement
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Debt free diaries

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