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Debt free diaries

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

Balance crept up ever so slowly... Now the wake up call
Hello everyone, It's a bit scary starting the thread on here but I feel like I need a accountability. I've managed somehow to accrue just under £1800 of credit card debt and finally smelled the coffee when the minimum payment skyrocketed overnight. I have gone through all my spending over the last two months, wrote down…
Stopping the backsliding… a family of four no longer living beyond their means
Some of you may know me from my last diary, which was on Mortgage Free Wannabe. The truth is, I’ve not paid anything extra off my mortgage for years, I’ve not saved like I meant to, and I currently have £1,000 on my credit card 🤦‍♀️ 🤦‍♀️ 🤦‍♀️ I plan to have this paid off in under 3 months, so I could have stayed on my old…
Mentally exhausting
Hi all, this is my first post but a long term reader of this forum. I have been in debt my whole adult life and now in my early 40s. It all started when I started work at 18 in a high street bank and had access to easily accessible credit which I kept consolidating and taking out more. I was on top of my debts but my OH…
Facing up and moving forward
Hi everyone, Newbie here who's been lurking reading and getting inspiration from all your threads for quite some time! I thought it's time for me to start my own, for accountability and to face up to uncomfortable financial truths I've been avoiding. I love reading about how others are sorting out their debt and hope that…
£2,576.79 to clear by March
£956.15 on one credit card, interest free period ends 16th March £1620.64 on the other, interest free until the 1st March It's entirely possible that I can't quite manage and end up doing a balance transfer, but this diary is to give me the accountability to try my best. We've had a tricky year financially after my husband…
Credit? Never again!
Hi everyone. I wanted to start a diary at the very beginning of our journey. We have debts of £70k. We've been trying to keep going, paying them, juggling credit cards, hoping we can increase our income enough to cover it........ but realise we can no longer bury our heads. I'm autistic and our family life is quite…
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 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.…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Finally taking back control after a decade of debt
Hello, Long-time lurker, first-time poster. I've had CC debt ever since moving to London after university around 9 years ago. Coming here for work on a very low wage, I quickly ate through my savings and started racking up debt on credit cards, without any real means to pay it off. Came to a bit of a head when I ended up…
2024... Debt no more🤘
Hi all, here I go to ridding myself of debt for the final time. I don't want to work forever and would like some good savings before I reduce my working hours. I'm not getting any younger and suffer with various ailments so instead of borrowing I need to pay off what I owe and save instead. Previous borrowing was always…

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MSE News

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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
All State Pensioners in England and Wales will receive a Winter Fuel Payments this winter, though those who earn over £35,000 will see it clawed back through the tax system. It means nine million pensioners will get the £200 or £300 top-up. Here MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis shares his instant response and analysis, and we include answers to your key questions.

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Debt free diaries

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