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Living Large, on a Small Income, by the Sea.
I am living by the sea in a beautiful house. (I can’t believe that sentence is about me) I have spent two years living in other people’s homes. I ended up on a sofa for several months. The joy of my own home, my own key, my own bed…it is indescribable. I had to go to the top of my budget to buy the house, but it is exactly…
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Redemption - The journey of a recovering gambling addict.
Ok. Here goes. This is my journal on my journey to redemption. First post is to outline my current situation. Salary- £75k + Married Two Children Personal Debts Bank Loan 1 CAR - £20433 - £352 4.3% Debt Consolidation Loan £10,344 £153 5.2% MBMA - £4300 - 0% 14 months NatWest £3000 - 0% 12 months I have told my wife…
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Making 2026 a debt busting year
Hi all So, DH and I have been in debt for years, mostly credit cards, and decided to make a real effort last year to start to clear them. The aim is to have them all paid off by the end of 2027. We have no mortgage but do have a loan for some for some work on the house which will be cleared in April 2028. We started 2025…
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Juggling mum/work life, whilst looking after my future self, both financially & healthily
Hiiiii, So I thought it was time I started a new diary as my old one got a bit complicated. A little about me. I’m a mum in my 40’s, my husband works away a lot, I work full time, and I have 2 children a tween and a teen. Along with 2 noisy cats. The last few months have been hard financially, and my work is teetering on…
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£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…
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The Frugal Hearth: Stories of Simple Living and Living Well
Hello, and welcome, one and all to my new debt free diary! My Journey I started my old diary at the beginning of 2020, a couple of months before the pandemic hit the UK and we went into lockdown. That diary can be found here…
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2026: The Final Year
Hello debt free wannabeeees! It's been a while since I have been on this board. We paid off our debts a few years ago. I then started a Mortgage-free diary of which I have since paused, as we then decided life was a bit too short and wanted to do some other things first. Well, we now both want to get going towards…
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There is always tomorrow
We live on a smallholding in rural Wales. We don't keep any other animals than horses that are oldies now and it is only me and DH at home. Compared with a few years ago there is a lot less to be paying for although the costs of previous years have caught up with us and we are paying loans and credit cards. The purpose of…
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A Ditherer's Diary (again)
I'm baaaack. When I started my original diary "A Ditherer's Diary" My kids were littlie's aged 5 and 15 months. Nothing except their age and the amount of debt has changed, it's all got higher! They are now 11 & 7. Having had a quick read through, a lot of it was me coming and going with a few months/years in between. I…
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KMNs diary - curbing spending and maximising saving with a new baby
So maybe a bit random to have a diary when I'm not in debt, but I am about to start my maternity leave (at the end of the month) as we prepared to welcome our first child in early March. We are incredibly lucky to be quite comfortable, own our home (mortgaged) and both able to put some money in savings at the end of each…
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Attention Deficit Debt Free Wannabe
I've decided to start a diary after reading through other peoples and being inspired and receiving some great advice 😀 I won't rehash what's already been posted. My original SOA and questions: Today is mothers day, so plan today is visit mother with DS and drop off cards and present, a box of Ferrero Rocher, paid for out…
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Moved
Moved to retirement planning.. .
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It's me, hi, I'm the problem, it's me
I am my own biggest problem and obstacle in life. It's time to change for the better. I'm doing a lot of thinking about changes I need to make in my life to better prepare myself for my future.
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Weight loss and healthy eating for a debt free life
I've been thinking about this for a while and I've seen a few other people mention weight loss so I wondered if we should have a thread. There's a giving up alcohol one but obviously we can't give up food. I also realise that not everyone with a food buying problem is overweight. I overbuy and some of the overbuying was…
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Tryingtobesensible2026
Have lurked and read a few of folks diaries and inspired to start my own. I have my mortgage as my main debt currently owe £89509.05 on a five year fixed rate coming to an end April 2027. Very aware and watching interest rates at the moment regarding this. I have to thank one diary member for an idea from one diary I read…
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Walking into another chapter ...
Welcome one and all ... to those of you who have managed to avoid my diaries until now as well as those loyal ones of you who have stuck around over the years, thank you :) So another year is about to begin and now seems as good a time as any to start a new diary. This will be my 11th (I think?), I've been around here…
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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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Should itsthelittlethings spend less on coffee?
Hopefully this works as an all new diary for me. Will add my debt into my signature and keep track of how I do going along.
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Take my life back
Hello everyone. After keeping my head burried in the sand i decided that i need to take back control of my finances before mental healt deteriorates even more. Everything was perfect…until divorce. A few things that i would like to clear out, I'm now renting with my partner £1250 but also pay my solo mortgage £1250 for the…
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Getting Started (Again)
So having cleared over £18k of debt around 15 years ago, I know find myself in the unenviable position of having accrued debt and trashed my credit file once again… Things are very different now to then, but for various reasons I have only recently managed to turn a corner and really faced up to the situation. I made use…
