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The Little Cottage by the Sea
Hello my loves, I've wandered these threads for a few years and old versions of myself have had different user names and different diaries. I feel like this is a new chapter. One where I'm content and capable and I hope to bring you along for the story. The diary title is me manifesting the dream. I have come a long way,…
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Confessions of hidden debt.
Over the past several years, I have racked up credit card debts amounting to 41K in total. I have hidden this from my husband, and we have two young children together. The shame I feel is terrible and I know I have betrayed his trust. We are currently looking to remortgage and I know I need to let him know, I am fully…
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14 months to go!
As moneysavers go, I've never been in the depths of being in debt. I'm more of a 'there's always something' at some point in the month that happens, that messes my beloved budget up and I predictably feel down on myself for either not being prepared or not foreseeing something that I should! I live on my own (apart from my…
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Confessions of an Amazon Addict
(I may have mainly used Amazon for the alliteration, but it does take up a large part of my spending!) Here I am again, it seems. another lightbulb moment and another night figuratively beating myself around the head with the lamp attached to it. I've always had a penchant for spending and I'm a marketers dream. That new…
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Here Goes
So, I have been lurking for a while now and seeing everyone else make progress has spurred me on. I'm 38, with a 7 year old daughter and a dog, her dad lives abroad and flits in and out. He doesn't contribute anything financially. I pay every bill, activity, Xmas amd bday, but when he does visit he helps with pick ups etc…
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Another debt free wannabe
Afternoon folks, I'm starting a diary on here primarily to track my thoughts, repayment and spending habits. Maybe to find a sense of accountability too. Long story short: been in debt pretty much my entire adult life whether that be due to stupid lifestyle spending, necessary house repairs or due to a recent period of…
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Sorting my life out (again)
Blimey, it's been about 5 years since I've used this forum and my life has completely changed. 2020 = married, 1 DS, full-time job, debt-free, £9k savings 2025 = divorced, 1 DS, 1 DD, full-time carer for my DD who is disabled, £7k debt, £0 savings Luckily my debts are relatively small and 0% interest... apart from the car…
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Sobering up; paying down
Hi, I've started a thread or two here before about clearing my credit card debts but never stuck to updating them. I've been burying my head in the sand and I can see that my debt is only increasing, as I keep spending even though I'm making payments off my credit cards. The main thing that is keeping me stuck is that I am…
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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…
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How thrifty can a thrifty forumite called ThriftyMissus be?
I’m starting a diary…I’m good at stating the obvious. In January 2024 my debt was £19,546 to HMRC after massively messing up amid repeated and intensive trauma, I may feel more comfortable sharing at some point. I also owed £4,000 to Amex. As of today, my total debt is at around £5,600. For the last little over 12 months,…
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The Cutting Down Alcohol challenge for December & 2025 :)
Welcome to the Cutting Down Alcohol challenge for the month of June and for 2025! This challenge is all about helping people cut down or even give up on their alcohol consumption, mainly for health reasons, but it can also save a lot of money, because the cost of buying alcohol really mounts up over time and sometimes you…
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All change for 2025
I thought I'd start a new diary to have a fresh start. After almost 21 years in my job, I've recently been placed at risk of redundancy. I'll find out for sure in the new year. If I manage to successfully challenge the redundancy, things will be very different at that employer next year, and if I do go, there will be a…
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Moved: New Leaf for 2026 - Dire Debts
This discussion has been moved.
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I can do this...step by step
Hi all, I've been lurking on the forums on and off (mostly off) for sometime now and had "that moment" when I have come to realise I'm really over my head and hiding behind yet more loans and further debt won't help. I feel I have got to this stage by each time taking a new loan to consolidate the last while spending more…
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The Final Bite of the Cherry- Journey to Clear £66k
I have been here so many times, but I am determined to make this the last. This is not my first diary but the other attempts haven't worked so I've gone for a shiny new one. A bit of background. I have been in and out of debt most of my adult life. I was doing well staying out of debt until this summer when we completed on…
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2020++ - smiling and waving and looking so fine
Hello welcome to my shiny new 5 years (I hope) diary. The title is based on my favourite lyric from the Bowie song 5 years - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bcnO3VQ_fc - I commend you to go and have a listen - its the live Old Grey Whistle Test version and is hauntingly beautiful. Why a 5 year diary - well its is…
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Moved: Missing payments between step change and British Gas
This discussion has been moved.
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Are we nearly there yet?
I've been on these forums for nine years (according to all the messages I got from MSE Badger when I signed back in after a few years break), so it's been nine years that I've struggled with money. DH and I entered our 'living together life' with £2k worth of debt, and I remember thinking we'd never get out of it. It…
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Calm not chaos
Hi! I've been here before (a few times) and still not tackled the debt. Currently living in a world of repayments, credit card shuffling, pay-in-3 and flex chaos... I've tried the obsessive budgeting every penny approach and it doesn't work for me - see also healthy eating/exercise/home improvements etc etc I need calm and…
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My long overdue journey to becoming debt free!!
Hello, I've been lurking on here for a good few years now, and I have decided its time to finally, and for once and for all, to sort my sorry financial mess out! I wont bore you with all the gory details of how I got here, it would just be a list of excuses and justifications, when the hard reality is I spend more than I…
