Lightbulb Moments how & when

newleaf

Mine came recently, when I realised that I owe my next 9 months salary in credit card debt. I have had a credit card for the last 29 years and I have never been debt free in all that time. I have worked since leaving school, I'm now 47 and have nothing but debt to show for it.

ZoeMarie_2

Mine came when my car blew up and I realised I had no credit left to get to buy another one, couldn't get to work without it and was using all my wages apart from £20 a month on bills.

I moved home and thanks to my parents and lots of money saving advice here I'm now 75% there.

pineapple_beach

My lightbulb moment came when my DH faced me up and asked me outright why I needed a new loan. I had just arranged another consolidation loan with Egg and they had phoned to check I was happy witht he srvice I had received!
I was sick with worry about my debt, had a car loan and now 2 consolidation loans, and still £2000 on credit/store cards.
He was disapproving but keen to help me to sort it out.... I took immediate action, it has a been a long slog but I am nearly there now and can't wait to be debt free - what a feeling that will be! :j
pineapple_beach

sallyjo_2

Mine was finally in Autumn 2004 when I realised that my debt levels were finally out of control. I have played chase with debt products for years, cash flow and minimum payments, loans etc. In Sept 2004 I reacted in my usual way to unexpected expenses that summer and made a couple of tactical errors in my borrowing (it was a period where I was finishing my MSc-writing my dissertation up-and my head was up the **** of my project area!). Once the thing was submitted and I looked at my arithmetic, I realised that the monthly payments were more than I could pay with my incomings, easy mistake for me, I have always managed cash flow with a tread water approach. The next six months were a nightmare - I started to incur mortgage arrears to satisfy the menacing collections calls, my (old) bank was a b***ard to me and bank charges were being levied and debited from my account, compounding the cash flow and making it almost impossible to plan. The credit card collections department vultures bombarded me with calls, letters and threats. It was a very stressful time! and I cannot begin to tell you how much I hate them all - its not a personal thing you might say but its bl**dy personal to me! I sought advice from everyone and everywhere! The panic finally lit the bulb. The CCCS are a white knight, together with the advice of you lovely people, and a nod to the Motley Fool.

I had known I was being stupid with paying interest on debt for a long time, and knew the foolhardiness of paying credit card balances. I was reactive with finances and not proactive, though I thought I was in control as I was always juggling to keep the cash flow going, but always chasing my tail. I even sold down from our previous house to the one we are in now to pay off debt and maximise cash flow. I rationalised the debt (as do most of us) as being acceptable on the basis of my using their money to fund my children's childhood and our life together, to have fun with them NOW whilst they are still children. I still think there is merit in the motive. They are children now, in 10 years when I am debt free they won't be. However, suffice to say that this thinking made me a perfect mark / sorry customer! of the debt products industry! It was a trap I fell into when I had a nightmare year 10 years ago (boiler died, engine blew up on car etc) early into the single mother experience, wiping out my savings and I started using the credit cards for groceries when the cash had to go to pay the child minder. It's an easy trap to fall into, a modern Faustian path.

One thing about kids and having to tighten the family finances. Mine are teenagers now, and both have been simply GREAT, are interested in helping plan the monthly budgets, are gracious when I have to say NO, no money for x this month and they have to wait for what they want. They have registered the ugly side of debt, seeing my stress, fielding the harrassment calls etc. I regret ever keeping a balance on a credit card or taking out a bank loan, not for any reason! not for any holiday we ever had or the purchase of any other single item-most of which are long gone before they are paid off! We would have managed just fine, on current money because we're doing it now! I hope though my experiences it will provide a cautionary tale for them, so when the mobile contracts, banks and credit card lounge lizards come a courtin'--as they already have for my 17 year old-- they will treat them with due caution and they will be proactive, not reactive in their management of money.

chriz1000

Mine was when I was 16. This was 7 years ago and my dad allowed me to buy a £1200 computer on 12 months interest free credit (in his name). Of course being 16 earning £200 a month I didn’t have the financial intelligence to save enough.
To teach me a lesson my dad didn’t step in and pay the outstanding finance. This meant I had to pay monthly instalments of around £60 for the next 3 years. I realised after a while I was paying nearly double for the privilege of having an out of date computer (4 years old by the time I paid it off!). I think this was when I had my light bulb moment and I realised how important it is to pay debt off before interest accumulated.

lynzpower

Mine came about when my freind/ lodger moved out in February. ON top of this me & OH are meant to be getting wed, but we didnt have a pot to p$$$ in All the time I thought a promotion was the answer to all my problems. Especially when I was bouncing my OD a week after payday He was exasperated and didnt really understand it.

I thought how the hell am I going to pay the mortgage? And the bills? I cant put them on my CCs as there is no more credit left

A mate of mine found this site a while ago ( yes you, lady) and told me about it. I initialy was nosing around homes & property, then saw this and thought, whats this about, people getting debt free

the rest is history I am so much happier and in control now, and in a few short months I can actually contemplate taking a pay CUT when the right thing comes up for me. We will soon be planning the wedding, and I hope to be out of debt by Xmas. Thats my target