Where I am now - Thanks MSE/DFW!

tking

So I just thought I’d post and let people know where I’m at since becoming debt free in Sept 09. I was a long-time lurker and used all the great hints and tips at this site to firstly acknowledge my debt and then face it and defeat it! I finished studying at the end of 2007 and got my first ‘real’ job in Feb 08. At this point I had about £19,000 (I’ve converted it to pounds at the rate back then as I’m in Australia) worth of credit card and personal loan debts. I had a mini-LBM and I started to pay off the credit cards by paying over the minimum but didn’t stop overspending week-to-week and also put big purchases on the cards (car service, flights etc.). In January 2009 I had my ‘real’ LBM – enough was enough! I used the budget tool on MSE to plan my expenses and also started to save in advance for car insurance etc.

By the beginning of Sept 09 I was well on my way to clearing my debts and received a small inheritance that finally got rid of the remaining amount! It was a wonderful moment to finally have zero balances on my credit cards, no loan showing on internet banking and money in a savings account!

Since then I’ve been sticking to a budget, saving up for annual expenses (car service, registration, insurance etc.) and for the first time ever booked my trip home and paid in cash!! No card bill. It feels great! I do still use the cards for shopping week-to-week but pay them off in full each fortnight (paid fortnightly) as I can earn rewards this way – and it’s all carefully budgeted for.

I am hopefully being promoted in June so my wage will increase by approx 20%. This I will try to save in it’s entirety, as well as the amount I put by each fortnight at the moment. I am saving for a deposit on a house and hope to have around $40,000 by Dec 2011.

The tips on MSE (especially on the DFW forum) are sensational. I am much more conscious of saving in every aspect of my life. I compare all products before I buy – from phone plans to car insurance, from cheap groceries to cheap fuel. I am also considered something of a ‘financial guru’ in my workplace as I always know where the best deals are and how to maximise income etc. This is entirely down to how much MSE has raised my awareness and given me an interest and understanding of money and everyday spending and saving!

I was lucky that my wages have allowed me to pay above the minimum so I was never really desperate – but I am so much better off since finding DFW on MSE.

Thanks to everyone who contributes to this great site – I think you do a brilliant service! My SOA is now firmly in the black and will remain so (well, excluding a mortgage perhaps which I will try to pay off as early as possible!).

Good luck to all DFW’s – you can do it! :T

mummum2

:beer::beer::j:j:j:j:T:T:T:T:TFantastic news, wow! a huge amount shifted in such a short space of time, well done you.

:T:T:T:T:beer::beer:

MM2

OrangeFairy

Well done!!! :beer::j:T:):rotfl:

Thanks for sharing...great to see when other's reach the 'other side'

A lot of hard work and it has paid off!! You should very rightly feel proud of yourself! :T