Martin Lewis Changed My Life....

Beanietdc

OK, I have had an idea for a "happy" thread and I hope people will go with it... if not then this thread will fall off the bottom of the page soon enough!

I would really like to hear peoples stories of how finding the lovely Martin and this site changed their life for the better :money:

I am talking about things like, deciding that you could afford to have children, planning the wedding of your dreams (but at 1/10th the price), saving a marriage by facing up to things, even coming back from the brink of suicide over massive debts.

I think we need a heartwarming thread on the go here - they are usually so nice when they do come along... :j

Or like I said, this thread will fall off the bottom of the screen soon enough so feel free to ignore!:o

For me personally, I have managed to sort out my money so that my other half and I will soon be able to sell our homes and buy a nice one together and then start planning our wedding. I never would have been able to afford a joint mortgage or a big white frock before. :T :T :T

Broken_hearted

Well I'm still here battling and have a lot more money free than I used to have. All the bills get paid and we have treats.

CAFCGirl

The lovely dear lord Martin has led me to:

The realisation of the situation and my control over it
Look low for a bargain!
Eye level is what they want you to buy level!
How to affect how much I pay for utilities
Not to stand for shoddy companies
How to approach creditors to get what you want
How to cut down on extravagences without feeling liek you're missing out
The beauty of making things by yourself
Paying back debts and saving yourself money with the snowball.........

And without his help.
I wouldnt have any idea about OS
So I wouldnt know
The glory of a slow cooker
Bring back the small time greengrocer and butcher singlehandedly and feel better for it
How to meal plan
How to feed 6 people for £1.62

Phew!

I'm super duper happy to have found Martin!

debbycatz

The biggest and best skill Martin has given me through this site is CONTROL over my finances. Every day I am motivated by the supportive posts on this forum and feel inspired and rejuvenated by this community.

Control over your finances should never be underestimated - it's a fantastic feeling.

PeachPickle

Ok, there are two sections to this.

Money:

MSE hasn't really saved me any yet, but it has made me some! Through quidco, pigsback and my fledgling mystery shopping "career" I've made an extra £300+ so far in 3 months. How good is that?!
Plus, it's made me see that I've been getting complacent and need to get off my !!!! and step it up a gear

Not money but in some ways more important:

Without wanting to sound too schmaltzy I've made some ace friends on here! I just got back from a fantastic weekend chez purpleprincess who I never would have met without this site, and I WILL be going for a drink with CAFCGirl SOON whether she wants to or not :rotfl: I'll be ready to meet the next one on my list as soon as I've sourced some decent rope :rotfl:

Batgirl

I agree with debycatz, for the first time in all the time my husband and I have know each other (11yrs) we are in control of our finances and have extra money. We have learnt so much and am so grateful that I have learnt all of it now rather than in 20 years time. We're making loads of extra money and saving loads. MSE has truly changed our lives for the better.

mountainofdebt

- I think by coming onto this site, although I can't see it at the moment, I know there is light somewhere.

- I know now how to make my tesco points go abit further.....before I would have spent them in the shop and not even considered looking in their deals brochure.

- I know now that to spend on a credit card that I've done a BT on is really foolish.

- the idea of reclaiming bank charges would just be something somebody else did.

- instead of paying £60+ a quarter in phone bills, I'm now paying £40, which is mainly line rental

- The idea of actually saving for something, whether it's for car tax, the son's uniform or the annual holiday is actually now 2nd nature

But most importantly, its the fact that we can actually talk about how much debt we're in without anyone looking down their noses in disgust.

Kelinik

How has Martin changed my life? Well I'm still new here and have alot to read/learn/do yet but just what I've managed so far has given me back the ambition & motivation to strive for the future I want for my hubby and our kids - something I thought I'd lost in the constant struggle to just get by. Trying not to go OTT here but I feel that he has helped me grab hold of the reins so I can steer my own course and that feeling alone is potentially life changing. :cool:



Oh and of course he's pretty easy on the eye too!

gettingitsorted

both myself and my husband have found great knowledge on this site,we have seen a huge change in our lives we are now married (3 weeks) and did it on a budget and we now own our own home ,iv lernt to budget my weeklyshop and how to fed us for next to nothing,cut the christmas bill by more than half thanks to the grab it section.We constantly rave about martin to everyone and reccamend the site as often as possible.

The support and non judgment you recieve about any problem or rant etc you could never get anywhere else in the world and for that Martin we thank you.

CAFCGirl

oooooooooooooh I know!

And the beauty of a support network

And how one kind post can lift you from the darkness.

A Terry's chocolate Orange from your new buddy always helps too

southernscouser

PeachPickle wrote:

I'll be ready to meet the next one on my list as soon as I've sourced some decent rope :rotfl:

You're gonna tie me up? :eek: :cool: