Confessions of a 29 year old who cleared £26,000 of debt thanks to the MSE community!

winner12

Hi there
Well done to you maybe I will be able to post in a few years if all goes to plan and I achieve something and clear my debts saw a quote recently that made me smile:
WE DONT ALL PLAN TO FAIL WE JUST FAIL TO PLAN
So to everyone out there you surely are an inspiration and well done

OnwardAndUpward81

How did I clear my debts?

Got paid for my opinions by doing market research/focus groups
Sold rubbish I had no Ebay (did you know people will pay for empty perfume bottles!)
Car boot sales
Buying no frills products in supermarkets
Being honest with people when I can't afford to go out (i.e " I've managed to get rid

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thousands of debt so I'm going to give it miss because I want to go on holiday/buy a pair of shoes/go out for friends bday")
Turn off electrical items when you're not using it
search online to find items cheaper
use toptable.com to go to fancy resturants for cheap
use last minute.com to go to the theatre for cheap
use the internet to put your own holidays together
go out to free events
do come dine with me with friends
get a boxset (that will keep you going out for a while, lol)
when you go to buy something ask yourself "do I really need this?"
on the other hand regarding the latter tip, don't be too strict on yourself or you'll end up exploding and going on a spending spree

OnwardAndUpward81

brokemedic wrote: »

Congratulations... that's quite a sum to have paid off. How did you manage to do it? What did you do that led to the most money being saved.. if that makes sense lol??

ms_london.. I used to read your thread from a couple of years back.. before you went travelling I think. It was quite inspiring from what I can recall. Thank-you.

Hi brokemedic

I never saved at all, I just forced myself to pay off debts whenever I received money. It was very painful at times, believe me!!! But now...SO WORTH IT!

OnwardAndUpward81

LexieLou wrote: »

Hi Miss Debt,

I am so eager to know how you cleared your debt. Please tell me all your tips.

Thanks.

LL xx

Hey

I've added some tips, hope they help!

x

OnwardAndUpward81

ms_london wrote: »

I would certainly recommend saving at the same rate you have been paying off your debt at - I managed to save £10,000 in 10 months (I had 2 jobs, so it wasn't an easy task like people think!) and then went travelling. Was away for 2 years, working as well, but come back to the UK at the wrong time and run up a further £6,000 as a result of having no job for a while, which is just been paid off. Phew! Now I want to save for a deposit.

I was originally debt free in Oct 2005, so it has been a while now, but it is also easy to pick up old habits!

I bet you feel rich don't you? Enjoy the feeling, and certainly live a little, don't be too hard on yourself! xx

Hey Miss London

I would think it's definately easy to fall back into debt. Luckily I too did some travelling in 2005 which funny enough added to my debt, lol. I don't regret it though due to having had the most amazing experiences of my life! I think I need to keep in mind the feelings and things that lead me to overspending which I'm quite aware of i.e feeling crappy or being brainwashed by fashion and the media, lol!

OnwardAndUpward81

INT1 wrote: »

A lot of it is just common sense really, It really scares me some of the posts on here how people operate their financial living.

Well done for clearing your debt.

@ INT1

I don't disagree with you at all that it's common sense. However, the issues that lead to debt are usually contributing factors that the individual isn't aware of. Sad but true