The Debt Free Roll Of Honour

Karen777

well done spot3 and miss_corerupted - brilliant work!

miss_corerupted

Thanks Karen. It was a lot of hard work and some PPI money

Ellieseleven

Great news Spot3 and Miss_corerupted. Well done to you both!

happybunny86

The date of your lightbulb moment
5th January 2014. Even though I'd paid off 3/4 of my debt my then I hadn't had the ligbulb moment of I really need to get a proper grip on this and they were still up and down.

Debts at their highest
Probably somewhere around £11k. I only remember adding it up and it getting to £10.5k but it was probably higher at some points

Debt-Free Date
6th March 2015

Your one pearl of wisdom.
Be realistic. I have a couple. Don't let debt consume your life. The moment you out yourself on a ridiculous budget you'll fall off the wagon and you'll binge spend.
Do some research understand what your options are to pay debt off and how it will affect your credit score. I would do things differently had I done that.
Know that if the debts in your name it doesn't matter if it comes out a joint account your responsible for it so be careful what you take credit out I if it's a joint purchase.
Use YNAB it completely changed my life. That was my breakthrough moment and I've saved so much money now I know where my money is going.

Links to the MSE guides/forum threads that helped
There's been lots of help and advice on this forum. I've generally dipped in when I had a question and dipped back out again. I found the guides to credit and credit checking very useful.


And if you had a debt diary on the Debt-Free Wannabe board (DFW), a link to it
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4859839

MadGutts

Debt over £15k
debt free Jun 2010

I have been debt free since 2010 after sorting out my finances and paying off the debt my ex-wife left me! granted some help from claiming back bank charges and a payment from a death in the family... But im now on course with my life, my own company set-up and finally getting some money behind me...
And all this while having 2x children who are now teenagers!

Happy with my life now!

Nargleblast

Not debt free yet, just five months to go....bumping this thread back to page 1 as someone on the IVA board has posted about being debt free.

poohbear59

a. The date of your lightbulb moment Oct 2010
b. Debts at their highest £24400
c. Debt-Free Date 11/03/2015
d. Your one pearl of wisdom.Make food from scratch.You can feed a family of four for £200 per month.
e. The guides that helped me the most were the reclaiming PPI, DFW
f. Which forum threads helped you, lots over the years; grocery challenge, NSDs plus many DFWs on the same journey as me.
g. And if you had a debt diary on the



We have managed to set up our new business and have managed with the help of Payplan, my union, a couple of legacies and lots of hard work to pay off all of our personal debt. We still have business debt to pay off. The business is making enough to cover the debts and we will continue on our journey living as frugally as possible until all debt is paid off. Our income is still a lot lower than it was but we have learnt that it is possible to live on a shoestring and be happy.

Karen777

well done people!! you're inspiring!

Smedley

Lightbulb moment: May 2012, marriage breakdown abroad, a massive debt had been kept secret from me.
I was confronted with £25,000 of hidden debt in the solicitor letters. Easier paying a little than going through fraud investigations of things ordered in my name, and increasing legal fees in a foreign country. Think my partner got the debts written off, and 7 years of no luxuries in the end.

Debt at highest: £2650

Debt-Free Date: Mar 2015

Pearl of wisdom: If you need something, ask yourself:

1. Do I really need this?
2. Why do I need this?
3. When do I need this, can it wait?
4. Can I save up and buy this for cash?
5. Can I buy this at a discount by anticipating sales...
6. Have a buffer budget for maintenance, when things unexpectedly break down, or for when electronics die.
7. If you use Credit Cards, pay them off on time.

Re: Gadgets: Do you really have to keep up with the Joneses? New the latest model of phone often has a minute advantage over your current model.

Forum Threads: There is a wealth of free advice on the forum, I just dipped in and found nuggets which I could use.

Debt Diary Link: None, the debt was not really that high.

Readers

Hi Martin and the MSE Team,


I wanted to say thank-you for all your tips and the brilliant weekly email. I was in £9000 of debt at the age of 27 and I've always wanted to work overseas, as I'm a midwife, but knew I couldn't go with all the debt hanging over me like a black cloud. I'd spent too much money on holidays, parties, going out, learning new skills.....living my life, but in a way that I couldn't keep up.


In December 2013, I sat with my boyfriend and with MSE on the computer and we made plans to get a new loan, apply for refunds with LloydsTSB (I got over £1100 thanks to your advise and template letters) and it took me until June 2014, but I paid every single penny off and I have £3000 in savings AND.....I'm writing you this email from Katanga Province, in D.R.Congo, on my afternoon off, as I'm working with MSF (Medecins sans Frontieres/Doctors without Borders). Dream=Reality!


I'll tell you what really helped me:
1.) Your mantra's; the one that says ''If you're skint, do you really need it'' and ''if you're not skint, will you actually use it''. They work. In London, I used to buy all kinds of crap, now I don't and I'm happier for it.
2.) You're weekly emails are great, I read them here in the Congo! I like to keep my toe in, and I am looking forward to changing my bank account when I return to the UK.


I found that having my boyfriend (who is annoyingly good with cash/savings....even on our first date we shared the bill......now I know why he has money!) as a sounding board really helped, every month I could 'check-in' on how I was doing. Bottling up the stress was making it worse, when I told him I felt instantly better.


So, Martin and the team, a huge thank-you. And, do you know what, I even get a little salary while I work here, maybe that deposit for house isn't completely out of reach?!


With warm wishes from DR.Congo, hope to meet you one day (ah, that sounds weird!)


Claire