The Debt Free Roll Of Honour

dads_albums

Done and dusted today - Boot13t & me are out of the brown stuff.

Lightbulb moment - Feb 2009
Debts at their highest - 46K
Debt Free Date - 25th September 2015
Pearl of Wisdom - Budget, budget, budget...have a spreadsheet or something and keep a close eye on it!!

I'M FREEEEEEEEEE!

:beer:

her_welshness

a. The date of your lightbulb moment - 2011-12
b. Debts at their highest - £18,000
c. Debt-Free Date - 16 September 2015
d. Your one pearl of wisdom: step out of your comfort zone and earn some extra money, any job or revenue stream you can get your hands on. Mine earned me between £80 and £200 a month which created a spending buffer.

I have been in debt since I was at Uni. With many of us it starts with a small overdraft, which you then increase little by little because you stupidly think that its 'free' money and it will be paid off one day by a benevolent member of your family.

Once I graduated from Uni and into a full-time job that overdraft got turned into a loan. That loan got consolidated and re-consolidated. What I didn't realise until a few years ago was that many people have done this, but no one ever really talks about it.

So what changed? Circumstances and ultimately reflection on the whole sorry state of it. I was made redundant in 2009 and although the payout was good I just spent it and went into my overdraft whilst still being unemployed. Frightening is an understatement. I managed to find temporary work but was unemployed again a year later. Dark days. Scraping money together. Selling jewellery that you don't want to sell.

Slowly, things started to change. I got a temporary job in 2011 which changed into a proper job. It took another 6 months to then slowly pick up the pieces and realise that I was still in a high amount of debt and overdraft and I needed to work at it, because otherwise I would spiral back downwards again.

Acknowledging the amount of money that you don't have was the first real step to tackling the debt. Yes it is bloody depressing but once you start that budget and seeing your outgoings right in front of you then you can make a start. Coming onto this forum and reading some of the diaries on here is also a very inspiring experience and learning from amazing folk who are clearing their debts amidst trying to cope with real life.

I do not regret ever being in debt. Its been a horrible place to live in for years but its made me (corny) a stronger person, almost like a metamorphosis. The outcome is that I am a happier person. I can enjoy a lunch out once a week. I can now afford to buy my husband supper once a month. I joined a gym a few months ago and have dropped a stone in weight. I have an emergency pot and am saving up for a holiday next spring. Life is better. Thanks debt!

natsplatnat

a. The date of your lightbulb moment - 1) Nov 2008 & 2) Jan 2011
b. Debts at their highest - £25,125 (£23,900 of this cleared from 2011)
c. Debt-Free Date - 28th September 2015
d. Your one pearl of wisdom - Use a spreadsheet or expenditure app for EVERYTHING. Be realistic. Save any small change - it really does add up. Use cashback / surveys to boost income. One thing that really helped me was the fact that at certain times of the month (paid weekly) I had enough money in one account to temporarily transfer some to another account where I was in my OD - this greatly reduced my interest each month meaning I could clear my OD quicker (ps, you really do need a spreadsheet to track this!!)
Now to create my emergency fund and start planning ahead!! Good luck to anyone reading this who is still in debt - you can do this!!!

uncreative

dads_albums wrote: »

Done and dusted today - Boot13t & me are out of the brown stuff.

Lightbulb moment - Feb 2009
Debts at their highest - 46K
Debt Free Date - 25th September 2015
Pearl of Wisdom - Budget, budget, budget...have a spreadsheet or something and keep a close eye on it!!

I'M FREEEEEEEEEE!

:beer:

totally awesome achievement.

LittleDutchgirl

Today I paid off the last of my 0% credit cards and £21.4K of debt is gone!
My lightbulb flickered in Jan 13 but firmly came on in March that year. I owed £21.4K in credit cards and overdraft. I got there by being careless with money thinking that I didn't have the time to do all this dull and boring stuff. Lord knows what I have spent in interest over the years. I lurched from crisis to crisis with cars/boilers etc going onto credit cards
My pearl of wisdom is write it all down. I became the spreadsheet queen and recorded everything. I am now in charge of my money and ironically have waaaay more money than I did before.
I hung out a lot on the debt free wannabe board though I've never posted much. I learned so much from you guys. Thank you I couldn't have done it without you!
LDg

LittleDutchgirl

Today I paid off the last of my 0% credit cards and £21.4K of debt is gone as of today 30th Sept 2015!
My lightbulb flickered in Jan 13 but firmly came on in March that year. I owed £21.4K in credit cards and overdraft. I got there by being careless with money thinking that I didn't have the time to do all this dull and boring stuff. Lord knows what I have spent in interest over the years. I lurched from crisis to crisis with cars/boilers etc going onto credit cards
My pearl of wisdom is write it all down. I became the spreadsheet queen and recorded everything. I am now in charge of my money and ironically have waaaay more money than I did before.
I hung out a lot on the debt free wannabe board though I've never posted much. I learned so much from you guys. Thank you I couldn't have done it without you!
LDg

LionessInWinter

Congrats LittleDutchGirl, well done

Former_MSE_Andrea

Congratulations everyone who's cleared their debts! Remember to come back and post on the What I did next thread!

Lizloz

Well done to everyone on this post! Can't wait to see my name with the words 'Debt Free' next to it!

Gettingtherequickly

Just been told by MSE Andrea to nip over here so that I can get a badge!

Been debt free a couple of years now, but as I did everything in reverse, I think that at its height, my debt was over £30k. But with determination, I did it.

Where ever you are in your journey, you will get there and the relief at the end will be the most amazing feeling. Make no mistakes, there will be good days and bad days, but the bad days will get fewer & fewer.

You will get there!