The Debt Free Roll Of Honour

NoStrangerToDebt

Ok so this is the story....
In 2009 we hit a financial wall.
Whilst I had a relatively good income we found our selves owing more than £100,000 to credit card companies.
Lightbulb moment... Realising if you made big pension payments your debtors cannot demand more than a proportion of your net income,this was the one factor that made this possible,believe it or not I would still be working if we had not run up this debt,because I wouldn't have made adequate pension provision.
Debt free as of next month,no creditors,no mortgage.
Best advice we found was here in the forums.
Best advice I can give
Play the card companies you owe money too off against each other,do not settle for the payment plan they want or the interest rate they choose.:money:
So telling them that they are one of 10 companies that are chasing debt and that they can only have their proportion of the net income and that you have a payment plan with other cards at 0% does apply strong leverage.
You don't always need the expert help you may be offered you can negotiate very well on your own if you have confidence.
For the first year we lived on a discretionary spend of £70 per month,recording every penny we spent that was not a direct debit standing order or debt repayment.
Audit your accounts and reduce your outgoings by negotiating with service providers for Internet phone etc,and just plain cut out anything that you don't need,Netflix etc etc.
Keep up the payments as agreed and always discuss any difficulties with your debtors ahead of time,they want the money back so they can be flexible.
Pay the money out,use the template on MSE to get proof that the company asking for money has the documentation to support their claim.
We did this and one company could not provide the paperwork so we have not repaid them,they sold the debt whilst we were on a payment plan without notification to us,so we stopped payments and have sat tight on threats from the succession of companies that claim we owe them money.After 4 years they have stopped trying to contact us.
DONT PANIC,at times things can seem very dark,but it has taken us 7 relentless years to get to a better place,many tears,but many high points too.

diamonds

congrats DF class of 2016^


£4300 in credit, should be more but a mishap meant taxis, (crap staff canteen) meals and a travelpass to the hospital for most of Feb, bah humbug, on and up with the car fund!

glentoran99

Last payment on 36k of debt made today. 44 Months since LBM

fermi

Congratulations NoStrangerToDebt and glentoran99 :j :T

glentoran99

Thanks fermi couldn't have done it at least not as soon without the great advice from yourself and others on the debt free wannabe forum, with a nod to those in the flight delay forum that paid off my overdraft

Hobbes1

Lightbulb moment was in November 2008 when we realised that we were no longer able to make even the minimum payments due.

Debts at that point were just over £47,000.

We started a DMP with Stepchange in January 2009 and I am so proud to be able to say that as of today we are now finally debt free having paid every single penny back!

Stepchange have been great and I have also been a long time lurker of the Debt Free Wannabe forum which has really kept me going when things have been tough. The DMP & Mutual Support thread and Long Haulers thread in particular have been a great support so special thanks to all the posters on there. I also enjoyed reading the NSK challenges!

My one pearl of wisdom would be to be realistic with your budget on a DMP.... you still have to live!!

The Debt Free Roll of Honour thread has helped keep me motivated. I have looked forward to the day when I could join you all and post that I was also now debt free and here I am! I am looking forward to living a life debt free!

bookworm262

a. The date of your lightbulb moment - February 2012
b. Debts at their highest - £15k
c. Debt-Free Date - 4/3/2016
d. Your one perl of wisdom. - Make a note of everything you spend

princess_pea

Today is my DFD :j:money::beer::T:rotfl::D:)


a. The date of your lightbulb moment - I've had several!
b. Debts at their highest - £8686.42
c. Debt-Free Date - 7/3/2016
d. Your one pearl of wisdom - keep a spending diary, either digital or on paper, so you know where every penny goes

Former_MSE_Andrea

13 Debt Freeers posted on the Debt Free Roll so far. Keep at it everyone

Soph86_2

The date of your lightbulb moment - October 2010
b. Debts at their highest - £49128.50
c. Debt-Free Date - 5/Feb/2016
d. Your one pearl of wisdom - scrutenise every purchase, learn to use up every scrap of food, and accept offered leftovers from parties/family to save money on food!