The Debt Free Roll Of Honour

Honeylife

CONGRATULATIONS! :T:T:T:T:T:T :beer:

OrganisingMyLife

a. The date of your lightbulb moment: 2010;
b. Debts at their highest: £10,039;
c. Debt-Free Date: 22nd March 2019; :j:j:j
d. Your one perl of wisdom. Paying off something towards all debts, and when you pay off one of the smaller ones, split the amount towards the remaining ones - you get the smaller ones paid off and the money you are already not "seeing" goes straight towards paying off the bigger ones... getting anything fully paid off is a great feeling and it will spur you on.


e. Links to the MSE guides that helped you: I just generally tried to keep up with all the saving money on purchase guides so when I did need to buy something I got it cheaper wherever possible, and I read a lot of the guides but some I read then burried my head in the sand more - so rather than take so long to pay off, don't do as I did and ignore it, do as I say and do something about it! :rotfl:



f. Which forum threads helped you: Debt-Free Wannabe boards generally. Threads like the "No buying unnecessary toiletries challenge", although I haven't been on there since 2012 apparently, the ideas have stuck with me and I now finish up things before I buy more, except for things like toilet paper and wipes as they will obviously be used, my "unnecessary toiletries" kind of extended to no unnecessary items as it wasn't just toiletries I ended up buying unnecessarily although they were definitely the main culprit in the beginning!



It all feels a bit unreal at the moment if I am completely honest but it's another weight off my shoulders. :T

DrSpendLittle

The date of your lightbulb moment
Mid August 2017. I'd just done another credit card shuffle and was shocked at the balance of one particular credit card. I had only £70 in the bank and most of the month left. I decided there and then that enough was enough, I was never going in my overdraft again and I was going to sort the debt mess out. In Dave Ramsey's words, I was sick and tired of being sick and tired!

Debts at their highest
£13,985.17

Debt-Free Date
29th March 2019

Your one perl of wisdom.
Give every £ a job. Tell it where to go and when but be flexible and realistic - paying off debt is a marathon, not a sprint, so go at your own pace and work with your own particular personality strengths. I'm very much a logistician and I love organising stuff (I am fun, honest!) so for me, YNAB was heaven sent. It really did change my life. One final pearl of wisdom - spending money today that you don't have is borrowing from your future self so respect her and be kind to her today.

Links to the MSE guides that helped you
Nothing in particular - I did look over the ISA guides and have latterly been using the moving house guides. But with regards to debt, I focused mainly on the forums (see below)

Which forum threads helped you
The DFW boards and Debt Free Diaries. I'd like to give a huge shout out to the wonderful Enthusiasticsaver who has been part of my diary since day one and without her encouraging and supportive comments and advice I may have abandoned my debt free journey. Also, a huge shout out to the many people behind the diaries I have kept up with along the way who have kept me going in this wonderful network of like minded people, especially redofromthestart HHOD wishingthemortgageaway TOPM WannabeFree starmummy babystepper parsniphead to name a few.

And if you had a debt diary on the Debt-Free Wannabe board (DFW), a link to it
Yup, it was the most important part of my debt free journey. My diary is here.

:j:j:j:j:j:j:j:T:T:T:T:T:j:j:j

enthusiasticsaver

Many thanks for the shout out DSL and you are a great example of how to bust debt. Fantastic result and I think the lessons you have learned over the last 20 months will ensure you a bright financial future. Good luck with the house move and wedding. Hope you keep the diary going.

a_silver_lining

a. The date of your lightbulb moment
Err. Well I borrowed the money towards buying my flat four and a half years ago, but I think the lightbulb was around Jan 18, when I realised I had only paid back around a quarter of this. I hadn't made plans as to how I was going to pay it back.

b. Debts at their highest
£10,000

c. Debt-Free Date
31/03/2019

d. Your one pearl of wisdom.
Record every spend. I honestly thought I didn't spend more then £20pm on 'eating out'... and then found out I spent anywhere between £80-150pm on takeaways, eating out, coffees and lunches at work :eek: so that got chopped through meal planning, buying cheap coffee sachets to bring into work to beat the cravings, and taking lunches with us on days out to town.

e. Links to the MSE guides that helped you
See below - the list at the start of the thread helped give me some great ideas of how to make money.

f. Which forum threads helped you
The 1% challenge re-framed how I viewed my debt. Suddenly it seemed more manageable because every little payment mattered. So I would make £1.08p from cashback, or a sale and it could be sent to my debt to build up a 1%. I flitted in and out of the thread, but seeing other people post was so encouraging to me.

Edit:Realised I hadn't mentioned the 'Debt Free by Christmas Thread' by Muppets. When the 1% went quiet I started posting there more. Really lovely, supportive group of people. And great to have a goal.

g. And if you had a debt diary on the Debt-Free Wannabe board (DFW)
I did, but it honestly was me just ranting lists of number to myself!

I'm really excited to move forward, but also still a little bit mentally stuck in debt paying mode as I paid it off at the start of my month and have a long time to wait for my next pay day... but then all my money is mine... Bwahahaha.....:D

supersaver1000

Sorry, I can't wait to post any longer. Just this months payments to make, which are waiting for my savings to mature and hmrc to calculate my student loan. But I have no debts to worry about at last as at 1 April 2019- its been such a long but worthwhile journey!!

Debts at highest were probably £50k not including the mortgage but we were serial yoyo debtors and probably wasted around £200k. My trouble with debt started when I met my DH and joined his champagne lifestyle on a lemonade budget. He had a windfall of around a £100k and there the spending started. We eventually remortgaged the house a couple of times (about £80k). Then we had around £30k in inheritance and paid off the credit cards with it. Then a few years later we sold the house and used that £29k to pay off the credit cards. Flash cars, watches, holidays, clothes, eating out, being over generous, expensive hobbies and the old just living beyond our means and treating money like water. There were some good times that I do treasure, but I could have a house paid for by now!!

I would say that my lightbulb moment was August 2014 (or thereabouts). This was shortly after I started my first thread I believe. I had jumped into a massive job and found it was totally wrong for me, so I jumped out again to something more secure but around a £500/mth pay drop.

It felt pretty disastrous considering we had somehow built up another £27k in credit cards and car loan debts. We did have £6k saved from the house as an emergency fund so we had a cushion, but it really brought home that I couldn't go on like this. I felt so trapped, DH was behaving like an idiot and then his work became unstable. After the LBM I had a couple of quick job changes and then DH had another job disaster and decided to work for himself. The debts went up a bit due to setting up self employment but then DH found that being able to claim taxes back against set up expenses meant we were in a slightly better position. It was all a bit hair raising at the time. But there some positives have come out of it - DH had his own LBM and we had a ppi claim come good so we've been able to pay back everything ourselves.

I'm not going to waste time regretting the wasted £200k - yes there have been times that I have felt sick about it, but I can now say we spent it, we enjoyed it, we've paid it back and luckily we got through it and can now get on with life in a different way.

It feels good to have made it to a position to be able to wipe the slate clean. We both have good incomes, as stable as they can be in this day and age. I've just taken one of my pensions early - and it feels fantastic to be able to put £20k into a savings account, rather than have to pay off the flaming credit cards. Life may change, who knows what is around the corner but that is going to be my focus now - shoreing up for the future - and DH is either on board or its the highway!!

My turning point was taking the credit cards off OH and giving him a cash allowance (pocket money). It just gave me the control I needed to start turning us around and gave him some focus on a budget. My advice to anyone hitching up their wagon to someone is to get to know them financially first and make sure they are a grown up!!

Best experience for me was starting my first thread and receiving such lovely support from the MSErs. You were my life savers - thank you so much.

Seagulls3000

Its an easy life - take out a pay day loan, spend spend spend, run out of money, get a new pay day loan, spend, spend, spend, run out of money, you get the picture,

payment on payday lloan is due, take out another pay day loan to cover it - it was just far far to easy, once you run out of pay day loan providers, go to the bank, get a loan, keep rolling that over and then get a credit card.

If I wanted something, I would get it - not thinking about the consequences.
There has to be a point when you stop and think, this cant keep happening, for me I cant remember what made me stop.

When I did I had about £30,000 in creditors - 13 pay day loans, 1 bank loan and a credit card. What did I have to show for it? Absolutley nothing!!!

I got help from PayPlan - they were very helpful, going through income and expenditure, coming up with a 5 year plan going forward. That plan was an IVA. I started in December 2013 - and dreamt of the day I became debt free. Every December I remember thinking 4 years, 3 years etc etc

It was not easy, i was suffering from depression, went through 5 jobs, periods of unemployment, but I battled and battled hard.

And the reason was for this moment - i paid back my creditors, I am debt free and feel I can now move on with the next chapter of my life.

A_DMP_Vetereran

Lightbulb moment: November 2015

Debts at highest: circa £24k

Debt-Free Date: 21st March 2019

Pearl of wisdom: Just do it. I messed around for years struggling with debt which ended up costing me a fortune in fees etc. I rang up Stepchange in November of 2015 and was debt free 3 and a half years later. I'd still be paying minimum payment on everything now if it weren't for taking the plunge.

beanielou

Seagulls3000 wrote: »

Its an easy life - take out a pay day loan, spend spend spend, run out of money, get a new pay day loan, spend, spend, spend, run out of money, you get the picture,

payment on payday lloan is due, take out another pay day loan to cover it - it was just far far to easy, once you run out of pay day loan providers, go to the bank, get a loan, keep rolling that over and then get a credit card.

If I wanted something, I would get it - not thinking about the consequences.
There has to be a point when you stop and think, this cant keep happening, for me I cant remember what made me stop.

When I did I had about £30,000 in creditors - 13 pay day loans, 1 bank loan and a credit card. What did I have to show for it? Absolutley nothing!!!

I got help from PayPlan - they were very helpful, going through income and expenditure, coming up with a 5 year plan going forward. That plan was an IVA. I started in December 2013 - and dreamt of the day I became debt free. Every December I remember thinking 4 years, 3 years etc etc

It was not easy, i was suffering from depression, went through 5 jobs, periods of unemployment, but I battled and battled hard.

And the reason was for this moment - i paid back my creditors, I am debt free and feel I can now move on with the next chapter of my life.

Happy new chapter.
Well done

beanielou

A_DMP_Vetereran wrote: »

Lightbulb moment: November 2015

Debts at highest: circa £24k

Debt-Free Date: 21st March 2019

Pearl of wisdom: Just do it. I messed around for years struggling with debt which ended up costing me a fortune in fees etc. I rang up Stepchange in November of 2015 and was debt free 3 and a half years later. I'd still be paying minimum payment on everything now if it weren't for taking the plunge.

Well done