The Debt Free Roll Of Honour

unimportant_nonsense

a. The date of your lightbulb moment
Multiple over the last ten years, but many a false dawn. I knew the debts were too high, but I serviced them with interest and kept putting off sorting them out or had a significant, and unexpected, life events which derailed me. My last lightbulb moment was  30 September 2019 when I made a serious commitment to paying the debts off. 
b. Debts at their highest
£24,586.85. This was over four credit cards, three of which had fairly hefty interest rates and I couldn't easily get a balance transfer offer. Most of the debt I had for over a decade!
c. Debt-Free Date
30 June 2020
d. Your one pearl of wisdom.
I was lucky in a sense because I work in an industry where you can work abroad and I was able to radically cut costs (putting 80% of my monthly wage to debt repayment!). My main advice is to face up to the numbers, develop a plan and break it down into milestones. I also told some friends and family my goal and they helped keep me motivated and accountable, because lets be frank, being very sensible and cutting back isn't that fun. I would also say challenge yourself on deferring action 'til tomorrow' I was terrible for that and tomorrow never came and I just kept paying the interest and not putting that money toward my longer term dreams. My other advice would be to try and get past the buzz of buying. I built up my debt living beyond my means because I was often convinced that material goods would make me happy, which was not the case. 
e. Links to the guides that helped you
Actually the guide to buying a house. It helped me to see how much of a hindrance my debt would be. What's the point of saving when you owe so much? I'm now focused on saving a deposit. I also really liked the Money Diet book. 
f. Which forum threads helped you
Debt Free Wannabe. I found the stories of people who made it through to the other side really inspiring. 

groovy_chick

I am literally crying writing this, there were times when this day seemed so far away (and it was).  If I hadn't found MoneySavingExpert all those years ago I don't think I could have done it, so thank you … it feels amazing !!!!!

Lightbulb moment: 1/1/2008.  Not so much a lightbulb moment, more like a 'huge pile of dung being dropped on me from a great height' moment.  My debts were all credit cards in my name that my husband had racked up in the process of a mid-life crisis business venture (which failed).  When he left me in 2006, he initially continued to pay a generous maintenance and so minimum payments were never a worry.  Then on New Years day in 2008 he emailed me saying 'Happy New Year, well not so happy for you' and cut his payments down to a mere 10% of what they were before, leaving me unable to even pay my rent.  It didn't take long before those payments dwindled to nothing.

Debt at it's highest: Initially £28k, which rose to £40k after my Ex defaulted on a joint debt, which I then became liable for, earning me a Default on my credit file.  I would have been debt-free in 2018 but I finally managed to buy a house, after 10 years in rented, and borrowed the Stamp Duty from the bank of Mum and Dad.

Debt free date: 30th June 2020
Pearl of wisdom:  Contact your creditors straight away and be honest.  I rang my Credit Card companies and explained the situation and they froze interest and agreed achievable payment plans with me from the start.  I never missed a single payment and I paid every penny off, even though it took me 10 years.  Keep a list of all of your debts and update the balance regularly so you can see that you are making progress.  Be proud that you are in control and that you are dealing with your debts.

Forum threads that helped me:  Debt-free wannabe, What money-saving things will you do this week, Frugal living.  All of these gave me ideas and support, feeling like I wasn't alone in this.

danni.yelly

a. The date of your lightbulb moment - Summer of 2016
b. Debts at their highest - £12,000
c. Debt-Free Date - Last week 2020!
d. Your one pearl of wisdom - Don't stick your head in the sand! Facing up to my debt and actually breaking it down into little steps made it soo much more managable! Working with my debtor as well helped immensely as they froze interest for periods, really helping me to save up and pay off the debt! You CAN do it!
e. Links to the MSE guides that helped you - 
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/budget-planning/
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/family/money-help/
f. Which forum threads helped you
Frugal Living Challenge!

motivated

groovy_chick said:

I am literally crying writing this, there were times when this day seemed so far away (and it was).  If I hadn't found MoneySavingExpert all those years ago I don't think I could have done it, so thank you … it feels amazing !!!!!

Lightbulb moment: 1/1/2008.  Not so much a lightbulb moment, more like a 'huge pile of dung being dropped on me from a great height' moment.  My debts were all credit cards in my name that my husband had racked up in the process of a mid-life crisis business venture (which failed).  When he left me in 2006, he initially continued to pay a generous maintenance and so minimum payments were never a worry.  Then on New Years day in 2008 he emailed me saying 'Happy New Year, well not so happy for you' and cut his payments down to a mere 10% of what they were before, leaving me unable to even pay my rent.  It didn't take long before those payments dwindled to nothing.

Debt at it's highest: Initially £28k, which rose to £40k after my Ex defaulted on a joint debt, which I then became liable for, earning me a Default on my credit file.  I would have been debt-free in 2018 but I finally managed to buy a house, after 10 years in rented, and borrowed the Stamp Duty from the bank of Mum and Dad.

Debt free date: 30th June 2020
Pearl of wisdom:  Contact your creditors straight away and be honest.  I rang my Credit Card companies and explained the situation and they froze interest and agreed achievable payment plans with me from the start.  I never missed a single payment and I paid every penny off, even though it took me 10 years.  Keep a list of all of your debts and update the balance regularly so you can see that you are making progress.  Be proud that you are in control and that you are dealing with your debts.

Forum threads that helped me:  Debt-free wannabe, What money-saving things will you do this week, Frugal living.  All of these gave me ideas and support, feeling like I wasn't alone in this.

just wanted to say a massive well done to you.   I got a little choked reading it as I'm also in a pile of dung.  But with posts like yours it proves to the idiots like me that it can indeed be done.   Thank you for sharing your amazing journey.  It gives me hope that one day I will be writing here too. 

I have all creditors on board so far and Will Be debt free one fine day
good luck to you
x

Mx_Emmin

The date of your lightbulb moment 
Somewhere between October 2018 and Febraury 2019, between the breakup of a long term relationship (Oct '18) and escaping to a new city (Feb '19) 
 

Debts at their highest 
£3000ish? 
When I was at the height of my debt I didn't take as accurate measurements as I do now so I'm not 100% sure how much I had at the height. The highest figure I had recorded was -£2355.04 but that was when I was already a few month into my journey and I suddenly realised that I needed to know how far I'd come. I know it doesn't sound like much but I'm a single income household and I work in customer service. I'm not paid mountains now and especially back then I was paid near-minimum wage. Plus, because I didn't have a good grip on my finances, £2000 felt like £200,000.
 

Debt-Free Date 
17/07/2020
 

Your one pearl of wisdom
Only one?
Hang in there. This is a marathon, not a sprint, celebrate milestones along the way so you dont lose hope. Maybe have some sort of debt thermometer so you can visualise your progress (I just coloured in squares on an excel spreadsheet - kind of wish I'd gon for something prettier now!). And when you get within sight of the end - maybe a year to 6 months away - consider funding a treat for yourself to celebrate reaching the end. I saved up for a special bottle of Whiskey since January, and it is good. 
 

Links to the MSE guides that helped you 
The Budget Planner
Do A Money Makeover
The Demotivator
Repay debts or save?
If you don't mind stepping away from MSE for a moment - I saw people on the forums talking about YNAB and Dave Ramsey. I really got on well with the YNAB app and have made great gains with that. I can see the benefit of the Dave Ramsey program, I just dont like his personality much. Both would be compatible with MSE advice, YNAB slightly more than Ramsey. (Ramsey has his own debt free program, YNAB is more flexible)
 

Which forum threads helped you

I just liked reading a bunch of Debt Free Diaries. I particularly liked SpekySquarehead's diary but he seems to have stopped posting. His was one of the first places I read about this "YNAB" thingymajib.

I suppose technically, technically, technically, I still have student loans - but as Martin points out, those act more like a tax than a debt anyway. 
 
Now onto building a proper Emergency Fund!
Debt Free!
It doesn't feel real...

Edit:
I've been reflecting on this post, and I just wanted to come back and share something I've really discovered to be true on this journey - although this isn't a "pearl of wisdom" of such, more of a life lesson.

£1000 is a lot of money to owe, and not a lot of money to have.

I feel that's perhaps not as encouraging as I'd like, but it is very, very, true. I don't want people to be disheartened by that, the fact in itself is neither postive nor negative, it just is, but you can use it to assess your situation and guide your decisions. 

Sassers

The date of your lightbulb moment

Once upon a time in 2006 a friend of mine called Becky mentioned Martin Lewis and Money Saving Expert. She got me into it in a big way. And with nearly £100k of mortgage, debt and an ex that took my savings and used my credit cards to fund his lifestyle and business (what could go wrong, we were getting married. Thankfully we didn't as he was also having an affair), the fightback started in earnest in September 2010 with just over £90k of horribleness. It was just me.

Debts at their highest

Minus the mortgage, my debt was in the region of £60k. And the debt was more than my house was worth. I watched every penny I spent, tried to offset my spending with mystery shopping, online surveys, buying whoopsied food, not taking any holidays what-so-ever and just working my ar$$ off to bring that total down.

At one point I was doing a full-time 40 hour week at work, mystery shopping in the evenings and I also had a part time job of 16 hours at the weekend. I can’t tell you how frightening it was. I had the bailiffs in numerous times, had to go to court and defend myself against a house repossession (which thankfully didn’t happen as I won) and just kept on going, grinding it out.

I’m still offsetting my spending and the situation was so traumatic for so long, I will never forget what I’ve gone through. But I’m still here - and while my partner now isn’t as he died suddenly (not the horrible ex) -  I owe it to him and myself to get debt free and finally, finally breathe! I have got to the stage now where is just the mortgage, the bills are all paid up and I can maybe think about having a bit of a holiday (when Covid rules and travel restrictions ease) however I've done without for so long, it's quite a thing for me to think what I can do and enjoy it withour fear!

Debt-Free Date

Christmas 2019. It’s taken me a while to post on here because I wanted to write something helpful. There’s been low points as mentioned, being tired all the time and also not wanting to open the post in the beginning. I remember eating a whoopsied 10p packet of squid which I made in the slow cooker with a tomato sauce, which was so rubbery and chewy it would have put Wrigleys gum to shame.  Another time, I sent every book I found in the local charity shop 4 x £1 for a return of £20 to an online book buyer. The parcel weighed a ton - I did anything and everything to scrape out the extra cash. It all went to the debt.

Your one pearl of wisdom.

For god’s sake open the post and talk to people like CAP and Citizens Advice. Also come on this forums and talk to people who can offer support and advice. God bless the forums!

Also don't fund other people's lifestyles or go guarantor for anyone...chop up your credit cards and go debit only.

I had four carrier bags of debt letters and if I’d been brave or mentally strong enough to open them, my life might have been less stressful and totally different. I still have downsides when I hate the knock on the door and a ringing home phone – I still tell myself that it might be bailiffs or debt agencies but it’s not. I actually considered suicide a couple of times. This is an issue for many of us when life has been like this for so long. Be kind but firm with yourself, plan a budget, read Martin's emails, check out Dave Ramsey, make your own work lunches and take-away coffees (and buy MSG to make home-made takeaway food), change to rollie cigarettes if you have to, shopping isn't a hobby - and most of all, don't hide or keep your head in the sand and start talking to the debt companies! Look after your mental health too because without Martin and the kindness of people on the forums, I would have done something stupid. He deserves to be knighted in my view.

..anyhoo...YOU CAN BE DEBT FREE TOO!

Which forum threads helped you

Payment a day, Debt free wannabee, MSE challenges

beanielou

Sassers said:

The date of your lightbulb moment

Once upon a time in 2006 a friend of mine called Becky mentioned Martin Lewis and Money Saving Expert. She got me into it in a big way. And with nearly £100k of mortgage, debt and an ex that took my savings and used my credit cards to fund his lifestyle and business (what could go wrong, we were getting married. Thankfully we didn't as he was also having an affair), the fightback started in earnest in September 2010 with just over £90k of horribleness. It was just me.

Debts at their highest

Minus the mortgage, my debt was in the region of £60k. And the debt was more than my house was worth. I watched every penny I spent, tried to offset my spending with mystery shopping, online surveys, buying whoopsied food, not taking any holidays what-so-ever and just working my ar$$ off to bring that total down.

At one point I was doing a full-time 40 hour week at work, mystery shopping in the evenings and I also had a part time job of 16 hours at the weekend. I can’t tell you how frightening it was. I had the bailiffs in numerous times, had to go to court and defend myself against a house repossession (which thankfully didn’t happen as I won) and just kept on going, grinding it out.

I’m still offsetting my spending and the situation was so traumatic for so long, I will never forget what I’ve gone through. But I’m still here - and while my partner now isn’t as he died suddenly (not the horrible ex) -  I owe it to him and myself to get debt free and finally, finally breathe! I have got to the stage now where is just the mortgage, the bills are all paid up and I can maybe think about having a bit of a holiday (when Covid rules and travel restrictions ease) however I've done without for so long, it's quite a thing for me to think what I can do and enjoy it withour fear!

Debt-Free Date

Christmas 2019. It’s taken me a while to post on here because I wanted to write something helpful. There’s been low points as mentioned, being tired all the time and also not wanting to open the post in the beginning. I remember eating a whoopsied 10p packet of squid which I made in the slow cooker with a tomato sauce, which was so rubbery and chewy it would have put Wrigleys gum to shame.  Another time, I sent every book I found in the local charity shop 4 x £1 for a return of £20 to an online book buyer. The parcel weighed a ton - I did anything and everything to scrape out the extra cash. It all went to the debt.

Your one pearl of wisdom.

For god’s sake open the post and talk to people like CAP and Citizens Advice. Also come on this forums and talk to people who can offer support and advice. God bless the forums!

Also don't fund other people's lifestyles or go guarantor for anyone...chop up your credit cards and go debit only.

I had four carrier bags of debt letters and if I’d been brave or mentally strong enough to open them, my life might have been less stressful and totally different. I still have downsides when I hate the knock on the door and a ringing home phone – I still tell myself that it might be bailiffs or debt agencies but it’s not. I actually considered suicide a couple of times. This is an issue for many of us when life has been like this for so long. Be kind but firm with yourself, plan a budget, read Martin's emails, check out Dave Ramsey, make your own work lunches and take-away coffees (and buy MSG to make home-made takeaway food), change to rollie cigarettes if you have to, shopping isn't a hobby - and most of all, don't hide or keep your head in the sand and start talking to the debt companies! Look after your mental health too because without Martin and the kindness of people on the forums, I would have done something stupid. He deserves to be knighted in my view.

..anyhoo...YOU CAN BE DEBT FREE TOO!

Which forum threads helped you

Payment a day, Debt free wannabee, MSE challenges

Amazing.
Massive well done to you.
Be proud 

DancingInTheRain

The date of your lightbulb moment:
Diary start date of 01/06/2019.

Debts at their highest - £13,636.

Debt-Free Date:
25/07/2020.

Your pearl of wisdom:
Start a diary, update your diary, use your diary as a brain dump. Allow yourself the space and freedom to change direction (I did many times 🙂).

Which Forum Threads Helped You:
Definitely the DFW and MFW threads, you can learn something new every day from all the amazing contributors 💞

Mayor_Understanding

Light bulb moment was around the early 2000's
Lots of silly debt, bank loan for a car £4000
Around £4000 of credit card debt
Probably another misc £2000 of other debt.
Didn't have it all at once, but had constant debt in one form or other from around 1992 up to 2006.
When I saw the light, I saw how irresponsible I was being, borrowing on credit to buy stuff I did not need.
I still have treats, holidays, etc, but it is all cash up front. New me went to Japan, but saved for months and months for it, old me would have stuck it on a credit card. 
90 percent of my journeys are now my bike, I often shower at work.
My relationship with money is far far heather. For me, there is nothing wrong with buying a posh coffee a day, but buying a £20000 car to show off to the neighbours is madness. 
The key is discipline and cash up front. Borrowing money is just making others rich at your expense.  
It's totally doable so don't give up. If you owe £1000, pretend you just owe £1000 and concentrate on chopping that £1000 down, Now you owe £9000, pretend you owe £1050, chop that down, now you owe £7950, keep chopping and eventually you will owe nothing. 

Calling14

a. The date of your lightbulb moment - 1/1/2013
b. Debts at their highest - £13039
c. Debt-Free Date - 13/8/20
d. Your one pearl of wisdom - Take control Wake up moment for me was when I couldn't sleep, unexpected bill come in, worrying if I would lose my house if I couldn't afford to pay my debts. It's a slow process, budget, batch cook, stop spending and give yourself some leeway you have to live as well.   Good news I am proof you get there in the end. single and one wage.  

e. Links to the MSE guides that helped you -

Debt free challenges

1 debt x 100 days run by Amara.

NST monthly challenges, turtles are a great bunch and very supportive.Thanks for everyone who run monthly challenges

Pay your debts by Xmas 2020 had done all the previous years. Thanks muppets