The Debt Free Roll Of Honour

beanielou

BalanceTransferDude said:

Hi all,
I've been following this thread for a long time and honestly, it's been a huge motivator for me during some despairing times with my debt. 

a. The date of your lightbulb moment - October 2018
b. Debts at their highest - £19,000 (all on credits, mostly 0% terms that I'd bounce around different cards)
c. Debt-Free Date - 23rd October 2020
d. Your one perl of wisdom - put every penny aside and keep chipping away at the debt. What I found most helpful for me was setting up a spreadsheet which I tracked every debt and penny coming in so I had a clear path to when I would be debt free.

So happy that I could clear the last bits of my debts yesterday - all my credit cards are at £0 balance now, including PayPal credit, etc. 

Good luck to everyone - it's such an amazing feeling when you're finally debt free.

BTD

Great result. 

Suffolk_lass

Well it is done. All the debt has gone. The credit cards, the loans, the mortgage. All cleared. I'm not sure what next as our big plans have been postponed and life is a little smaller, albeit comfortable now. It is like a weight has been lifted. So much wisdom on this forum, so much support. We could not have done it without you.

a. The date of your lightbulb moment - 2009 I joined MSE Forums and started reading and posting...
b. Debts at their highest - just under £300,000.00 (including a large mortgage for the time)
c. Debt-Free Date - 14th October 2020
d. Your one perl of wisdom - put your finances under pressure so that you never feel comfortable or you get complacent
e. Links to the MSE guides that helped you Debt Free Diaries, Mortgage Free Wannabees, Savings, Green fingered moneysaving and Old-Style
f. Which forum threads helped you monthly Grocery Challenges to keep my costs down, The all new good, bad and ugly of growing your own in 2020, MFiT, and the inspirational posts of others on the same journeys in their diaries, and on mine. All that wisdom and support is there for all of us
g. And if you had a debt diary on the Debt-Free Wannabe board (DFW), a link to it Get a Grip Woman

Beeboo23

The date of your lightbulb moment
January 2019
Debts at their highest
Around 15k
Debt-Free Date
25/10/2020
Your one pearl of wisdom.
Track your spending and set a budget. Put your spending allowance in a separate account so you know the maximum you have to spend. 

AnnieG

The date of your lightbulb moment
I've had so many over the years I couldn't tell you
Debts at their highest
42K
Debt-Free Date
26/10/2020
Your one pearl of wisdom.
Use cash wherever possible, it's not as easy to let go of 'real' money

Larac

The date of your lightbulb moment
June 2012 
Debts at their highest
£56K
Debt-Free Date
28th October 2020
Your one perl of wisdom.
I went on a DMP with Stepchange and what it did to me was made me go cold turkey and finally get a grip of budgeting for the first time in my life when I started it in my late 40's.  Keep a track of daily expenses and constantly check your bank accounts.  Set a realistic budget if you are on a long haul DMP as you have to live life as well.
Which forum threads helped you
Without a doubt Debt Free Wanabee - lots of support, guidance and useful information.
So glad I am at the end of this journey and can go into retirement without a huge debt hanging over me.  Good luck everyone and hope you can see that you can pay these debts off, with some dilligence.

JamesEmma2

a. The date of your lightbulb moment - January 2019
b. Debts at their highest - £52852
c. Debt-Free Date - November 2020
d. Your one pearl of wisdom. - Spend less than you earn.

mamamu

The date of your lightbulb moment
March 2020
Debts at their highest
£19K
Debt-Free Date
27/11/2020
Your one perl of wisdom - budget carefully and stick to it!

ryanm8655

Lightbulb moment: July/August 2019
Debts at highest: Probably about £30k, not even sure ha.
Debt free date: 30/11/2020
One Pearl of wisdom: Don’t consolidate, there is no quick fix, it’s all about a change of mindset and budgeting.

If you look through my post history you’ll see I made a visit to the forum back in 2016 asking about consolidation. Went ahead and did it and low and behold I was back in 2019 with more than double the debt...

I’ve been in perpetual debt ever since uni, it all started with a £3000 interest free overdraft that I saw as free money. Then I got an interest free £8k loan from my first grad job that I spent on expensive furniture and watches, again not really thinking about the fact I had to pay it back...always thought it didn’t matter about being in debt as one day I’d be paid well enough to clear it. Payrises came but predictably my tastes became more expensive and things spiralled. Consolidated debts back in 2016 and had a little success getting my debts down to about £10k but then suddenly got access to stacks of interest free credit. A bad break up and 2 years of living like a king and my debts were mental. I wouldn’t even check my bank balance, never checked credit cards, didn’t even know how many I had. I reckon I had at least £30k of debt, if not more at my highest. When I had my lightbulb moment I had actually started to rein things in a little bit believe it or not...though nowhere near enough...

I used to read debt free stories for inspiration and felt demoralised as the people that tended to make quick progress seemed to earn a lot more and got big bonuses, something I’d never get. It seemed like the only way out was some kind of miracle...though in truth I think I was in denial and looking for excuses. It’s much harder to clear debt than it is to build it up...and it requires you to be brave and own the situation, you need to be committed and grind through the ups and downs. Eventually the mindset clicks and things become far easier.

I was genuinely shocked how much debt I had once I added it all up. It was about £9k more than I thought and I discovered cards I didn’t know existed...

Some of the most embarrassing moments include 3 cards being declined on a date and my card being declined while on holiday in Dubai when I tried to pay for a round of drinks for some friends who were putting me up for free, all while wearing a ridiculously expensive watch that I couldn’t afford Must’ve looked a right nob...

I was quite lucky in that my living situation changed quite drastically and my costs declined when I took the decision to move back to family and commute to London. Then COVID happened after about 6/7 months and I was able to clear my debt even more quickly. I also managed to secure a promotion a few months back which further added to the available funds. Despite this it has been a tough journey but one I wouldn’t change. I needed to go through the tough times to finally change my mindset. Likewise, it gave me the confidence to go for the promotion I probably should have gone for a lot sooner. Good things started to happen when I stopped cruising through life trying to escape from the realities and took ownership. The personal growth is actually far more valuable than the debt I’ve cleared.

I’ll soon be moving back to London and am looking forward to doing so with a new mindset and a clean slate. I’ll never be an MSE angel as I do love to enjoy life but for me it is about balance. I’ll be budgeting and using all the same tools that got me debt free. Consider the opportunity cost of every purchase and never get myself into debt again... It’s a nice feeling to know that my full wage is mine rather than a huge chunk of it going on servicing debt.

I’ll be sticking around even though my goals may now be different. Next plan is to enjoy life for a bit and make a start on saving for a deposit. Initial plan is stick £500/month into the LISA until I am ready to hit things hard again, at which point it’ll be more saving and less play...but I think I deserve to live a little (within my means).

My first thread in 2016: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5539484/loan-advice-high-interest-rate#1

Then again in 2019:
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6009718/getting-myself-debt-free-consolidation/p1

And my diary is in my signature.

madaboutspots

Incredible work! That is a staggering amount of debt to clear in such a short time. Massive congratulations to you for all the hard but worthwhile lessons you've learnt... Huge respect for your honest appraisal of your own behaviour.

Good luck with this next freer phase of your life. Enjoy the lack of weight hanging over you and live life to the full without stretching your lifestyle beyond your means again. A very satisfying and relaxing way to end a shocking year.

Congratulations. 

[Deleted User]

This is one of my favourite threads. So inspiring.