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The Debt Free Roll Of Honour

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  • beanielou
    beanielou Posts: 94,063 Ambassador
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Academoney Grad Mortgage-free Glee!
    A The date of lightbulb moment 31/12/2016
    B Debts at there highest circa £10k
    C Debt free date 26/04/2021
    D Your one Pearl of wisdom Read all the advise on these pages and get started . 

    I started a DMP in June 2010 and paid all that debt off in 4 years but ended with a £2000 credit card debt because I couldn't really afford the DMP payments . 
    Then it went to £5000 I joined Debt free diaries in Jan 2017 and I have had some ups and downs I consolidated my revolving 5k in to a 2 year loan in Aug 2019 and paid it off 3 months early it worked for me but that's because I didn't take out further credit and kept to my budget. 
    It's a journey that I will remember but I can now look forward to semi retirement in the next year or so debt free. 
    Hurrah for semi retirement & being debt free  :smiley:
    I am a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on Mortgage Free Wannabe & Local Money Saving Scotland & Disability Money Matters. If you need any help on those boards, do let me know.Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any post you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button , or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com. All views are my own & not the official line of Money Saving Expert.

    Lou~ Debt free Wanabe No 55 DF 03/14.**Credit card debt free 30/06/10~** MFW. Finally mortgage free O2/ 2021****
    "A large income is the best recipe for happiness I ever heard of" Jane Austen in Mansfield Park.

    ***Fall down seven times,stand up eight*** ~~Japanese proverb.
    ***Keep plodding*** Out of debt, out of danger. ***Be the difference.***
    One debt remaining. Home improvement loan.
  • beanielou
    beanielou Posts: 94,063 Ambassador
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Academoney Grad Mortgage-free Glee!
    Butti said:
    1. Lightbulb moment. A moment of general reckoning about life in August 2009 with debts at £11,641
    2.  Debts at their highest. August 2012. Having retrained and changed career/moved debt was £22,734
    3.  Debt free day 11 April 2021.  8p credit on my credit card.
    4.  Two pearls.  
    When clothes shopping wear something lovely - only buy if  you need it AND the item looks more gorgeous than what you have on already.
    If you need hard therapy, grit your teeth and start.  Stop spending/ eating/ drinking over it.

    No Spend Days kept me focused and Beanielou is an absolute inspiration.

    My story is a familiar one of a parent who never gave praise but was very generous with criticism.  The abandonment void was filled with with clothes, food, alcohol and clutter.  Haven’t cracked it entirely yet but finding EMDR, emotional literacy, meditation and good friends help.  As does distancing yourself from toxic friends.

    Diaries
    A matter of loaf and death
    The whimsical tale of the Waterbed of Debt

    Epic epic result.
    So so chuffed  xx
    I am a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on Mortgage Free Wannabe & Local Money Saving Scotland & Disability Money Matters. If you need any help on those boards, do let me know.Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any post you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button , or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com. All views are my own & not the official line of Money Saving Expert.

    Lou~ Debt free Wanabe No 55 DF 03/14.**Credit card debt free 30/06/10~** MFW. Finally mortgage free O2/ 2021****
    "A large income is the best recipe for happiness I ever heard of" Jane Austen in Mansfield Park.

    ***Fall down seven times,stand up eight*** ~~Japanese proverb.
    ***Keep plodding*** Out of debt, out of danger. ***Be the difference.***
    One debt remaining. Home improvement loan.
  • PiPi2019
    PiPi2019 Posts: 12 Forumite
    10 Posts
    grannyx2 said:
    Lightbulb moment - July 2011 / hubby’s hours reduced in work and realised there was just no way we could continue on the path we were on 

    Debts at their highest £110,000 unsecured - reduced to £56,000 unsecured in December 2007 after taking on an expensive secured loan

    Debt free day 21-05-21 - standing order set to pay final settlement figure. No catalogues, overdrafts or credit cards owed anything

    Pearl of wisdom - come clean about your debt issues long before they become massive ones. Don’t try and hide from it as it only gets worse. Seek help from a professional if you can’t face dealing with creditors yourself. 

    Reason for debt - a lifetime of abuse both physical and mental left me reaching for coping strategies of spending and overeating. Both were a short term salve with a long term impact but no sooner did I try to sort it out something else would come along and I’d be reaching for those crutches again. My financial situation almost cost me my marriage, my career and my health (I even contemplated suicide) but today I have the biggest smile on my face. We became mortgage free in June 2018 when hubby retired and took a lump sum from his pension and as above my final settlement was accepted today, leaving us officially mortgage and debt free.

    I’m so happy I could cry. I never thought I’d see the day! 
    Congrats! You must be proud of your achievement. 
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