The Debt Free Roll Of Honour

Kevicho

Just realised ive not filled this in

A) The date of your lightbulb moment - Around November 2005, was introduced to this site by a work colleague and caught the bug

b. Debts at their highest - to start my debt was about 11K, but after a year of working hard to get it down to around 2K I took out a loan of another 5K to set up a business, which ended up being a waste of time and money

c. Debt-Free Date - officially Feb 2009, but had savings before to clear off 0% interest debt before hand

d. Your one perl of wisdom.- Get into the subject as much as you can, Learn as much as you can from different sources, post here regularly, keep spreadsheets and keep on top of statements etc, obsession is good
d (b) more pearls of wisdom, Dont lend anyone any money, no matter how much you trust someone sometimes life gets in the way and you may end up losing your money, also make money schemes generally dont work, especially health ones, if you want to lose weight walk more and drink plenty of water, and save money by not "investing" in these pyramid schemes.

e. And if you had a debt diary on DFW, a link to it - didnt have one

Good luck to all those in debt, being debt free has allowed me to improve my career prospects by affording training, spend more money on my nieces, have more of a social life when I choose and improve my health.

betti911

The date of your lightbulb moment 1st January 2007
Debts at their highest- £17,847.46
Debt-Free Date- 14th July 2009
Your one perl of wisdom- Internet banking, my spending diary and this website helped me so much along the way!
And if you had a debt diary on DFW, a link to it http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=363423

hypno06

Well done betti :T

BusPass_2

Bit late in posting this since I have been debt free for a while.

LBM July 2002 Unsecured debt £34,000 (give or take a few pounds)
Mortgage £3,300

Debt free day 15th July 2008

Tip 1

Tell the other half. You can't do it on your own. None of this it's my debt, it's got nothing to do with you. you are a couple and two fighting together is far better than both doing their own thing. Your debt DOES affect your partner.

Tip 2

Tell yourself EVERY day you are going to do this.

Tip 3

Weigh up EVERY spend from essentials to luxuries. Ask the simple question. Do I really need this item? whether it's a loaf of bread or a new telly.

Best of luck on all your journeys.

musical_sock

The Date of your Lightbulb Moment
November 2007 - realised that I wasn't earning enough to cover the basics, never mind anything else (Christmas, Holidays etc.) I was on the verge of getting credit cards out to get these things, which would have been a seriously bad move.

Debts at their Highest
£1,500 (my overdraft). Not a huge amount compared to some people, but I'm so pleased I managed to break the cycle and clear my overdraft and not get into the habit of borrowing money I couldn't pay back.

Debt-Free Date
23rd July 2009 - I had saved up £1,000 with the help of a Halifax savings account, plus a bonus from work helped speed things up - it's amazing seeing my bank balance permanently in credit!

Your One Pearl of Wisdom
Don't be afraid of admitting to people who are good with money (in my case, my marvellous boyfriend) that you're awful with it. In my case opening up was the start of my re-education of how to grow up and take responsibility of my finances. Take every tip going and re-train your brain

Thanks for everyone who posts on this site as well, reading all your posts has been a real inspiration, I'm currently loving being a person who is debt-free and 'good with money'

bored_of_debt

Lightbulb moment Jan 2007
Highest debt at one time £20k - total overall £35k
Debt free 28 August 2009
All the hard work is definately worth it!! Keep going everybody!! Thanks MSE!! :beer:

pinkneonmartini

Lightbulb moment: October 2008

Debts at highest: £4050

Debt-Free Date: 27th August 2009 :j

Pearl of wisdon: The best idea i came across on my debt free journey was "if you haven't used it for a year get rid" no only have i cleared some much needed space in my bedroom (living with parents to save for a house) but i've made about £1,500 from selling all my stuff on amazon/ebay/carboots/mobile recycling. And i must thank my Mrs for introducing me to Computer Exchange, for someone like me who has literally got baxes of consoles/games/remotes it has been a god send, you can sell your stuff for cash, or trade in for a higher price. I haven't paid for a game in over a year! All my old snes + n64 stuff has funded my Wii habit

TheMunk

Lightbulb moment: September 2006

Debts at highest: £30k+ (never had the bottle to work it our fully)

Debt-Free Date: 28th August 2009

Pearl of wisdon: Cut back on all but essentials, create a budget and stick to it without fail then snowball all extra cash. Its a slow process to start with but as the snowball effect starts going it moves real quick in the end.

It is the most novel of feelings to have a bank account where the money in it is 100% yours!

-M-

slig

The date of your lightbulb moment 17 October 2008
Debts at their highest £5727.61
Debt-Free Date 31 August 2009
Your one pearl of wisdom Look after the pennies. The small changes make a huge difference, whether it's bringing a packed lunch, meal planning, keeping a sealed pot, making extra cash through survey; all the little things quickly add up and help keep you focused on the end result.

schoolrunmum

LBM- Oct 2008
Debts at that date-£5.5k
Debt free date-today!!!!!
Haven't really got a pearl of wisdom-just plod at it,it seemed such a large amount at the start, but little and often soon brought it down....never again though...