The Debt Free Roll Of Honour

davilown

LBM February 2007
Total debt 27,600
Debt Free 5th February 2010
Pearl of wisdom What's cluttering up your attic, garage and sheds? Sell it if you don't use it even if it is for a the one day in a blue moon if x comes to stay.

Sun_Addict

Final credit card payment went out on Monday 3 days early so I've been debt free since Monday and not known it!

Thought today would never come. It's been a long haul due to OH's income drastically reducing due to recession (sub contractor in building trade) but I've managed it despite everything so am very proud of myself.

So here goes:

LBM: The day I discovered this website - can't remember the exact date - probably about 2 years ago.

Debt at highest: £5,000
Debt free date: 22 February 2010

Pearls of wisdom: Any extra money use it to pay off debt no matter how small, set yourself a budget and stick to it and keep looking at this fantastic website - maybe join in some challenges. I also found taking it one step at a time and setting myself small goals helped a great deal.

Now here's to staying debt free!:beer:

mummum2

Well done Sun Addict! great news....have a :beer: on me.:j:j:j:T:T:T:T:j:j

MM2

*Jellie*

The date of your lightbulb moment: 19/3/09
Debts at their highest: Pre- LBM £25000, at LBM £8807.39!
Debt-Free Date: 26/2/2010
Your one pearl of wisdom: Join in challenges to keep you motivated
DFW diary: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1866129

RiK_2

Lightbulb Moment: December 2003

Debts at their highest: £45,563.96 (Jan 2004)

Debt-free Date: February 2010

Pearls of Wisdom

• Stop kidding yourself and get help!
  Contacting CCCS was such an incredible weight off my mind as they helped me to understand that I wasn't the only person in this position and by taking a structured approach to sorting things out it wasn't an insurmountable problem.
  
• Be realistic. You've got to make an effort to change.
  "If you do what you've always done then you're going to get what you've always got". You're going to have to change some habits and work to a more realistic budget but it will be worth it in the end!
  
• Do allow yourself the occasional treats, but don't go crazy.
  Being debt free feels infinitely better than the odd 'fix'.
  
• Believe it's possible and look forward to your debt-free day
  This was the real biggie for me. I kept a spreadsheet so I could project forward to see when I'd be debt-free based on the monthly repayments I was making. I would constantly remind myself how awesome that was going to feel, how my life would change to be finally debt-free and enjoying having an extra £600 per month of disposable income. I can tell you, having got here it feels FANTASTIC!

I think the biggest thing I can leave you with is simple, if I can do it, so can you. I'm just a regular guy who got in a mess, I've got pretty poor self-discipline and usually find it quite hard to get out of my comfort zone but once I made that call to CCCS it all started to change. I actually had something tangible to work with, something to look forward to.

Stick at it folks, YOU CAN DO IT!

RiK

clo5

Lightbulb Moment: June 2005
Debts at their highest: Approx £25,000
Debt-free Date: 01.03.2010



Pearls of Wisdom

• Be proud to be dealing with your debts - I honestly never thought this day would come but after coming clean to others about my debt and facing up to it, I have become extremely proud of becoming debt free!!!
• Keep track of every penny - check your internet banking every day!!!
• MSE website - I could not have done it without all the advice, support and wise words of every member of this amazing site!!!

I truly wish everyone success in becoming debt free - please stick with it and if you need a helping hand or you are feeling down, just visit this site!!!!!!!!!!!

:j :money: :j

edinburgher

Date of my lightbulb moment - Some time in 2003 when I realised that it was a case of paying the rent or the credit card bills!
Debts at their highest - £8,000 - £9,000 (my wages for three years at the time )
Debt-Free Date - 01/03/2010
Pearl of wisdom - Budget, budget, budget! You won't solve a thing unless you make every penny work for you
Debt diaries on DFW:

First attempt...
Next attempt...

Now, on with the rest of my life!

speirsro

Lightbulb Moment: Roughly end of 2004. The same time my cards were getting declined, and I couldn't afford to pay them. I was 21 years old.

Debt at Highest: £25,000

Debt Free Date: May 2009

Pearl of Wisdom: Keep visiting the MSE site! Do all you can to clear it as soon as you can. Don't think of dodgy ways to make more money...Think of ways to use the money you do have go a bit further.

catmiaow

Hi all,

The date of your lightbulb moment was January 2008
Debts at highest were £17,000
Debt free date 27th February 2010

I never used to check my bank balance so I always check that every day and budget for everything. I am planning on saving for stuff I want rather than buy on credit

dark^knight

a. The date of your lightbulb moment - April 2009.
b. Debts at their highest - £10,000
c. Debt-Free Date - 17 March 2010. Paid off my personal loan, 4 years early.
d. Your one perl of wisdom -
1, Use all the tools on this website to budget.
2, Have a long and hard think about your monthly commitments, which you have to meet regardless of whether you are earning anything or not.
3, Aim to put away the equivalent of at least 2 months salary as backup in case the worse happens.
4, Keep going, you'll get there.

In April 2009, I found out I would be made redundant. This was a huge shock to the system and it forced me to really think about my financial commitments.

I made a commitment to find another job as soon as possible, and to try and cut down my financial commitments to the bone.

I managed to get some contract work for about three months. I was fortunate to get back into a permanent job six months after I was made redundant.

Since I have been working full-time again, I have tried to reduce my outgoings as much as possible.

Now that I have managed to wipe away all my debt, my next aim is to try and reduce my mortgage to a more manageable level.