The Debt Free Roll Of Honour

gothrockchic1

empy wrote: »

Good evening all, well at last I can post on the roll of honour after taking the scenic route to get here:o. So here are my stats:

Date of lightbulb moment: when I joined MSE- I think it was either 2005 0r 2007!

Debt at highest: I think it was about £16,500 but may have been as high as £21,00

Debt Free Date: today 30th May 2011- the month of my 30th Birthday, what a fab start to my 30's:beer:

Pearls of Wisdom: Never lose sight of your goal- I've taken the scenic route and slipped up along the way many times, but I got there and saved £1000's in interest.


The feeling is just great, now I want to start saving and become addicted to it, lol.

Good luck to everyone continuing on their journey to becoming debt free. x

empy:)

Congrats thats amazing go and celebrate in style!

choogirl

Hello

I've made my final payment to Barclayc**d tonight so officially debtfree (well excluding mortgage but that will keep until another day)

Date of Lightbulb Moment - 14/09/10
Debts at highest - £13131.28
Debt Free Date - 2nd June 2011
Pearls of wisdom - Quite a few but these seemed to work well for me - 1) Create a realistic budget and keep tweaking it until its accurate
2) Cut up your credit cards and cancel the accounts 3) Allow yourself a small treat occasionally.

Never lose sight of the end goal.

Good Luck everyone xxxxxx

mummum2

choogirl wrote: »

Hello

I've made my final payment to Barclayc**d tonight so officially debtfree (well excluding mortgage but that will keep until another day)

Date of Lightbulb Moment - 14/09/10
Debts at highest - £13131.28
Debt Free Date - 2nd June 2011
Pearls of wisdom - Quite a few but these seemed to work well for me - 1) Create a realistic budget and keep tweaking it until its accurate
2) Cut up your credit cards and cancel the accounts 3) Allow yourself a small treat occasionally.

Never lose sight of the end goal.

Good Luck everyone xxxxxx

Wow! you paid almost 13+K in over a year! so impressed! Enjoy your debt freeness and saving! :T:beer::j:beer::beer:

gothrockchic1

choogirl wrote: »

Hello

I've made my final payment to Barclayc**d tonight so officially debtfree (well excluding mortgage but that will keep until another day)

Date of Lightbulb Moment - 14/09/10
Debts at highest - £13131.28
Debt Free Date - 2nd June 2011
Pearls of wisdom - Quite a few but these seemed to work well for me - 1) Create a realistic budget and keep tweaking it until its accurate
2) Cut up your credit cards and cancel the accounts 3) Allow yourself a small treat occasionally.

Never lose sight of the end goal.

Good Luck everyone xxxxxx

Congratulations :T:T:T:beer:

wjfox

Hi all

First post here. I've been debt-free since December 2010 and it's the most wonderful feeling. No more credit cards, loans, overdraft...!!

I recently created a graph in Excel, based on my old bank statements etc. and inputted my balance for each and every month from 2000-2011 (was hoping to post it here, but it won't let me as I'm a newbie). My debt peaked in 2005, when my balance dipped below -£8000. My "lightbulb moment" came in late 2007, when I began making huge efforts to reduce my debts. After 3 years of doing this, I finally went into the black, and I'm now over £3000 in credit.

If I had to offer advice to others wishing to become debt-free, I would say:

• First and foremost, only buy what you really NEED, as opposed to what you really WANT, and don't be swayed by advertising, propaganda or peer pressure.
• Create a spreadsheet with ALL of your income/outgoings for the months ahead, and keep it updated. Do a comprehensive, top-to-bottom audit of what you're spending money on (even the small things - it all adds up!), and consider whether you really need those things.
• This might sound obvious, but ALWAYS pay off the debts with highest interest first.
• Switch banks, and switch to 0% interest credit cards if you can. There are some good deals out there.
• Consider moving to cheaper accommodation, at least temporarily. I spent 3 years in a complete hellhole, which was rather unpleasant to say the least, but I was saving nearly £400 a month by doing so! (I'm now in far more luxurious surroundings, lol. ).
• Make your own sandwiches for lunch, rather than buying them from cafes or supermarkets. I saved over £1000 a year by doing this.
• Consider getting the bus, if you're able to, which is cheaper than trains/tube/car. I saved over £1000 a year by doing this.

Good luck!

Cheers
wjfox

gothrockchic1

wjfox wrote: »

Hi all

First post here. I've been debt-free since December 2010 and it's the most wonderful feeling. No more credit cards, loans, overdraft...!!

I recently created a graph in Excel, based on my old bank statements etc. and inputted my balance for each and every month from 2000-2011 (was hoping to post it here, but it won't let me as I'm a newbie). My debt peaked in 2005, when my balance dipped below -£8000. My "lightbulb moment" came in late 2007, when I began making huge efforts to reduce my debts. After 3 years of doing this, I finally went into the black, and I'm now over £3000 in credit.

If I had to offer advice to others wishing to become debt-free, I would say:

• First and foremost, only buy what you really NEED, as opposed to what you really WANT, and don't be swayed by advertising, propaganda or peer pressure.
• Create a spreadsheet with ALL of your income/outgoings for the months ahead, and keep it updated. Do a comprehensive, top-to-bottom audit of what you're spending money on (even the small things - it all adds up!), and consider whether you really need those things.
• This might sound obvious, but ALWAYS pay off the debts with highest interest first.
• Switch banks, and switch to 0% interest credit cards if you can. There are some good deals out there.
• Consider moving to cheaper accommodation, at least temporarily. I spent 3 years in a complete hellhole, which was rather unpleasant to say the least, but I was saving nearly £400 a month by doing so! (I'm now in far more luxurious surroundings, lol. ).
• Make your own sandwiches for lunch, rather than buying them from cafes or supermarkets. I saved over £1000 a year by doing this.
• Consider getting the bus, if you're able to, which is cheaper than trains/tube/car. I saved over £1000 a year by doing this.

Good luck!

Cheers
wjfox

Congratulations wjfox! Great advice too!

Moneymash

Well done. I am doing all the things on your list including living in a hellhole, my rent is cheap and all inclusive. I can't wait until I can move as that will signify I am well on the way to debt freedom. In the meantime I consider it punishment for my financially frivalous ways. :mad:

roxiepie_2

a. The date of your lightbulb moment
A few flickers and then went thoroughly on in March 2009

b. Debts at their highest
Although not reflected in my signature, my debts at their highest were around £5,000

c. Debt-Free Date
Yesterday! 28/06/11

d. Your one pearl of wisdom.
So many things I want to recommend:

· Pack lunches. On work days leave debit/credit cards and cash at home, taking lunch and snacks in. Amazing how much money can be saved from not getting a Boots Meal Deal several times a week. Healthier too!

· Become geeky! Set up the mother of all spreadsheets which shows your incomings/outgoings and tracks your debt repayments. Great for knowing where you are with your cash flow and playing around with your money gives clearer ideas on how to use it.

· Set yourself challenges. Being frugal can be boring, but if you've small incentives to work towards it helps to keep you going. There are some great ones on the DFW forum, or just try to challenge yourself.

· Keep little in your current account. Might sound silly, but when used to get paid I would almost see it as a challenge to spend it all! Now on my payday I transfer a block of cash out to another account. This leaves only what I need for that week, after which I transfer back in regular amounts and these work as a weekly budget.

· Plan your debt-free life. Some may find this fustrating, but I found it a great incentive. Think about what you'll change when you're no longer servicing debts, how you'll make use of the increased income.

e. And if you had a debt diary on DFW, a link to it
I do, but it wasn't very exciting!

gothrockchic1

roxiepie wrote: »

a. The date of your lightbulb moment
A few flickers and then went thoroughly on in March 2009

b. Debts at their highest
Although not reflected in my signature, my debts at their highest were around £5,000

c. Debt-Free Date
Yesterday! 28/06/11

d. Your one pearl of wisdom.
So many things I want to recommend:

· Pack lunches. On work days leave debit/credit cards and cash at home, taking lunch and snacks in. Amazing how much money can be saved from not getting a Boots Meal Deal several times a week. Healthier too!

· Become geeky! Set up the mother of all spreadsheets which shows your incomings/outgoings and tracks your debt repayments. Great for knowing where you are with your cash flow and playing around with your money gives clearer ideas on how to use it.

· Set yourself challenges. Being frugal can be boring, but if you've small incentives to work towards it helps to keep you going. There are some great ones on the DFW forum, or just try to challenge yourself.

· Keep little in your current account. Might sound silly, but when used to get paid I would almost see it as a challenge to spend it all! Now on my payday I transfer a block of cash out to another account. This leaves only what I need for that week, after which I transfer back in regular amounts and these work as a weekly budget.

· Plan your debt-free life. Some may find this fustrating, but I found it a great incentive. Think about what you'll change when you're no longer servicing debts, how you'll make use of the increased income.

e. And if you had a debt diary on DFW, a link to it
I do, but it wasn't very exciting!

CONGRATULATIONS! :T:T:T I agree with planning your Debt Free Life, it keeps me motivated to have a goal. And I bet your diary is much more exciting than mine so feel free to post it!

roxiepie_2

gothrockchic1 wrote: »

CONGRATULATIONS! :T:T:T I agree with planning your Debt Free Life, it keeps me motivated to have a goal. And I bet your diary is much more exciting than mine so feel free to post it!

Thanks GRC I've actually read some of yours in the past and enjoyed it!

I love your sig, I may have to steal some ideas from it for my own!