Martin's DFW Book - Lightbulb Moments Please!

auntie_brenda

Where was I?
Standing outside dream cottage a few months ago.

How did I feel?
Sick. I knew I could afford the house - on paper, if I consolidated and put my ccard debt on mortgage. Realised I wasn't prepared to go down that route any more, especially because I really loved cottage, IYSWIM. Thought I'd had lightbulb moment before, but this was full on, seeing something tangible I couldn't have because of my carelessness with money.

How did it happen?
Marriage breakup. Bought best house I could, but could only afford in crap area. Took a chance a few yrs later to buy a 'bargain' in a really nice area, so that kids had decent area to grow up in. Somehow never got round to paying off the extra I put on ccards etc at the time, really, really stupid of me. Hay ho, live & learn......

Pan_3

My lightbulb moment was not so much about the cold hard cash I had blown but was more about catching a glimpse of how we are lied to and conned every day of our lives and how adverts on TV seem to suggest that phoning up to borrow £25K is like ordering a pizza and a perfectly normal thing to do.

As cliched as it sounds, my whole self worth was encompassed in the items I bought...be this an MP3 player or a particular brand of bread.
My light buld moment was provided by the singer/songwriter Billy Bragg and was contained within his song North Sea Bubble...one of the lines is:

" you keep buying things but you don't need them....but it's o.k because it feels like freedom"

...and that to me put everything into perspective and made perfect sense of all the 'spend spend spend' madness that so engulfs our lives today. To be honest, it is all to easy to realise that you are spending too much money but the real adventure and feeling of liberation begins when you face your fears and face up to why you feel the compulsion to spend money that is not nor ever will be yours.

mountainofdebt

Mine was shortly after New Year's Day two years ago.

You see on New Years Eve I was lying in bed and I asked hubby whether he thought the new year would be a good one for us moneywise.....by this point money had been a major issue for the previous 4 years.

He replied he didn't think so as he remembered us having the exact same conversation the previous New Year's Eve.

Shortly after that I worked out how much per month we were paying to service this debt....and I cried. Even on our most income, we would have a great standard of living if we weren't paying back this debt. But regardless of how long I looked at our budget I couldn't see where we could make savings.

Fortunately,after this I heard Martin on Radio 4 and as a result I found this website. Now I feel that I am making head way into the debt and although the light is still someway off, I know I can get there.

jessicamb

MSE_Sue wrote:

Hiya - we want to have a section in the book on 'lightbulb' moments - what we're after is -

What did it feel like when you had yours?
Where were you?
How did it happen?

Just want a couple of lines from as many of you as possible please

Thanks loads Sue

What did it feel like when you had yours?

A bit sick followed by a sense of relief

Where were you?

On MSE - I got the book a good month before my LBM and eventually found my way up here from the freebies board

How Did It Happen?

An ever increasing sense of guilt after Xmas knowing that I was spending more and more money and racking up the credit cards with some big bills still to pay - scared me into being DFW

MSE_Martin

This really is great stuff you know. It's going to be SO inspiring for people to read in a book. I can almost feel them sitting up going "Im going to get this sorted" thank you all so much - Im really excited about DFW the book

(truth is many of you will 'know most of it' but the new people who'll be given the help will be wonderful!)

martin

southernscouser

MSE_Martin wrote:

This really is great stuff you know. It's going to be SO inspiring for people to read in a book. I can almost feel them sitting up going "Im going to get this sorted" thank you all so much - Im really excited about DFW the book

(truth is many of you will 'know most of it' but the new people who'll be given the help will be wonderful!)

martin

It will be inspiring only if people buy it!

Have you thought about selling them outside of high street banks or maybe just handing out leaflets?

How do you target people who don't already visit the site? :think:

LookingAhead

The radio programme & TV programmes are good advertisements for the site aren't they...?

Also word of mouth/the weekly email that we've all recommended to everyone we know *haven't we?*

mountainofdebt

southernscouser wrote:

How do you target people who don't already visit the site? :think:

Have you seriously never heard Martin on the radio? I personally think if Martin had uttered the words 'visit moneysavingexpert.com' once more on the radio show I first heard him on, the presenter would have hit him,lol!

southernscouser

mountainofdebt wrote:

Have you seriously never heard Martin on the radio? I personally think if Martin had uttered the words 'visit moneysavingexpert.com' once more on the radio show I first heard him on, the presenter would have hit him,lol!

Yeah I have but how many listeners does the show get? And those who regularly tune in must know about this place already! :think:

What about parachuting into the new Wembley stadium at half time of the FA Cup Final with moneysavingexpert.com splashed all over the parachute? :j

[Deleted User]

What did it feel like when you had yours?

It felt like I had just woken up from a long sleep. I couldn't believe I had been able to ignore the problem for so long.

Where were you?

At home, with my credit card statements piled all around me.

How did it happen?

For the first time, I had decided to check how much money I had left on my credit cards before I went out shopping with them. This was my lightbulb moment of course, so of course I never did go shopping. My debt free date is a few years off yet, but I feel more in control of my money than I ever have done and it's a nice feeling.