Martin's DFW Book - Lightbulb Moments Please!

duncans-mum_2

Luckily my Lightbulb moment came way before we got into dire straights. It was a gradual frustration at credit card payments were just covering the interest charges and barely more, but I didn't know that there was anything I could do. I luckily saw Martin on Tv talking about the exact same thing and got a link to MSE. After reading posts, that was when I truely had my LBM at all the things I could do. How did I feel ... excited, elated, in control, and as if a weight had been lifted off my shoulders.

Lara44

I didn't enjoy my degree in design and didn't leave with a portfolio that I thought was very good, so I was freelancing on really low paid admin-style jobs. I decided to study again and got a part time job that paid me enough. Unfortunately I lost this job just at Christmas 2005 and realised that I had no money backup, and I was living on the overdraft. I felt really depressed. I didn't need to be in so much debt with my student loan, I just went out and had a good time when studying to feel better about myself and was really irresponsible.

I got a new job and joined MSE in earnest. I realised that any debt I accrued now I would have to take responsibility for anyway - so why not deal with things now rather than in the future? I started paying back my overdraft £2000 for the THIRD time and swore that this would be the last. £14,000 is a long way to go but I am at least starting to pay off my student loan from next month £70 and it feels gooood.... also have £1500 in an ISA, although a bit overdrawn but on interest free o/d at least.

laurajayne

What did it feel like when you had yours?

Actually, complete relief...mixed with complete dread.

Where were you?

I was in bed at 3am, as I couldn't sleep through worrying.

How did it happen?

Basically, I'd always been rubbish with money! Ever since I was 18, I just couldn't budget and was getting in debt. I'd just keep on borrowing. I would quite regularly cancel DD to stop the money going out of my account, which of course got me in a worse state. I then decided to move out with my (now ex) fiance - which made it worse. That ended and I went back home. My parents quite reguarly bailed me out....but even they ran out of money and had to say no. Baliffs were coming to the door, phone calls, and I was still trying to hide it from my parents. My standing orders were bouncing, even the ones that paid for my housekeeping to my mum. It all got too much, and I ended up on the internet searching for someone to talk to and stumbled on MSE and the DFW board. Slowly I realised that I could do this, and that I didn't want to hide anymore. Slowly, I got in touch with my creditors and arranged payment plans. It meant for quite some time I was absolutely skint!

I managed to get a new job; which was a payrise, and as I worked from home meant no travel expenses and no temptation of shops. All my family have jumped on the DFW bandwagon, and we are all trying to get debt free and save money as much as possible. I'm not debt free yet, but I will be by the end of the year.

As well as getting out of debt, DFW and MSE have repaired (and strengthened) my relationship with my parents. Me and my mum are now actually friends :j And my 'quality of life' has now improved.

I knew I was a true DFW when I recieved part of my annual bonus....and it all went to clear a debt :beer: (and the rest of it's paid in May...that'll be doning the same!)

deliciosa

What did it feel like when you had yours?

I couldn't breathe for a few moments. I did not believe it. I calculated over and over again and still could not believe it.

Where were you?

In my office, lunchbreak, checking my balances.

How did it happen?

It was november 2006. I just paid off my loan (struggling, 3 months later than I should have...)and I decided to add up my debt to see how much I owe on credit cards. The result was shocking. I owed more on each card than my loan amount was. I had four credit cards, all of them were maxed out. I realised I was always making the minimum payment and waited desperately for it to clear so that I can use the card again. I kept on staring at the screen speechlessly where I checked my American Express card balance, hoping that by staring I somehow make the amount smaller. It did not work, something else had to be done. I logged in to this website and started.

jesster_2

WHERE: I was at home in the house I'd bought 18 months ago with my sister and had had to furnish from scratch. I've always been very thrifty with big purchases so knew that we'd done things as tightly as we could. I needed to shuffle the credit cards around to make the most of the 0% offers and casually thought: while i'm at it, I'll tot up how much I've managed to pay off over the past 18 months, to give myself encouragement and a pat on the back. Except when I did the sums I realised I owed MORE than i had eighteen months ago.

HOW DID IT FEEL: AT FIRST: It makes you feel sick to realise that when you think you're living as cheaply as you can and must be getting somewhere, you're actually going in the wrong direction. It was even scarier when I did an SOA for the first time and realised that what looked to me like a really really tight new budget was actually only leaving me with £80 a month more than my absolute minimum payments: I'd clearly been going further into debt with absolutely no idea - all those little extra 'emergency' things on the credit card at the end of the month.

HOW DID IT FEEL LATER: Once I'd worked out my SOA and had worked out a monthly (very tight) budget I actually began to feel a bit high. Some said my budget was too controlled and I wouldn't stick to it, but realising how easy it was to have control, after the shock of realising I'd been out of control, was actually strangely really elating. I think I developed a kind of money anorexia: the more controlled I am, the better I feel! And I genuinely realised that you're richer even when you only have ten pounds of REAL money to spend than you are with thousands of pounds available in credit.

THE MOST USEFUL REALISATION THAT I'LL ALWAYS REMEMBER:
I did an experiement with the snowball calculator. Got out all my credit cards, typed in the details as if I'd maxed them all out, and worked out what the minimum repayments would be. Couple that with the two loans I was still paying off from doing a postgrad, and i realised that with all maxed out and making only min payments I'd be left with £35 a month to pay my mortgage, food, bills, fuel... everything apart from my 'imaginary' debts. THAT was scary!