How many lightbulb moments?

bananakinz

Had two before but they were flickering hence consolidation loans!

Determined this time not to increase the debt and seems to be working, its all about changing habits, ie not spending on the cards thinking you can pay it back next month when really you can't.

stuartmck

I've had a few 'dim' lightbulb moments, but had major one in January. I spent time working out budgets etc, generally taking my head out of the sand .

Then my car needed some work done on it so most of that went out of the window (need it to get to work).

Starting over again, hopefully I should be able to stick with everything this time.

warburtonrichard

I had my first LBM in November when I realised I was paying cash interest on most of the balances on three different credit cards, total about 13k. I was lucky enough to have also been owed money by the company I worked for, and by clever positioning, a short term increase in my bank overdraft, and fortuitously timed balance transfer offers, I managed to zap all the balances down to zero one at a time and reduce my interest from 25% plus to an average of 5%.
Then, thinking I'd solved the worlds problems, I spent another £1500 more than I had earned on a combination of car repairs and Christmas. In February, the light bulb shatter completely, covering me in little bits of debt free wannabe tungsten filament and since then I've cut up and got rid of a store card with £1000 on it, lowered my overdraft by £200, put my credit cards in a safe place and not my wallet (not touched them since), cut the shopping "budget" from an unbudgeted about £400 a month to £200 a month for two of us, and started the snowball.
Debt free date is not for a good while yet, but my partner and I are quite enjoying living the frugal life (he's got debts of his own bless him).
Now, my three favourite words are "budget, budget, budget"
So there.
What a nice thread.
it's certainly likely to keep me on the straight and narrow, anyway!
xx
Warby

Gemmzie

I had mine last January when I decided that I was going to pay off my car and finish learning to drive which increased my debt but even that's been done in a sensible 0% manner. I really started clearing them the day I passed my test, I owed about £4k at one point I think - it's now about £2.5k and WILL be gone by October.

Mum had hers last summer, when she asked me to help clear her cards via tarting. And it's gone from there, she had nearly £8k owing, had £4k to pay it off but we've actually cleared £6.5k nearly £7k so she's nearly done too

Dad, well he's still in the dark despite finally going on a DMP

richardvc

I consider myself to be very lucky that I had only one LBM and have stuck to it ever since but I was seconds away from total meltdown when it happened !!
I am forever counting my blessings that I took notice and bore my friends to death about reclaiming bank charges, saving money on bills, cutting back on shopping etc etc
I have been very fortunate that my creditors accepted my proposals before it got too late and that I was able to get the interest frozen which meant I could formulate a plan.
I started mine before I really looked at this site but this place has been nothing but an inspiration and a great motivator for me to keep on the straight and narrow.

ByeByeDebt_2

My LBM had been flickering for the last 6 months of 06, where twice I was at the point of signing up for a consolidation loan, but stopped at the last moment. The full blinding lightbulb came on in January when I started to budget for my bills and realised that things were really close to being out of control.

The first thing I did was cut up my credit card, but leave my wife with hers. As the credit card account is mine, she doen't spend on it without talking to me, and I can't spend on it without talking to her - very useful! Transfered the balance onto a 0% card, and cut that one up as well. So we have an empty card for emergencies and one that is holds my main debt.

Then I started to budget and really understand where the bills were going and then map out how the repayments were going to look over the next 12 months. To achieve this I had to start opening my post - very frightening. I also reviewed every single monthly payment to see I it could be reduced (or stopped).

I now have a full monthly budget for the next 12 months, along with charts that show how the debts are repayed. I am lucky in that I just caught it early enough that I can be clear by the end of 07. All my friends know that I am having a financial restructure this year which leaves me short of cash, but they don't know much more than that.

I am confident that this LBM is a real one for me, as I have changed the way that I live my life now. Saving not spending, and budgeting not ignoring.

Although I have very low days when things seem to be against me, I actually am a lot more positive. I feel in control and can see an end point, but whats more is that I am planning to save and invest after my debts have gone.

This site has been a godsend for me. Partly for idea's and partly for motivation. I do have to say though, that I am looking forward to spending more time in the saving and investments, and mortgage free wanabee boards!

Thanks everyone.

moanymoany

We had done £8000 worth of home improvements - paid for on credit cards - in expectation of selling and paying it off. I became ill and we had to shelve our plans. We put the debt onto a 0% credit card and I started to budget. These are some of the things my lightbulb lit up!

1. I have enough clothes to last for years if they have to.

2. I can feed two of us on £15 a week if I have to.

3. How much money went on things we could live without.

4. I remembered that as a child, if we didn't have any money we went without. I remember living for more than a week on porridge, potatoes and gravy. I survived!

It is possible to live without a phone, sky, holidays, anything that costs money and that you can live and work without when there are debts to pay off. We paid the money off three months earlier than we had budgeted. I have continued with many of the things I started during this time. The contributors to the threads make a community of likeminded people and I continue to learn from them. :T

Prisonshepherd

Hi,

I am having my first LBM today?.........It is good.....:D . I need to catch up on a lot of stuff on these boards, but at the mo..........i am enjoying my LBM...:j

Thanks to all on this site !

Becks_in_Debt

Prisonshepherd wrote: »

Hi,

I am having my first LBM today?.........It is good.....:D . I need to catch up on a lot of stuff on these boards, but at the mo..........i am enjoying my LBM...:j

Thanks to all on this site !

I hope this is "The One", I had 2 LBM, the second being "The One", you have come to the right place for advice, inspiration, and ideas on cutting back

Tondella

just the one, and i hope that it will be the first and last time!

It came about when my OH and i got engaged almost two years ago. That summer we looked into getting a mortgage and buying a house together and that brought to light the extent of credit card debts. We were offered the opportunity to take out a loan on the same terms as the mortgage, but as a regular receiver of the MSE mailout i thought i could do better myself and turned here for help.

The debts were big but as two childless earners we have been able to make cut-backs and start a plan of hefty over payments. We're essentially living on OH's wage as more than what i earn in a month is paid onto the cards. This year I've really started to notice how the amount is coming down, it's such a great feeling and I'm really pleased we tackled it before we had kids/mortgage etc.