From spender to saver.

dancook

I got my first credit card when I was 18, I bought a replica Samurai sword from ebay. Over the next 12 years I had many credit cards; now at the age of 30 I have £8000 outstanding debt on credit cards.

At the beginning of this year I finished paying off a £5000 loan, £160 a month I was happy to get back.

I have put a stop to large spontaneous purchases, and I've even started saving first the first time in my life. I have put £1000 into premium bonds. I plan to buy enough premium bonds so that I can use them to clear my credit cards by the end of the year.

I'm not going to stop lusting after products which happen to be expensive, but the difference is now I will save for them. So now I have goals. I want a new car and new camera equipment, but I will save!

My partner and I have also found ourselves in a position where we have reduced our mortgage to a little over £4000 (from £210k), and the payments are now just over £20 a month.

The light at the end of the tunnel is fast approaching!

beth3735

Well done for making the change, I was like you and from the age of 18 had credit cards and loans and just bought what i wanted.

I am 30 this year and only owe £1221 ( plus around £68k on mortgage, but thats different debt in my eyes! )

I have 1 main goal in the future and that is to take my 3 children to Florida before my eldest starts comprehensive school in Sept 2015. I really hope once i free up my £210 a month CCCS money i can genuinely save it all as i have been so used to living without it for the last 7 yrs that im hoping for the next 2 yrs i can carry on saving it.