How long does it take people?

antonia86

Just wondering how long it takes people from LBM to clear their debts?

I had a supposed LBM in July 2011 (posted on here but tbh I didn't really face up to it until August 2012) - owed approx. £21500:eek:

Just added up figures now and debt figure is just below £18000. Going in the right direction but feels like it's taking a long time.

I guess for us one of the best things we did was consolidate in Sept 2012 so overdrafts (we had £4500 in those alone) etc have an end date.

I'm looking at DFD of September 2017 - that feels so long away!

krustylouise

I suppose it varies on amounts owed and amounts earned an I guess on some degree how badly you want to be DF. Some people on here have had debts of over 20k and have managed to clear that in only 1-2 years whilst others (myself included) have trivial figures of approx 2k and seem to cling onto them for what feels like forever. 3k in such a short space of time is amazing, try not to be disheartened, though I know it feels like a long road, at least like you say you are heading in the right direction

Newyorkdreams

Hi Antonia - I agree with KL - it depends on how much you owe, how much you earn and how much your committed to being DF. Me and DH owe over £50K through a mix of credit cards, loans, family loans and overdrafts. All of it stemmed from terrible money management, having no payback plan and being greedy and wanting what we couldn't afford. I have calculated our DFD as being September 2015 which is just over 2 years away but we have been on this road for a few years now but only had our LBM back in December 2012. We earn a good salary between us and we are lucky that our mortgage is pretty small, our car is fully paid off and no dependants so we can chuck our money at our debt. However, we also allow ourselves some luxuries and holidays. Some people on the site are totally focused on becoming debt free and therefore don't have hols and luxuries and some do, and there is no right or wrong way. We could be debt free sooner that Sept 2015 but we have chosen to allow ourselves some treats along the way which obviously extends the time taken to get out of debt. Don't get wrong, it's nothing overly extravagent but it does allow for some flexibility. The main thing for us is to spend what we can afford and stick to our debt free plan without taking on any further debt. I find updating my signature every month is a real motivator.

I'm glad consolidating has worked for you and is still working. I have consolidated three times only to run the debt up again on the cards so I don't think it works for me!

Can I ask if you have a small emergency fund? It was one of the best pieces of advice I was given when I had my LBM as it stops you from being reliant on credit if something goes wrong unexpectedly and you need access to funds quickly. It really made sense to me to save as much as you can afford for 'a rainy day'. Funnily enough, I sleep better knowing that I have £500 in the bank for an emergency but owe over £50K which doesn't seem to faze my ability to sleep!!! It's a funny old world.

Well done on the debt-busting though, we will get there slowly but surely!

NYD

antonia86

Really useful advice Newyorkdreams, some food for thought, thank you. We have a young daughter which limits how tightly we feel comfortable cutting things.

One of the best things my LBM put me onto was comps - provides those little luxuries I was previously paying (putting on credit).

Thanks for making me feel like I'm not alone both! Thank you for posting!

matttye

4/5 months for me but my total debt was only about £1k, I saw the light early

Flower08

Its a 'how long is a piece of string' question really. As others have said it really does depend on your income and level of your debts.

Our debts add up to around £6000, which some people might see as being quite small. But to us it is huge on our low income. Also depends how much you are willing to sacrifice, I know there are some on here that wouldn't dream of starting a family whilst in debt but we have one DS (19 months) and another one on the way. We are hoping to have ours cleared by December 2014.

Trajal

Let's see, you've cleared about 1/7th of your debt in 9 months.

It took me 4 years to clear a bit more than your debt.

However, after the first year I had only cleared about 1/10th. It took a few major changes and built up in momentum. What I always suggest to people is to consider if they will not get a pay rise or extra job over the next few years.

In our case... we started off with me earning about £20,000 a year and my wife being a full time student.

By the time I was clear, my income was about double and my wife was earning £23,500 which meant she was carrying some of the bills (meaning I could put more of my 'spare' share into paying off my debts).

My income is even more now, I have a couple of thousand in savings as an emergency fund, access to about four thousand in credit cards if i need them (used for monthly shop to improve credit rating) and a generally much happier life.

We almost never argue now - we used to have fights but it was generally about money, because I was so busy paying off debts I never had any!

The point is, a DFD works out all well and good, but back in 2008 my DFD was set for 2017. A couple of promotions and some luck and I was done by 2012.

One foot in front of the other, work hard and try to think of ways to trim your outgoings and uplift your income and the time will go by fast. Our life is unrecognisable now from back in early 2010 when we were completely broke. We sometimes look back with amusement and fondness at how we used to try to make £15 a week last us for food. We're still savvy - I take lunches with me to work, always have breakfast at home etc. But we do keep things to a reasonable and fun level. We have NSD races to see how many days either of us can go without spending any money. Sounds really lame but we enjoy it - especially as we have a few items that we're saving for at the moment and don't want to dip into our emergency funds or use credit!

Good luck, you will get there and it really will be worth it!

Newyorkdreams

Flower08 wrote: »

Its a 'how long is a piece of string' question really. As others have said it really does depend on your income and level of your debts.

Our debts add up to around £6000, which some people might see as being quite small. But to us it is huge on our low income. Also depends how much you are willing to sacrifice, I know there are some on here that wouldn't dream of starting a family whilst in debt but we have one DS (19 months) and another one on the way. We are hoping to have ours cleared by December 2014.

Hi Flower - just wanted to chuck in another comment about babies. We (me and DH) have been ready to start a family for a few years now (if you ever are - scary!!) but have had to postpone until our finances are in order. Because of our reckless decisions with money in the past, it has impacted significantly on our future because of course we were young and stupid and didn't think of the consequences. We both feel it would be unfair to start a family whilst £50K (at the time £60K) in debt and for one, I couldn't afford to be off on maternity leave even though we have both been ready and not getting any younger That said, it has given us the focus to get the debt cleared and we have built in £10K savings into our plan for 2014 so we can then to seriously consider starting a family. Not only that but as I'm sure you can appreciate, the ongoing cost of a baby/ies, childcare etc which if we had to pay we would not be able to get our debt down. I would feel comfortable being in a bit of debt, but certainly not £50K, and ideal for me would be to debt-free but mother nature may have other plans

Congratulations btw on the second baby.

NYD x

[Deleted User]

I had my LBM in early 2009.

Had around £15,000 of debts.

I'll be DF (fingers crossed) in August.

ETA: I was right about August. :j

FireWyrm

In my case, my light bulb moment was back in mid 2011 but I didnt really get a chance to do much until mid 2012. Oh, I fiddled with budgets and tried to make cut backs, but I didnt really do anything meaningful until the next year. The biggest single change in our affairs came when I did something I hadnt considered before - I separated the 'food & fuel' money from the main running bills account. At a single stroke, we started to make headway. I guess I had been kidding myself for the previous months that I was 'within budget' when I really wasnt anywhere near. As soon as I moved the food money to a separate bank with separate card, suddenly the change in circumstances was evident. There was no way to lie to myself any longer, the banking app was right there to check any time I needed to know. It is sobering to watch your £150 food budget drop throughout the month and know that there are so many days left until it gets topped up again.

In terms of how long this will take me, I'm not entirely sure because unlike others, I have never managed a public SOA. I have a private one which I work to though and I prefer to have some flexibility in it for emergencies. Since January, circumstances have forced me to find nearly £2000 extra which never would have been possible unless I had made the changes to cashflow. Unfortunately, that now means we are in for a rough couple of months ahead.

I am on a mission to pay my last credit card off - £1456 and then to start on the private loans from family who have been more than patient. My penultimate bank loan ends on the 31st July which means another £200 to throw at the general pot. I project that by the end of the year, I will owe just £10,000 and I believe I can probably pay most of that off next year.

It has been a long road. I've made mistakes and I've had multiple light bulb moments, but the thought of being DF has been in my mind every step of the way.

All I can say is 'keep going'...you will get there eventually.

Mort

antonia86 wrote: »

Just wondering how long it takes people from LBM to clear their debts?

It took us five and a half years.

antonia86 wrote: »

Just added up figures now and debt figure is just below £18000. Going in the right direction but feels like it's taking a long time............

I'm looking at DFD of September 2017 - that feels so long away!

Like you said it's the right direction which is a good thing and 2017 is only 4 years away!!