DFNLWs - what did you do next?

Former_MSE_Andrea

Are you one of our fantastic Debt Free No Longer Wannabes?

For even more inspiration for our DFWs please come back here and let us know what you've done next.

Are you now a Mortgage Free Wannabe using our Mortgage Guides to help clear yours?

Or are you building up your savings with the help of the Best Savings accounts and the Savings & Investments board?

Whether you've been Debt-free a few months or a few years please come back to tell us what and how you're doing now. We'd love to hear your "What they did next" story!

Vicky496

I'm treating saving up as though I'm paying off a debt.

I still join challenges on the DFW boards (on and off I do 'make £10 a day', 'No spend day' challenge, pay off debt by xmas, grocery challenge, sealed pot) and I keep a diary and use the old style board for extra inspiration.

I have some months where I really get into money saving and it becomes a bit of a game to see how much I can save. Other months I am not really focussed on it, but although I don't make as many 'painful' savings I still spend within my means. On my 'off' months I find that it's useful that I have a direct debit set up to automatically pay into savings what I had previously been paying towards debts.

I've never been a saver before so I'm trying to teach myself good saving habits.
Ideas I've seen so far that I like:
- best savings account article, though I've not taken on board all of it yet. I got an ISA (or NISA now?), but probably not the best rate...
- aim to save in advance for lost income during maternity leave (all done, now really ). I'm now aiming to have more in savings when I go back to work than when I start leave, but ultimately I'm aiming not to go back into debt!
- aim to save up 3 months salary/costs to cover an extreme 'rainy-day' period.
- never spend more than half your savings in one go
- I'm doing 'sealed pot' challenge (the virtual version) for the first time. I saw no point saving while I was in debt before.
- I'm going to read about how to teach good money skills to our nearly new arrival.
- Would like to save for a house deposit, but I'm really reluctant to get a mortgage. I know it's not a 'bad' debt if done right, but I can't help thinking there must be an alternative way of living.. just haven't found it yet!
- Been thinking about getting a Junior ISA for the little one possibly.

Former_MSE_Andrea

Fantastic, well done!

LAM2011

I am trying to create a savings buffer - also never really saved before. But I have also booked a holiday for next year for myself and OH and bought him a nice birthday present.

Next year I hope to join the Mortgage Free boards and start on that.

At first it seemed such a responsibility having 'spare' money but now I too try and treat savings like a debt and it goes down on my spread sheet. £3,000 savings by Christmas is a bit ambitious but I should definitely make £2,500 which will be more money I have had in the bank in years!

ShootForTheMoon

Saving, saving, saving....
We went on a holiday of a lifetime to Sri Lanka this year, paid completely from savings!

Also, joined the "save 12k in 2014" challenge - really helps motivate me to keep saving towards a deposit on our first house!!
Still browse the DFW boards when the urge to spend strikes, and still finding the rings we learned when getting out of debt have allowed us to maximise the amount of money we can save!!

Former_MSE_Andrea

Fantastic stories, thank you!

I really like the idea of keeping a direct debit going into savings the same as you'd done for debts. What you didn't "have" before you don't miss.

My youngest has just started school so I plan to do the same with her nursery fees and use the same amount to overpay our mortgage (our version of savings).

moohound

Doing more challenges than ever, saving up like mad, overpaying mortgage and trying to teach my son the value of money, and the folly of short-termism.

amber03

Definitely getting as much saved up as possible just in case anything happens in the near future. I have never had my own savings so its nice to have. I save £100 a month. Since I have paid all my debts off and started to save I don't seem to want for anything. Before whenever I had a little bit of spare money I would always spend it usually on stuff I didn't really want or need.


I am also teaching my kids about finance. Middle son is about to buy a house and I am offering him loads of advice.x

tealady

After becoming debt free I threw every penny I had to my mortgage so I now am free of that.
I now have two savings pots. One is a direct debit to an ISA which is for my retirement in a few years. The other is the money left in my bank account each month which is put into a "wish list/emergency funds" account. I also save money in my local credit union as I am a great believer in them, that is for Christmas.

Candy0107

I became debt free about 19 months ago (had paid off about £23k in 6 years ish) .....

• I drew up a list of things I'd like to reward myself - an ipod and cath kidston handbag (I didn't buy anything when I was paying off my debts)
• Managed to get myself a decent credit card
• Paid for a college course on credit card
• Paid credit card off
• Got a loan
• Bought a car
• ....now working on paying off the loan earlier than the 3 year term

ailz95

I became debt free (or will be when Payplan pay my creditors what I've paid to them) this month. I've already changed the standing order to Payplan into one into our savings account. The payment came courtesy of a lump sum from my pension, so for the first time in my life I have money in savings.

I want to keep it that way. Also living with my mother-in-law so that my husband can be her carer as well as mine, means we don't spend very much at all, though for the last year we've got through as much money every month; so I intend to start putting extra away, I've been reading Martin's savings info, but haven't worked out what would be the best plan of action. I need to though so that I don't just keep on frittering money away.

Ailz