Life after Debt?

Debtfreeforever

Reaching out to those that are debt free for advice, guidance, information.

I am either five days for 36 days away from being debt free; the journey has been long and to be honest the last year has taught me more than the 15 years of being in debt.

I am not planning to pay for anything with credit unless I have the actual money - this is a massive change for me.

I'm planning to save for things that I know are coming up, such as insurance, service, tax etc...and living on last month income eventually.

What else did you do when you became debt free???

Thanks for all your advice in advance

The_Analyst

Not debt free yet (6 months to go) but am very much in a "no more credit" way of life. In addition to paying off debts I have started savings. This is very much my plan for the next 20 years until retirement - earn, save, spend when necessary. I WILL take a Credit Card, but only so as to amass Air Miles/Rewards as I do a lot of travelling between the UK and Canada. I will pay off my credit card every month, I will never take on unnecessary credit, the only sticking point might be when mine or the wife's car needs changing. I may look at leasing

Debtfreeforever

Great advice thank you the analyst.
Same here in terms of CC, choose only the ones that give you benefits.
Good luck for the next 6 months.
How are you going to celebrate - this is also very important

sourcrates

Debt free in 2015 after a lifetime of been in debt, don't use credit anymore, everything comes from my budget, i save for more expensive things i want, can be hard at times, but having the thought in my head that i do not owe a penny to anyone, is a good feeling.

Debtfreeforever

Thank you sourcrates, I can't wait for that feeling.
I learnt a lot from the book YNAB, simply put your budget should reflect to what you want out of life.

The_Analyst

Debtfreeforever wrote: »

How are you going to celebrate - this is also very important

At the clock ticks to 1st Jan 2019 and my last payments fly out of my bank account I will be sipping fine champagne (or possibly prosecco) in Toronto

The_Analyst

sourcrates wrote: »

Debt free in 2015 after a lifetime of been in debt, don't use credit anymore, everything comes from my budget, i save for more expensive things i want, can be hard at times, but having the thought in my head that i do not owe a penny to anyone, is a good feeling.

Nice one Sourcrates.:T

The_Analyst

Also, forgot to add. The previous £840 I was paying into my DMP/DPs will go direct into savings. Hopefully within a couple of years I'll have 15k or so in savings

middleclassbutpoor

Im 9 months away from being where I want to be. I am looking at a number of different scenarios to what we will do next.

Option 1 - Put more into the pension - benefit of 40% tax relief and then growth on top of this.
Option 2 - Put more into savings for emergency funds and accessible funds.
Option 3 - Pay off the mortgage
Option 4 - Look to save for a new house - which may seem the same as paying off the mortgage but may look to let this one out as its a house that has been in the family and I would like to have it so my kids have something when they are older.

All of the options have pro's and con's to them so just got to see what our situation is like in 9 months but completely agree with the sentiment of not borrowing again for silly things which will be forgotten about 6 months down the line.

zippygeorgeandben

Fantastic stuff though! I'm very proud of you!

enthusiasticsaver

Well done on getting almost debt free. Saving for things in the future is a great way to go.

Beyond interest free credit and a mortgage and credit cards we pay off in full each month I have managed to stay debt free since very young mainly due to my Dads urging to beware of credit cards and loans and live within my income. I reckon he has saved me thousands over the years and I passed the same message on to my daughters. I have been a debt/mortgage arrears counsellor in the past though and seen many
people get into massive difficulties with debt.

My suggestions for the future would be.

Get a cashback credit card and repay it in full each month. No interest but you get cash rewards. We use one for supermarket spends and petrol and it is easy to see how much we are spending each month on these. Don't get sucked into getting 0% interest free credit cards unless you are sure you can clear them within the promotion period.


Save for annual bills, holidays, christmas, home improvements, new cars, maintenance on cars and houses. You can either save all in one pot or divide them up. I have an emergency savings account, a holidays saving account, a general savings account and a house and car savings account.


Use Regular savers for saving to get into the right discipline and to get the best rates.


Don't ignore the future. Save into a pension and overpay mortgages. If you have children think about university fees, weddings' house deposits etc.


The most important though is to track where you spend your money and stick to a budget. If you are not in debt it can be flexible but if you are living within your income and have savings and no debt you are in the best position financially you can be in.