When will you be debt free? 🎉

Talozzo

Jamesyb123 said:

Debt free in 3 months after being in debt most of adult life so around 14 years, can’t wait 😊 

Congrats!

Talozzo

KazzaR said:

Morning 😊 I’ve literally just started my DRO so I still got a way to go but I have definitly learned a lot. I know I never want to be in a financial mess again, with letters coming daily, constant phone calls bailiff threats!! I’m feeling relieved it’s been taken away and I will never get myself in that mess again!!🤞🏻

Good luck to everyone 🙌🏻💪🏻

Good luck!

Talozzo

enthusiasticsaver said:

Good morning and welcome. I don't have any debt but my advice to get and stay debt  free is as follows

Monitor your spending so you know where your money is going and you can see quickly if you are over spending. Try and move away from impulse buys.
Save a decent emergency fund.
Budget and save for annual or large expenses.
If you have a history of getting into debt move away from using credit as it is much easier to overspend than when you use a debit card (no overdraft) and can see the balance coming down as you spend. 

Good luck on getting the debt cleared. Maybe start a debt diary on here? You will get lots of support then. 

Great tips. Thank you!

BlueJ94

Hope everyone's debt free journeys are still going well! Anyone debt free before they thought they would be!

[Deleted User]

jadewest94 said:

Hope everyone's debt free journeys are still going well! Anyone debt free before they thought they would be!

The only debt I got left is approx £1000 on a dodgy ASG boiler finance plan. It's not a toxic debt as it's not in arrears or anything but I should just pay it off as I have the money.

I do still have 6 credit cards but I pay those off every month, purely for credit building.

My credit files are still shot though as I've still got 3 years to go before the CCJ and defaults drop off.

BlueJ94

Deleted_User said:

jadewest94 said:

Hope everyone's debt free journeys are still going well! Anyone debt free before they thought they would be!

The only debt I got left is approx £1000 on a dodgy ASG boiler finance plan. It's not a toxic debt as it's not in arrears or anything but I should just pay it off as I have the money.

I do still have 6 credit cards but I pay those off every month, purely for credit building.

My credit files are still shot though as I've still got 3 years to go before the CCJ and defaults drop off.

Oh that's annoying! At least you're paying them

Aspiration

Debt free by June 2022 is the plan. Got some investments coming out soon but then a couple of big bills, June 2022 and no later is the plan! 

EssexHebridean

Best tips I can think of for avoiding debt after becoming DF:

- Remember that awful, anxious, sick feeling you had when your debt was at its worst and before you had your lightbulb moment. Really stop and remember - think how that felt, then remind yourself that it felt absolutely AWFUL and you never want to feel that again. "Bookmark" that thought in your head, and when you're tempted to put something in a credit card rather than saving, or not to save your Emergency Fund money one month, revisit it.

- On the subject of an EF, sure, there are amounts we recommend for those who are in debt, and minimums for everyone else, but once you are debt free that doesn't mean you should just get to those levels and then spend everything else. When rolling off debt payments into your new DF life aim to put at least 50% of what you were paying into savings each month, more if you are saving for something specific like a house deposit. Continue to add to your EF by £50/£100 a month, but every now and again transfer anything over the minimum to a higher interest account if you can find one. 

- Start to budget for "big stuff" -as part of your original SOA we will have advised you to set money aside for holidays etc, but now you have no debt. aim to expand that. Planning to change your car in 3 years? Work out how much that will cost you and start to aim to put aside a percentage each month. Planning a £5k car purchase? Then you need to save £140 a month from now to facilitate that happening in cash. Similarly, once you are debt free there is no need to rely on costly instalment plans for things like insurances - pay upfront for the year then start to budge the relevant amount each month into an account to cover them when they are due. 

- Be aware of the tendency for things to creep up on you. When you were a DFW you probably shunned the morning coffee, or that magazine to brighten up a train journey for example. Once you are DF it's great that you can introduce stuff like that back occasionally, but beware of returning to old habits where that Friday morning end of the week Costa/Starbucks treat becomes a daily habit again. (a £3 coffee once a week on working weeks = £141 a year. if that goes to a daily workday habit that spirals to a whopping £700!) Keep treats as treats - they're more enjoyable that way, too!

- A budget is for life, not just for debt clearing. You've learned to budget now, so make use of that incredibly valuable lifeskill. A budget also needs a revisit every now and again - a bit of housekeeping just to check everything over, consider what might need to be changed (during the pandemic for example many of us have had to increase our grocery budgets as we were not eating food away from home at all - remember to now adjust that back down again though!)

BlueJ94

EssexHebridean said:

Best tips I can think of for avoiding debt after becoming DF:

- Remember that awful, anxious, sick feeling you had when your debt was at its worst and before you had your lightbulb moment. Really stop and remember - think how that felt, then remind yourself that it felt absolutely AWFUL and you never want to feel that again. "Bookmark" that thought in your head, and when you're tempted to put something in a credit card rather than saving, or not to save your Emergency Fund money one month, revisit it.

- On the subject of an EF, sure, there are amounts we recommend for those who are in debt, and minimums for everyone else, but once you are debt free that doesn't mean you should just get to those levels and then spend everything else. When rolling off debt payments into your new DF life aim to put at least 50% of what you were paying into savings each month, more if you are saving for something specific like a house deposit. Continue to add to your EF by £50/£100 a month, but every now and again transfer anything over the minimum to a higher interest account if you can find one. 

- Start to budget for "big stuff" -as part of your original SOA we will have advised you to set money aside for holidays etc, but now you have no debt. aim to expand that. Planning to change your car in 3 years? Work out how much that will cost you and start to aim to put aside a percentage each month. Planning a £5k car purchase? Then you need to save £140 a month from now to facilitate that happening in cash. Similarly, once you are debt free there is no need to rely on costly instalment plans for things like insurances - pay upfront for the year then start to budge the relevant amount each month into an account to cover them when they are due. 

- Be aware of the tendency for things to creep up on you. When you were a DFW you probably shunned the morning coffee, or that magazine to brighten up a train journey for example. Once you are DF it's great that you can introduce stuff like that back occasionally, but beware of returning to old habits where that Friday morning end of the week Costa/Starbucks treat becomes a daily habit again. (a £3 coffee once a week on working weeks = £141 a year. if that goes to a daily workday habit that spirals to a whopping £700!) Keep treats as treats - they're more enjoyable that way, too!

- A budget is for life, not just for debt clearing. You've learned to budget now, so make use of that incredibly valuable lifeskill. A budget also needs a revisit every now and again - a bit of housekeeping just to check everything over, consider what might need to be changed (during the pandemic for example many of us have had to increase our grocery budgets as we were not eating food away from home at all - remember to now adjust that back down again though!)

This is exactly what I tell myself, once I'm out of debt do I want to go back to feeling rubbish and depressed about it all the time? I have started some savings. I generally put in whatever I can afford. My main aim is when I'm debt free that I would be able to pay my car insurance in one go rather than monthly, same with car tax. I agreed with the treats. I have a coffee van at work and an iced latte is £2.75. A few months back I had one every single day which was just under £14!! :shock: so I keep it as a treat now and resort to challenging myself to 2 litres of water daily! 

Wickedphantom24601

I’ll be debt free by October 27th 2022. I had the lightbulb moment in April last year and starting clearing some of my debts but set up a DMP last September and been paying it off steadily ever since, down from about £8000 to £3790 😮 Been in debt since I was 20 and I’ll pay it off just before my 33rd birthday, definitely going to be celebrating that one!