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The Cutting Down Alcohol Challenge for May & 2026 :)
Welcome to the Cutting Down Alcohol challenge for the month of May and for 2026! This challenge is all about helping people cut down or even give up on their alcohol consumption, mainly for health reasons, but it can also save a lot of money, because the cost of buying alcohol really mounts up over time and sometimes you…
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Keeping on the Straight and Narrow...
Well here goes, my first diary...After being an avid lurker both here and on the MFW boards over the years I have been amazed and inspired by the success of many individuals and the support of other forum members so hoping to do the same. So why am I here? In the 6 years since DH and I bought our home we have undergone…
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Riding the wave
Last year I started a debt-free diary that really helped keep me on track, unfortunately I then realised that my username was one I had used elsewhere and with a bit of Googling, someone might be able to identify me and use my personal details. I have now got rid of that profile and started afresh- and not a moment too…
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Milann’s mutterings through retirement
I thought it was about time for a new diary. Ive been a member of MSE many years now and got my debt down from £20,000’s to a big fat ZERO. I kept the debts to myself as I was the one who built them up. Dh would have been ok and we’d have worked through them together…..but it was my mess that I wanted to clear myself and…
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Progress not Perfection
Happy New Year! I thought it was about time I started a new diary. I've been on these diaries since 2008. My last diary is here Things
can only get better My first diary is here Champagne Lifestyle Lemonade Budget and the one after that here Looking for the Silver Lining. That's a hell of a lot of waffle over the years 😆…
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Next steps; grip-relaxing bimbling, and avoiding the temptations
Time, I think, to start a new diary. My first was about removing our debts, paying off our mortgage and working towards, and through, the first few years of not working. I don't call it retirement at that point, because a wealth of volunteer activities were taken on or continued, and a number of hobbies aspired to or taken…
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Everything changes
As my old lecturer at university said to me once when we were discussing the topic of my second year dissertation. Anyway I’m sitting here at the start of a long weekend, I owe about £2000 and I’m going to need to put food on my credit card to get to the end of the month. I think I will still end up forward at the end of…
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An in-between phase
I am largely starting this thread so as to not rudely put a long whinge on the lovely @foxgloves and @EssexHebridean threads! I will talk a little more about my slightly unsettled life situation in due course, but for now, just whinging 😂 Today I have been trying to switch to a more money saving phone contract. It has been…
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Resourcefulness: The budgeter's friend
Happy New Year to readers old & new! Well, it's time for a new chapter. My old diary ("Put away your purse & become debt averse") achieved pretty much what I intended. I shared the story of how I got into debt at the age of 19 & stayed that way until a pretty enormous lightbulb pinged on during my early 40s, I've shared…
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Paying the invoice
Built an intentional life, now it's time to pay the invoice. No regrets, made the best decisions from options available to me at the time. Short term sprint - pay of hbos clarity card In Sept 2026 - debt consolidation Gratitudes - health, family, home, stability, options.
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Time to Face The Music
We have decided as a couple that it is time to face the music and start paying down some of our debts. We are lucky that we are both in jobs that pay ok but we have at times been living beyond our means and now it is time to start reining in the spending and making a concerted effort to cut the debt. Moving house last year…
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A new chapter, An empty nest, Drama school & Last year of Uni
I've been on these boards for many years and a long time ago did start a diary when we'd had a windfall and cleared some debt and I'm not sure what happened but 'life' got in the way. Today starts a new chapter of my life as my youngest has just left home (albeit temporarily) for her to access a drama course in a different…
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Debt and Caring
An unprovoked attack on my ankle by a metal workout bench has me lying down with a foot up this evening. Which makes this the ideal time to start this diary. And possibly to declutter some exercise equipment... Yesterday I was £9993.61 in debt. Today I have made a £1500 payment to one of my credit cards taking me down to…
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Moving on
Welcome to my new thread: my old one is here: Cherry takes the reins — MoneySavingExpert Forum and my very old one is here: Coffee and chocolate — MoneySavingExpert Forum Quite a lot changed in 2023, and now it's time to move on. I left the job and career path I'd followed for many years and don't feel I can or should go…
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Let's get this sorted then!
Hey everyone, I went back to uni just before I turned 40, so have quite a lot of debt from that, and from generally trying to live whilst working and studying. I tackled a bit before the end of 2024, but that was mostly getting on top of things, doing some 0% balance transfers, and I paid of two small debts of about £250…
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Settling in for the long haul
After avidly reading others’ diaries over the past five years, it feels like the right time to shuffle in and create a cosy little corner of my own. Following the example of those much wiser, I have cleared a large amount of debt, including a hefty overdraft, student loan, credit cards, bank loans (that were consolidated…
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Teetering on the brink
Where to start! My life has not been without challenges and I have had times where I’ve had a lot of debt, and times where I have had none. I always felt proud to say I have never missed a payment and always managed to get out of a sticky situation myself no matter what. But this time, I am not convinced I will find a way,…
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Hopefully debt free before Mortgage renewal in June 2026
Hi, So, My mortgage is due for renewal in June 2026. I bought a house for £190,000 with around a £48,000 deposit on a 5 year fixed rate of 1.63% interest which comes to an end on 30th June 2026. I currently owe £129,363 and pay £517.72 and i have 25 years and 6 months left to pay (i will be 68 when this ends). I know…
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Turning Straw into Gold: Creating Long Term Security & A Solid Home
Hello, I am joining you on the debt free journey, for a couple
of loans that are giving me anxiety and also my mortgage. I have been reading
these diaries for inspiration and it’s time to start my own. I hope to get to
know many of you as time goes on. I moved into my home last April and I have some
loan repayments that…
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5 Year Fixed - 60 Months to Financial Stability.........Hopefully!
Good day fellow DFWer's, Serial diary starter here, I know it's annoying, but in my ADHD brain I've had some changes so I need to start from scratch. I've just started on a new 5 year fixed mortgage so I'm going to set myself some goals over this period to get myself on track with my finances, home, weight and try to get…
