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The Frugal Hearth: Stories of Simple Living and Living Well
Hello, and welcome, one and all to my new debt free diary! My Journey I started my old diary at the beginning of 2020, a couple of months before the pandemic hit the UK and we went into lockdown. That diary can be found here…
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The Cutting Down Alcohol Challenge for March & 2026 :)
Welcome to the Cutting Down Alcohol challenge for the month of March 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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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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Reset 2026
So 2026 is going to be my reset year. Started September 2024 with 32000 in debt, cards & loans. By the end of December I will be down to 8995 - gotta add the extra just to get to a figure starting with 8! Hoping to clear the lot by the end of September 2026. I have a tax bill to pay by the end of Jan and the car MOT at the…
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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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taking responsibilty to get me where I want to be
Good morning MSE'ers I have been reading diaries for the last few months and have found peoples stories so inspiring that I am hoping for some company on my own journey , this will be my own log which hopefully will motivate me at times of bleakness so I can look back on any progress I have made My sitituation is quite…
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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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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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Onwards and the debt goes downwards!
Hi All Old diary is here https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/1000559 I can't do the posh linky things. Things are all changing in the Lucielle household. DS1 arrived back from New Zealand and has moved out to start his new job. Spent most of last week building flat pack furniture from the well known store. DD1…
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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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Moving on with things
I have debated posting this for a few days or so. One of the main reasons I wanted to post an update is because recently I said goodbye to my car for good having made the decision to lease another electric car through my business. A decision I simply think I wouldn’t have made without having been on here. My wife and I are…
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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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Looking To The Future With Hope
After reading @Onebrokelady thread I feel so inspired and in awe of how someone can be so positive when they’ve faced such adversity that I’ve decided to start a diary. Now, I can’t promise that I’ll keep this up, as I do have a tendency to start things full of enthusiasm and then I stumble and give up, but we shall see.…
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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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2026: The Final Year
Hello debt free wannabeeees! It's been a while since I have been on this board. We paid off our debts a few years ago. I then started a Mortgage-free diary of which I have since paused, as we then decided life was a bit too short and wanted to do some other things first. Well, we now both want to get going towards…
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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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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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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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Road To Financial Recovery
Ah, time to get back into the race so to speak, can’t believe I am doing this again.It is time to start taking finances seriously again. It is a rubbish feeling to be back in a position where I feel my finances are back in a mess. There isn’t any major debt so that is a positive of course but feel like a plan is needed…
