The Debt Free Roll Of Honour

Miss_Marple_2 · 23 August 2013 at 3:09PM

Today I am debt free.

I worked very hard to get here, however it is a bittersweet moment as the last bit of debt has been paid off from an inheritance from my lovely mum who passed away a few months ago.

LBM: March 2005

Debt Free Date : 23/08/2013

Pearl of Wisdom - Budget, budget, budget - always know what you have coming in & going out - I will never be afraid to open the bills again because I always know what my money situation is.

Thanks for the advice on the DFW board - it was invaluable.

Next step - getting a mortgage - then starting on the MFW board :beer:

Jane91 · 23 August 2013 at 4:20PM

a. The date of your lightbulb moment 2005
b. Debts at their highest £30000
c. Debt-Free Date 07.08.2013
d. Your one perl of wisdom. Keep a spread sheet of all your bills & payments and a total of wages, 1-1 = nothing left dont spend

f. Which forum threads helped you Debt Free Wannabe

gothrockchic1 · 24 August 2013 at 9:35PM

Well done to everyone who became debt free this month!

dalid69 · 28 August 2013 at 8:39PM

I took the initiative this year after reading and watching Martin on the tv,i had debts totalling more than £100,000 dating back to 2006 im not proud of how it happened but as the credit card companies were throwing massive available credit at me and writing to me almost weekly asking me to use I did exactly that, one week Barclaycard uped my credit limit from £5,000 to £20,000 !!! !!!!!! !!

I lived out of the uk for more than 5 years before moving back and slowly started to get letters demanding money,i filed these under B for Bin !, its suprising how these companies pass around the debt when they cant collect although they all say they have "bought the debt" I live in rented accommodation so theres nothing they can sieze and im self employed so they couldn't get to my pay,now im 7 years in and started sending the template letters out and received replies from most of the companies,they were not happy but had to accept the debt was "statute barred" I realise I still owe it to them but its not enforceable so have no trouble sleeping at night.

After seeing how much these banks messed up this country and are accountable to no one and were still taking their huge bonuses why should I feel bad about what happened ,i have maintained a good bank account during all this time with a manageable credit card at the same bank which is kept at zero most of the time, I use the card to cover guarantees when buying items that wouldn't be covered by a debit card transaction.

I can say that most people with previous debt problems will come to terms with what happened and hopefully will learn from their mistakes but with companies like Wonga the next phase of debtors will be joining soon.

Current debt £100,000 un-enforceable

[Deleted User] · 28 August 2013 at 8:57PM

I had 2 Credit Cards, from the mid to late 80s, with a combined limit of c £5,000.

After the amount I have suffered (admittedly all my own fault), from having those cards, I have vowed NEVER to have another, even if I win a Euromillions triple roll-over.

gothrockchic1 · 29 August 2013 at 10:34PM

Bedsit_Bob wrote: »

I had 2 Credit Cards, from the mid to late 80s, with a combined limit of c £5,000.

After the amount I have suffered (admittedly all my own fault), from having those cards, I have vowed NEVER to have another, even if I win a Euromillions triple roll-over.

I still have a Credit Card one that I have for emergencies, the temptation to spend on is high though.

If I need something I will take out a 0% and pay off the minimum payment but save the rest up and pay it off when the 0% ends. I try to maintain a credit rating when I have enough to buy a flat/house but after that the credit cards will be gone.

It depends on how you use them but I still don't like doing it :cool:

debtfreewannabe321 · 30 August 2013 at 7:06PM

1)The date of your light bulb moment- January 2011 after totting up Christmas of 2010, which was all paid for via CC overdrafts and catalogues

2) Debts at their highest- our original calculations came in at £13k, after realising we didn't have up to date information on some, had completely forgotten other debts

we realised it was closer to £17.5k

3) Debt-Free Date- TODAY :j:j 30.08.13 :j:j

4) Your one pearl of wisdom:- I've got a few sorry

- When you do have your LBM cut up all of your cards!!!!! Start a small emergency fund and don't be tempted to keep any form of credit around that is easily accessible! A good tip I heard was to put cards in ice or give to a friend/family member who could help you judge whether or not it's a real emergency

that new pair of shoes were NOT even if they were half price

:rotfl:2- Always have a budget! If you are new to spreadsheets (as was I) learn how to do one, even if basic, go through your bank statements and put everything down on there so you know what is due and how much! 3- When you're new to budgeting it's a good idea to have a spending diary, write everything in it that you spend all month! You'll be shocked (well I was!)

5)Which MSE guides helped you

6) Which forum threads helped you- I loved the Debtfree diaries section! I engrossed myself in others stories, learned from them, laughed with them and sometimes cried with them. They're a lovely bunch on there and everyone is in the same boat so there was no need to feel ashamed joining in

the Old style board is fab too for the grocery challenge & tips on how to cut down budgets!

7)And if you had a debt diary on DFW, a link to it- number 1- http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=3011024&highlight=
2- http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=3928785

Greying_Pilgrim · 30 August 2013 at 10:02PM

I just noticed your signature on Piq's thread debtfreewannabe321. Congratulations :T:T:T

Greying

ImmoralWombat · 31 August 2013 at 8:32PM

Dates of lightbulb moments:
First - August 2001 - self managed DMP. Reduced total to £40K but crept up again and then overtime and extra work ceased - leading to ...

Second - April 2007 - DMP with CCCS/ Step Change.

Debts at highest:
First - £70,000
Second - £60,000

Debt-free date: August 31st 2013.

Pearl of wisdom: Plan, plan and plan some more! This applies to both day-to-day budgeting and longer term over the life of the DMP. I mainly used a spreadsheet program but good old pen and paper still has its uses.

General comments:

The first few months can be difficult as interest and penalty charges will be added by a number of creditors and your balance may increase at first. NatWest were the worst offenders here. My £1000 overdraft with them eventually peaked at £1300+ in early 2008 and didn't get down below £1000 again until mid 2009. However most of my creditors either greatly reduced interest payments or cancelled them altogether. So please DO NOT PANIC! It does get better and your debts will begin to reduce - slowly at first but the momentum soon picks up as debts are cleared and your payment is shared between fewer creditors.

I also paid extra off some of my debts - partly to offset interest and penalty charges - but also to compensate for a reduction in pay which occurred several years into my DMP. I was told about this over a year before it happened so I was able to pay extra off some debts to clear them by the time my pay dropped. This freed up enough money to ensure that my remaining creditors did not experience any reduction in their payments when my total payment to CCCS reduced. Probably didn't make much of a difference to them, but it made me feel a lot better!

Finally, please remember that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to a DMP. I am single with no dependants - my approach to extra payments would have been very different had I a family for instance. It's your DMP - if problems arise speak to your DMP provider (I found CCCS/StepChange were always very helpful and reassuring) and check out the various 'Dealing with debt' threads here.

A very big thankyou to all of you who have contributed to these threads - especially the DMP & Mutual Support and Long Haul Supporters threads. I have found their advice - both practical and emotional - invaluable.

So - what now? My intention long-term is to continue with a relaxed version of my DMP budget and put the rest into savings to eventually help with my pension. But first - a choccie bickie!

Hopelessly_Hopeful · 1 September 2013 at 8:56AM

ImmoralWombat wrote: »

Dates of lightbulb moments:
First - August 2001 - self managed DMP. Reduced total to £40K but crept up again and then overtime and extra work ceased - leading to ...

Second - April 2007 - DMP with CCCS/ Step Change.

Debts at highest:
First - £70,000
Second - £60,000

Debt-free date: August 31st 2013.

Pearl of wisdom: Plan, plan and plan some more! This applies to both day-to-day budgeting and longer term over the life of the DMP. I mainly used a spreadsheet program but good old pen and paper still has its uses.

General comments:

The first few months can be difficult as interest and penalty charges will be added by a number of creditors and your balance may increase at first. NatWest were the worst offenders here. My £1000 overdraft with them eventually peaked at £1300+ in early 2008 and didn't get down below £1000 again until mid 2009. However most of my creditors either greatly reduced interest payments or cancelled them altogether. So please DO NOT PANIC! It does get better and your debts will begin to reduce - slowly at first but the momentum soon picks up as debts are cleared and your payment is shared between fewer creditors.

I also paid extra off some of my debts - partly to offset interest and penalty charges - but also to compensate for a reduction in pay which occurred several years into my DMP. I was told about this over a year before it happened so I was able to pay extra off some debts to clear them by the time my pay dropped. This freed up enough money to ensure that my remaining creditors did not experience any reduction in their payments when my total payment to CCCS reduced. Probably didn't make much of a difference to them, but it made me feel a lot better!

Finally, please remember that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to a DMP. I am single with no dependants - my approach to extra payments would have been very different had I a family for instance. It's your DMP - if problems arise speak to your DMP provider (I found CCCS/StepChange were always very helpful and reassuring) and check out the various 'Dealing with debt' threads here.

A very big thankyou to all of you who have contributed to these threads - especially the DMP & Mutual Support and Long Haul Supporters threads. I have found their advice - both practical and emotional - invaluable.

So - what now? My intention long-term is to continue with a relaxed version of my DMP budget and put the rest into savings to eventually help with my pension. But first - a choccie bickie!

Many congratulations on finishing the DMP and for such an inspiring post.

I'm a massive planning fan

Enjoy your next chapter

HHx

The Debt Free Roll Of Honour

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