Category Archives: Debt Freedom

Getting Debt Free

This post is part of Women’s Money Week. View the list of participants here and the wonderful Ultimate List of Women Money Bloggers here.

I’ve waited until today to take part in Women’s Money Week because although I could probably talk to you about the other subjects being discussed this week, I think my main passion when it comes to money is achieving debt freedom.

I’ve had great success paying down debt, but I also have really great success at getting into debt in the first place!! I say that without any judgement on myself. It happened, and can happen to any of us. What’s really important is how you move on from potential financial disaster, to the future, and to eventual financial freedom. Because you owe yourself that.


Being debt free (to me) is the ultimate money gift you can give yourself.

I’m not going to tell you how to do it, because we all have different ways, but I can tell you some of the things that I did (and still do now as we pay off our mortgage debt)

  • Stopped using credit cards immediately
  • Kept a spending diary and examined every area of my spending
  • Reduced our grocery spending and started menu planning
  • Increased my income – sold items, set up a side business
  • Educated myself about personal finance – borrowed books from the library
  • Started blogging and joined a forum for extra motivation
  • Organised myself as missing payments only adds to the debt
  • Taught myself how to live frugally and waste less
  • Set myself goals/target to provide motivation
  • Used the snowball/snowflake methods 

Let me know is there anything else you would add to the list? Do you use the snowball method to pay off your debt?

This post is part of Women’s Money Week 2012. For more posts about Debt see Debt Roundup

Adjusting My Mindset – My One Money Rule

In our household growing up, from what I can remember, we had two money rules. Number one was to spend all your money as and when you like, number two was that you must ‘own’ a house….as you can imagine it didn’t go too well!

Back then my Dad was self employed and had his ‘fingers is many pies’.  I can remember how he always carried around with him a wad of cash. And I mean a big wad as everything was done in cash.  His philosophy was to spend, spend and spend. And boy did he.

Up until the age of twelve we’d lived in three (big) houses and had a very good lifestyle. I now realise of course that the houses came and went with how the business was doing. He would run out of money, sell the house, make money, buy another house and so on.  Everything changed in 1977 when my Mum and Dad got divorced, as his businesses went down the pan for the final time and we lost the house.

It seems however that my money rules where already set and as soon as I became an adult I followed the same ‘money’ path as my Dad. I got my first mortgage at 19 (and also my first credit card), however no wad of cash for me, just a salary – a small salary. I kept that flat for two years and ended up selling it, using the equity to pay off my credit cards. Then I got married, bought another house…..bought another house, sold that and used the leftover to clear some of my credit card debt…there was a cycle!  Not exactly the same cycle but a very similar one.

Buy a house – spend lots of money – sell the house – repeat.  Back then you could do that and still get by as house prices were on the up.

Not once during the twenty years did I stop and think about what I was doing. I was really money stupid.

Thankfully though I got a little wiser and back in February 2005, faced with £45k of debt and no house equity to bail me out I had to take control and pay off the money the hard way. Bit by bit.

Move forward to today and I have one simple money rule – to live debt free (and that includes the mortgage)

I’m not blaming my Dad for any of this as he was, and still is, the best Dad in the world despite his spending issues.  I only have myself to blame.  I was an intelligent adult and I should have known better!

♥ Subscribe by Email | Subscribe by RSS | Follow on Twitter ♥

No Spending: Fiscal Fast Day’s 1 + 2

I’ve embarked on a 7 day spending fast inspired originally by Carla and then by Sharon. 

I’m not new to spending challenges and have done all sorts of different ones in the past because I enjoy the challenge of them. I think if done for long enough, they can help to break a habit.  A spending habit. 

It can be so, so easy to get into a cycle of spending money every day and be unable to stop.  I know, because I’ve done it.  In my previous shopaholic days I would spend money every day of the week.  It blows my mind to even think about doing that now!

Anyway in preparation for an extremely frugal 2012 (which I haven’t talked about yet, but will do soon), I’m getting into the habit of limiting my spending.  Not on the important (to me) things, but on the frivolous (stuff) purchases that I don’t really need or want. 

Day 1: £0.00
Day 2: £0.00

So far, so good :)

♥ Subscribe by Email | Subscribe by RSS | Follow on Twitter ♥

On a Quest For A Really Simple Life

This post is more the sort of thing that I would write over at Move To Portugal but today I thought I’d write it over here.

Since 2005, when I first started the quest (quest is such a dramatic word but at the time it did feel like a great big quest!), to pay off all my debt and save myself financially (more drama!), I’ve been craving the simple life. 

I don’t know the exact moment my mindset changed because it’s been a gradual process that’s so far taken seven years (yipes!), but over time I’ve simplified and reduced everything in my day to day life. 

I knew that I no longer wanted bank statements riddled with transactions. No longer wanted a home full of possessions that I’d never use. No longer wanted to work 60 hours a week just so that I could buy lots of stuff.   And I no longer wanted to be so busy that I didn’t have time to spend with my husband. 

So I simplified.

I simplified my home, my bank accounts, my work life, my personal commitments, just about everything I could.  And I’m still going. 

Paying off my debt was a catalyst to real change, but there’s still a way to go.

Are you trying to simplify your life?  If so, what was your catalyst?

Subscribe by Email | Subscribe by RSS | Follow on Twitter