Debt freedom memories

[RebeccaParticipant]

My best debt freedom memory is paying off my student loan. I had more than £16,000 of debt when I graduated (under the old system of £3k a year tuition fees) that sounds like nothing now. But it took me til I was 32 to pay it off completely. I had bought a house and had a child by then. I still remember that feeling of making the final payment – I was so relieved, but this was also mixed with a bit of anger at the system that it had taken so long (not helped by the interest on the debt). I can’t imagine how it must feel for graduates now, who might not get that feeling of debt freedom until they retire…

[LisaParticipant]

Reaching my late twenties and besides the mortgage (amazing I’d managed to get on the property ladder!) and other ‘standard’ outgoings having no more student, car loan or credit card debt. Shame it all starts again once the kids come along!

[RebeccaParticipant]

So true – would be good to know earlier in life that being debt-free and having financial headroom changes as you go through life – there are some times – definitely like when you have kids – when your finances are under huge strain and it’s hard not to use credit cards etc as you literally have no spare cash after childcare. I hadn’t realised how much disposable income I really had in my twenties compared to now. I don’t have childcare costs anymore but two school age children enrolled in various clubs, requiring various kits… expenses are certainly not as high as when we were paying for nurseries/ nannies/ childminders etc. But they are certainly higher than BC – Before Children!

[LoriParticipant]

In my mid 20s I was desperate to travel the world before settling down and thinking about children. But – I had SO much debt, which made that dream impossible. I wrote down the total amount I owed on my fridge, saved what I could and crossed out the amount each month to replace it with a new, lower one. I loved seeing the total go down. It took a while (4 years) but persistence paid off and I remember feeling like I’d won the lottery when I reached zero! I kept going with the saving and finally took off for a year of adventure when I was 30. Since then I’ve had kids and could really do with that sign back on the fridge!

[GMC AdminKeymaster]

That is such a brilliant idea – to have something visual somewhere you can’t avoid seeing it everyday, like a fridge door. I’m always amazed at how quickly paying off debt can happen if you really put your mind to it and have a clear goal with a clear monetary target to reach.

[Author]

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