Hi and welcome to WannaBeDebtFree, a UK money blog all about getting out of debt.
My name is Grainne and I’m the face behind WannaBe DebtFree. I started the WannaBe DebtFree blog when I gave myself a goal to pay off all of my unsecured debt in one year.
My Debt Story
My husband and I started to pay off our debt in July 2017. We started with nearly £16k of unsecured debt.
How Did We Get Into Debt?
Very easily! We moved into our first home and started renovating. The project went beyond our budget, so we borrowed to finance the rest. At the same time, we had just leased a brand new car.
Between the two milestones, we found ourselves with a huge £410 in debt repayments to make every month.
Our Debt Lightbulb Moment
Everything was fine, for a while.
But then my husband’s job was put at risk of redundancy, and I found myself getting more and more anxious. Something had to give.
The Debt Payoff
We realised it was time to stop relying on debt to bridge the gap between our income and our expenditure.
So in July 2017, we started budgeting. We started figuring out what we were spending too much on. We found ways to achieve the exact same things we did before, but for less. And we started cutting down.
What happened next was amazing. The changes we made put our goal in motion.
We started being able to make overpayments to our debt. £50 here and there became £500, and then £1000. Our debt was gone within the year!
Life After Debt
I am really passionate about living debt free.
Our society prioritises keeping up with the Joneses over actual quality of life so I’m all about encouraging others and reminding myself that spending money and acquiring things are not the end goal. Money should facilitate a life that you want, not the one that social media, and marketing, tells you to aspire to.
So, since paying off my debt, I’ve went on to build savings, and get married without debt. Now, I’ve cut my working hours in line with reducing my expenses and life has become a lot more chilled.
I love inspiring debt free life for others, and I’m active over on Instagram with a huge network of like-minded people who want to do the same. Getting out of debt is a huge movement these days!
How To Get Out of Debt- the Book
The one question I’m asked the most is,
“How did you get out of debt?”
After getting out of debt so fast, and then describing it time and time again to help others, I realised something. No matter what the person’s circumstances are, the steps are exactly the same every single time.
This is a strategy. A couple of steps that anyone can follow.
Get those right, and you will get out of debt. The strategy is absolutely failproof.
So that’s when I turned my simple debt free strategy into a book. How To Get Out of Debt was released in March 2019, and since then, it’s helped hundreds of people start paying off debt, and quite a few have already paid off their debt in full by applying the steps!
So what is the WannaBe DebtFree blog all about?
WannaBe DebtFree covers money-related topics like:
- Saving money
- Making extra money
- The debt free journey
I write about topics like side hustling, budgeting and cutting your expenses.
But my main focus is on all things debt free journey-related. The mindset you need to adopt for success, the action steps that work, the pain of overpayments, and even the mistakes I’ve made.
Wait- What is a Debt Free Journey?!
It’s the whole process you go through when you pay off debt! The practical steps like figuring out a budget and learning how to cut your expenses. The emotional steps you go through where you are elated when you wipe out your credit card debt. The highs and lows from the mental challenge that is paying off debt.
I know it’s a bit of a cutesy term. There is something incredibly 2020 about describing a goal as a ‘journey’. But when you start paying off debt, you need to embrace the journey!
So Where Do I Start?
Click here to read more about How To Get Out of Debt– look out for the link to get a free copy!
To read the full story of how I paid off my full debt in one year, go here.
You will find information on saving money here, and making money here.
I also run BulkCookOnABudget.com, a site all about bulk cooking to save money. If your grocery budget is your downfall, come on over and see how much bulk cooking can save you.
Thanks for visiting WannaBeDebtFree
Please feel free to get in touch for comments and suggestions or to inquire about working with me.