Debt Freedom
The Debt Freedom app helps you achieve a debt-free life, without further borrowing.
Being debt-free sets you up for long-term success.
The reality of UK debt
You’re not alone in this
Millions of people across the UK are quietly carrying debt, often more than they let on. Behind the numbers is a lot of real financial and emotional strain.
10.1m
UK adults revolve a balance
on a credit card, rather than clearing it
on a credit card, rather than clearing it
5%
of UK adults (2.8m) are in
persistent credit card debt
persistent credit card debt
84%
of UK adults (45.7m) hold
at least one credit or loan product
at least one credit or loan product
Source: FCA Financial Lives 2024 survey, Credit & loans selected findings †
App details
Built with care
Trustworthy by design, accessible to everyone.
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No data collected
Verified by Apple’s privacy nutrition label. Your financial information never leaves your device.
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Simple pricing
One small annual subscription. No hidden fees, no upsells - just the full app.
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Calm by design
No guilt, no pressure. A kind, clear path forward without jargon or judgement.
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Made for iOS
Built specifically for iPhone and iPad, using Apple’s latest tools and guidelines.
Accessibility
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VoiceOver
Every button, label, and value is fully readable by Apple’s screen reader, so the app works eyes-free for users who are blind or have low vision.
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Large Text
The app respects your iOS text size setting. Increase the font size system-wide and every screen in the app scales with it.
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Dark Interface
A fully supported dark mode that follows your system preference, reducing eye strain in low light and extending battery life on OLED screens.
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Sufficient Contrast
Text and interface elements meet WCAG contrast standards, making the app clear and readable for users with colour blindness or low vision.
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From the guides
Focusing on a credit card?
Almost a third (31%) of credit card holders don’t clear their balance in full each month.†
Whilst focusing on a credit card debt, there are a few habits that may cost you nothing but could help to shrink the balance faster.
Take control and set your own fixed monthly repayments
You can enter the real numbers from a recent statement, then drag the slider to see exactly what choosing your own fixed payment - instead of the bank’s minimum - does to your payoff time and the interest you’ll pay.
£
%
%
That works out to a bank minimum payment of £50 a month.
Time to clear
?
?
Total interest paid
£?
?
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Top up weekly, not just monthly
You’re not limited to making only one payment per month. It’s a good idea to make multiple payments throughout the month on top of your fixed payment, perhaps weekly. These could be small or big, but all of them impact the balance, reducing the time to pay off and the interest.
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Stop using the card
Put it in an envelope marked “Emergencies Only” and place it in the bottom of a drawer. Don’t forget to remove it from your phone’s wallet too.
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What about the interest rate?
Once you pay the card off, the interest rate will not matter. However, whilst paying it down the interest rate can be a big problem that slows down your ability to pay it off quickly. If you can’t lower the percentage, then paying it off as fast as possible reduces the actual interest paid.
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Pay as soon as the bill lands
Interest is calculated daily, so paying as soon as your statement arrives - rather than waiting for the due date - means a few less days of interest every month. The saving is genuinely small on its own, often just a small amount of interest over the life of the balance, but it costs nothing to do. Choosing your own fixed payment above still makes by far the bigger difference.
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Why try to avoid the lure of 0% finance?
There’s no such thing as a free lunch, and zero percent finance can end up costing you much more than you think. The lender is selling you a product, which it hopes to make money from in the longer term. To truly benefit, you need to be able to pay off the full amount before the free period ends. On a £5,000 debt with an 18-month free period, that’s £278 a month. It’s also worth knowing that if you miss a payment, the free period may come to an end, sometimes leaving you charged interest on the full remaining balance straight away.
The trap is that the credit card lender only expects a small minimum monthly payment. If you pay the minimum, you’ll still owe most of the debt by the end of the free period, and then face paying interest at a high rate, often 20% or more, on what’s left.
From the guides
Staying out of an overdraft
8% of UK adults - 4.3 million people - are constantly overdrawn, or usually overdrawn by the time they’re paid.†
An overdraft can feel like a safety net, but at the time of writing, most UK lenders charge close to 40% interest on it - making it one of the most expensive forms of borrowing around, often pricier than a credit card.
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Keep about a week’s outgoings in your bill account
Once you know your monthly outgoings, you can divide them by four to get an approximate buffer for your account. So for example, if your outgoings are £2,000 per month, set your buffer at £500. That means when you get near to that number, you stop spending - as if you’d already reached zero. It’s the absolute minimum for that account. Just don’t think of it as your own spending money.
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Budgeting to pay off your overdraft
The key to getting out of an overdraft is lowering your outgoings. The problem with other lending options (lower interest credit cards, etc.) is that you are not dealing with the real issue, which is most likely your spending habits. A revolving overdraft is a very expensive debt. To tackle it, you need to get yourself into a good financial position. A short, sharp shock is often the best way. Just cancel everything that is not essential or contractual, to free up funds until the overdraft is gone.
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Move the dates you pay your bills
Getting organised is important. We have found it makes sense to have all bills coming out from one place and at a similar time of the month. You need to make sure the money needed is there when required. Doing this can reduce mental load. Once they are paid, you know there isn’t anything else until next month.
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Why is an overdraft so difficult to get out of?
Revolving overdraft debt is tricky to deal with because it is so expensive. Without a fixed date triggering you to pay, the debt can linger. You can get into a rut, where it seems normal to end up in your facility. The trick is to prioritise it, with real focus and urgency.
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Get even more organised by paying annually
By paying annually, you reduce the number of times you pay from twelve to just one. Some companies, like insurance providers, turn your quote into a debt and add interest for the pleasure of letting you pay monthly. So getting yourself to the point of paying annually can save you a lot of money.
From the guides
Got a store card?
6.3 million UK adults hold a store card, and 1.9 million of them revolve a balance on one.†
Store cards only work at one retailer, but the interest rate is often higher than an ordinary credit card - sometimes considerably so.
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Check the rate, not just the discount
The one-off discount for signing up is usually small and one-time. The interest rate is ongoing - and on a store card, it’s often higher than a regular credit card. Know the APR before you carry a balance on it.
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It’s easy to forget you have it
Because it only works at one shop, a store card balance can sit quietly in the background between visits. Check it regularly - not just when you’re back in store.
From the guides
Catalogue credit and shopping accounts
6.1 million UK adults hold a catalogue credit or shopping account, and around half - 3.2 million - revolve a balance.†
These accounts often spread the cost interest-free at first, but can revert to a high rate once that period ends.
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Know when the interest-free period ends
Many accounts offer 0% for an introductory period. If the balance isn’t cleared by the time it ends, interest can be charged on the original amount - not just what’s left. Mark the date somewhere you’ll see it.
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Small purchases add up to one balance
Each item can feel small and manageable on its own, but they all land on the same running balance. Look at the total owed, not just the next instalment, before adding anything else to it.
From the guides
Other types of debt, explained simply
There are many ways to borrow money in the UK. Here’s what each one actually means, in plain English.†
- Deferred payment credit (Buy Now, Pay Later)
- 10.9m people
- Splitting a purchase into instalments through services like Klarna or Clearpay. It’s not currently regulated by the FCA in the same way as other credit, so missed payments can still affect your credit file.
- Personal loan
- 7.3m people
- A fixed amount borrowed over an agreed term and repaid in equal monthly instalments. Often cheaper than a credit card for borrowing a larger sum, since the rate and end date are fixed from day one.
- Retail instalment credit
- 6.4m people
- Buying a specific item (often electronics or furniture) and paying it off over a fixed period agreed with the retailer at the point of sale.
- Motor finance
- 6.1m people
- Borrowing to buy a vehicle, usually through hire purchase or a PCP (Personal Contract Purchase) agreement. With PCP, you don’t own the car outright until a final lump-sum payment is made.
- Loan from friends or family
- 5.3m people
- Borrowing informally from people you know. There’s no paperwork by default, so it’s worth agreeing the amount, timeline and any interest (even informally) to protect the relationship as much as the money.
- Retail hire purchase
- 2.0m people
- Paying for goods in instalments while the retailer keeps legal ownership of them until the final payment is made.
- Short-term instalment loan
- 1.3m people
- A loan repaid over a few months rather than years, usually at a considerably higher interest rate than a personal loan.
- Rent-to-own finance
- 1.0m people
- Renting an item (often furniture or appliances) with the option to own it once enough payments have been made. Typically one of the most expensive ways to buy household goods.
- Payday loan
- 0.9m people
- A short-term loan usually due back in full on your next payday, with high interest if it isn’t repaid on time.
- Loan with a guarantor
- 0.7m people
- A loan where someone else, the guarantor, agrees to repay it if you can’t. Worth thinking through carefully, since missed payments can affect their credit file too, not just yours.
- Credit union loan
- 0.7m people
- A loan from a not-for-profit credit union, usually at fairer rates than high-cost lenders, often available to members who’ve built up some savings with the union first.
- Employer salary advance scheme
- 0.6m people
- Accessing wages you’ve already earned, ahead of your normal payday, usually through an app your employer has signed up to. Worth checking whether there’s a fee each time you use it.
- Pawnbroking loan
- 0.5m people
- Borrowing against an item of value, often jewellery, which the lender holds as security. If the loan isn’t repaid, the item is sold.
- Peer-to-peer loan
- 0.4m people
- Money lent directly by individual investors through an online platform, rather than borrowed from a bank.
- Informal or unlicensed moneylender
- 0.3m people
- Borrowing from someone operating without FCA authorisation, commonly known as a loan shark. This isn’t just high-cost, it’s illegal, and you’re protected by reporting it. The Illegal Money Lending Team can help, in confidence and without judgement.
- Home-collected loan
- 0.3m people
- A loan where an agent visits your home in person to collect repayments, usually carrying a higher interest rate to cover the cost of that collection.
- Logbook loan
- 0.3m people
- Borrowing against a vehicle you own outright, using its logbook (V5C) as security. If repayments are missed, the lender can repossess the vehicle.
- CDFI loan
- 0.3m people
- A loan from a Community Development Finance Institution, a not-for-profit lender set up to offer fairer credit to people who might struggle to get approved elsewhere.
Beyond self-help
When you need more than self-help
Debt Freedom is built for people ready to take on their own debts. But sometimes things have gone further than that, and free, regulated debt advice is exactly what’s needed. GOV.UK keeps an up-to-date directory of regulated debt advice providers, and is better placed than we are to keep that list current and trustworthy.
This links to a government website outside our control. Debt Freedom has no affiliation with the organisations listed there.
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