I dont even work and I have been told by my bank i can have 15k on a credit card

[Fio2]

I find this totally disgusting. I already have debts and have had to re-mortgage to pay them off. We have a relatively high mortgage and my husband earns an average-ish wage

I really think its disgusting how they encourage you to get into debt

[Fio2]

and my thread titles are getting longer and longer!

[Mud]

Why is that encouraging you to get into debt?

Personally I hate all that, oh it was their fault, they offered crap that is spouted by the media these days. If you can't afford it, don't do it.

People are not victims when they take out unserviceable debt, they are just stupid.

(I am not insulting you Fio2, you are obviously not stupid, and even though you're in debt - like all of us - you are doing stuff to manage it)

[NotQuiteCockney]

You get big loan offers if you're not in debt, too - I had to tell my bank to stop calling me to try to offer loans.

[flamesparrow]

Yes Mud, but it is a lot easier to turn down a piece of chocolate cake when it is not sat in your hand. It is harder to stop the debts when you are already there when it is being handed to you on a plate... If and when I finally clear my overdraft (which I was granted online with the touch of a button), I have to physically go to the bank and arrange to see a human being to have it taken off of my account again.

The less option there is for debt, the easier it is to stay out of it. Not everyone has your willpower - especially when children are upset because just for once they would like a new school coat instead of their sibling's old one.

[Mud]

everyone used to have 'my willpower' though

it used to be a thing of shame to get into debt

people used to scrimp and save to afford things

nowadays they just take out another credit card

I am sorry, my take on this one is slightly coloured by a gut-wrenchingly irritating article by Rosie Millard in the weekend's paper

let me try to find it for you - you'll see what I mean I think (made me want to punch something)

[Mud]

here

[katierocket]

saw that article Mud - agree, very annoying.
Also agree that it's down to individuals to be responsible for their own actions.

[mummytosteven]

I agree Fio2. I refuse to have a credit card; even tho we are pretty skint atm I can see why a credit card would be a hideously bad idea as would just make things worse.

I can't have any sympathies to an industry that uses such high interest rates.

[Fran1]

Havn't read the article yet, but, isn't the reason people didn't used to get into debt because it wasn't handed to them on a plate?

[mummytosteven]

i think people did used to get into debt - just not as many and not as much - what about "the tallyman", catalogues, hp etc, and it wasn't as socially acceptable

why can't Rosie Millard just sell all her flats then FFS if she needs more cash.

[mummytosteven]

yes I've heard that one as well lockets - that your credit rating is better if you have a credit card and keep up the payments than if you don't!!!!

[Mud]

Maybe it wasn't handed to them on a plate, but there was also a stigma associated with being in debt - it was a bad thing, something you wouldn't readily admit to

now it seems to be a good thing makes you trendy and edgy

what a load of crap, it just makes you in debt

[SeaShells]

It's true, the more credit cards/loans..debt you have the more you can get, we weren't in debt until we were offered our first credit card, then everyone wanted to give us one, we have recently cut them all up and are now slowly paying back what we owe, no one is to blame but us, it's too easy to spend money that you do not have and never again will we use them!

[flamesparrow]

Ok, so even I want to thump that cow!!!

I have debt as a credit card and a loan. The loan was for a car (not a top of the range one by any means, just a reliable one to get DP to work and back), and the credit card was to cover the cost of moving house (rented) and paying the deposit for it. Yes, in some ways it was an "unnecessary" expense, but being squished in a teeny flat with a toddler was driving me to depression again.

All that said though - I pay all my bills on time, and am desperately trying to clear them. I hear people say not to worry because "Its not that much" and "Life is too short to worry about bills".

How can they enjoy living with it over their heads?? Yeah it will be a few years before we can have lots of nights out, and a family holiday (luckily generous family has now meant that we can have a honeymoon), but I am going to clear these debts as soon as I can.

[Fio2]

people get into debt because they are desperate. Life throws unexpected turns at them and they unluckily succumb to debt instead of living on the breadline.

I do have willpower! I just think it is disgusting that they offera woman who doesnt work 15k to go and spend on whatever

[Fio2]

but then again keeping up with the Jones's seems even more relevent in peoples lives now

[Jimjams]

Fio - we're sounding very similar these days (same house style). We also have a relatively high mortgage, debts and I'v eonly just started earning again. recently the bank rang me and asked if I wanted a loan- out of interest I asked them how much they'd lend. What did I need it for? I said "errr renovations ". Anyway they went off did their calculations and came back wiith and offer of £25 000. A few strings- had to clear their credit card (which only has £500 on it anyway!). Anyway said no thanks as I'm starting to work and I'd rather see how its going in 6 months then think about restructuring to pay off debt.

A couple of days later they rang dh (we have a joint account). He said OK tell me how much you'll give - and they offered him the same but with no strings attached.

I don't want more money as it just gets spent. A lot of our getting into debt has come from ds1 (we were spending £400 a month on therapy- although that's now reduced to £200).

[SeaShells]

I had a friend who got into major debt and her main problem was that she felt inadeqate if she didn't have all the new stuff, her kids weren't dressed in the new designer clothes, and she didn't have the widescreen tv, etc, this was someone who had never worked and probably never will, she felt she needed these things to feel normal, she couldn't accept that she couldn't afford it and never would. Very sad. Think her real problem wasn't what she didn't have but a feeling of worthlessness and low self esteem, like she was less of a person without the material goods, which society says we need to have. I don't see her anymore, I got sick of it, I couldn't care less what others have or with keeping up with the jones!

[Bozza]

A lot of people get into debt because they are desperate Fio. But a few are just spoilt cows like Rosie Millard. V. annoying article.

I do find all the junk mail re credit cards and loans etc v. tiresome and it fills up my recycle bin by week 2 of the month. If I want a credit card I go online and shop around so the junk through the door is a waste of time.

[crunchie]

That Rosie Millard is hilarious, and a total joke. I mean not being able to control her spending even for a week

Anyway personally I love credit cards, but only becasue they make me money I have a good credit rating and no debt - bar an offset mortgage. I use those cards to offset my morgage further and save me money.

Basically I take out an interst free credit card - £10,000 if poss. Then I transfer the full balance to a specific current account (First Direct) that offsets my mortgage. I pay the minimum back each month, then at the end of teh period, I pay the whole lot back and close the card. For every £10,000 I am saving spprox £20 - £40 a month on my mortgage, however I still pay full motrgage repayments, making sure I am on track to pay it off early. I worked out I am making about £800 a year by doing this, not to mention how much this £800 means against my mortgage (it pays approx 1% of my mortgage off every year - without doing more than a few phone calls)

If you are REALLY ORGANISED and like beating the system and want to try this, look at www.stoozing.com for all the info. DON'T DO IT IF YOU ARE IN DEBT OR COULD BE TEMPTED TO SPEND THE MONEY

[bundle]

Loved the Rosie Millard article. she knows dh but didn't recognise me when i saw her on Hampstead heath a couple of weekends ago looking Very Rough...

[Bozza]

Agree with your working the system idea in principle crunchie but fear I am not organised enough to carry it out in practice. Our current a/c works by getting to zero and thats it. But you never get to zero with an offset, do you?