Is debt considered normal these days?

Interest rates are astronomical though aren't they? The banks take you for a ride; it simply is not sensible to pay back extortionate amounts of money, just because they loaned it to you. It is too high a price.
Imho you should never pay out extra money (outside of a mortgage), unless you have no choice. It is actually ridiculous because our mortgage repayments went up, instead of down! I think the economy is improving slightly, hopefully, so they're set to go down (I hope).

Saying the above, does anybody know if a reevaluation of your property is worth it, in terms of mortage?

It’s not their comprehension issues. It’s clear from your original post that it has suddenly hit you how much interest you pay on your mortgage and enraged you, as you hadn’t really thought of it in cold hard cash before.

In your passion in telling everyone else about this you referred to it as “paying them for nothing”.

It’s obviously not “for nothing” but i imagine you meant you see no additional benefit to yourself, personally, over and above the house, on which you are paying off the capital loan.

This is a bit of a basic way of looking at it, but overall, probably not worth a big debate.

I think this video is worth people watching.

Oh dear. Comprehension issues. Never mind.

I actually only got a credit card recently purely because I am going to stay somewhere that you need a credit card to check in. I am in my 40s and was brought up that you saved for things and loans were only for houses and cars.

I also tend to use cash a lot as I find I spend less than tapping my card. It makes me much more mindful on what I spend my money on.

And so have you. You get to buy a house that you wouldn’t be able to buy without them lending you that money.

It’s worthwhile for you too, because who else would lend you that money? If it wasn’t worth your while borrowing the money from the bank, you wouldn’t do it, surely?

You said you’re paying the banks interest for nothing?! I’m pointing out it’s not for nothing. I don’t think I can help you any further.

hth

ike I said they don’t charge you interest for nothing, they charge interest so that it’s worth their while lending to you. It’s called basic economics.

Uhm yes. That’s my point. It’s worthwhile for them. Obviously.

Of course not! They’ve got a great deal..

Or if you are paying more to borrow than you're earning on the money. As several people have observed, a strong credit history (which you build by using credit) allows you to borrow money cheaply and invest it at a higher rate.

As a child, my parents had very little money. Anything needed was saved for, and no holidays other than days out.
I still tend to live by the mantra, that if I don't have the money I don't do it. Credit card paid in full every month, no car finance, and due to saving mortgage paid off early.
I would probably. Be quite anxious if I had debt.

People are much wealthier now than they were then. That’s what decades of globalisation and capitalism has done to the world. What you used to get and enjoy isn’t the same as people now, with cheap consumer goods, cheap international travel, cheap borrowing, a service and tech based economy. Surely you can see how things have changed in 30,40,50 years that mean people do have more money. They aren’t the same as your family were but just with debt.

Debt repayments are only ‘wasted money’ if you’re paying interest on them.

@Sunsweetsandandicecream When I was a kid a "family holiday" was a day trip to the nearest beach if we were lucky. I wont describe how we lived when we had our first (rented) home - too outing. We wouldnt go into debt for family holidays if we had no savings and an old car.

Never wasted money on anything but especially not on debt repayments.

Do you think banks should lend people hundreds of thousands of pounds over 20 plus years for no return? I think you’re mistaking a business with a charity.

We have no debt, no car finance (always saved and always buy second-hand), credit cards but pay them off straight away and used infrequently.

We have had a few loans over the years, small ones for cars (topping up our savings), new bathroom and studies but never for luxuries like a holiday.

It may be relatively low risk lending (you don’t need to put risk in inverted commas, because it IS a risk) for the bank but it’s still a very substantial loan of hundreds of thousands over a very long period of time which could be invested elsewhere if it wasn’t being loaned to the homeowner. So like I said they don’t charge you interest for nothing, they charge interest so that it’s worth their while lending to you. It’s called basic economics.

That’s neither here nor there though is it? You’ve borrowed money and tied it up in your asset when they could be making money investing it elsewhere. They’ve decided for all sorts of reasons that x% of their cash will be tied up in residential mortgages, but you don’t have any right to it. You have to pay for it.

For me debt is strategic. I want a record of some debt to have a good credit rating so that I can get offered the best possible rates.

in addition to a mortgage we have 2 credit cards. Both at 0% and both with less than £1,500 on them.

That’s all the debt we have. We use the credit cards for protection and to spread out cost of bigger items (we have had really shitty luck with appliances in the last 18 months and have had to replace washing machine, dishwasher and vacuum cleaner as all old and no longer affordable to repair).

we have savings of more than the debt so could clear instantly if we had to.

debt can be an asset if managed well. I’m pretty sure the uber wealthy use debt to build their wealth!

Yes most people I know have a lot of debt. Some from luxuries like holidays etc but most just for getting by, wages aren’t enough.

Truth is, debt’s just become part of how a lot of people manage their lives now. It's not about carelessness it’s just different priorities. Some people are comfortable carrying debt because they back themselves to cover it later; others would rather keep the pressure low and the balance sheet clean. Neither way is wrong it’s just about risk tolerance. You’re wired one way, they’re wired another. Don't be shocked by it just know what lane you want to drive in.

Even billionaires use credit, that’s often how they became rich. They just usually have bigger risk appetite’s than your average person.

Of course. But they don’t live on the same planet as mere mortals. Billionaires use of credit is a money making game not borne of need. The majority of people use credit because they need it.

There’s a huge difference between debt and credit. I utilise my available credit but I don’t borrow beyond my means to pay.

I have about £16k on credit cards at the moment (0%) but also have far more than that in cash so if needed I could clear the credit immediately.

Credit is only a problem if you can’t repay it.

Even billionaires use credit, that’s often how they became rich. They just usually have bigger risk appetite’s than your average person.

I’m quite risk adverse but clever use of credit got me 2 houses when most people my age were still renting and are now priced out.