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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to ask about your debts?

199 replies

BasinHaircut · 31/05/2016 14:48

Inspired by another active thread im just wondering how much debt people have (outside of mortgage debt), what sort of debt it is and how they manage it?

I dont really like discussing money IRL so would be fascinated to know how other people operate.

ill start:
0% interest credit card, about £2k, paying off over 2 years (new bed and TV splurge)
0% interest sofa payment, about £1k, paying off over 3 years
Just about to take out a £15k loan (not 0% interest sadly) for a new kitchen over 5 years.

All of these debts were taken on after budgeting the required monthly payments and with a clear end date planned. Even so it seems like a hideous amount of debt.

We could actually pay the sofa and credit card off in full right now but seems more sensible to me to pay off monthly as they are both interest free debts and keep the cash in the bank.

OP posts:
Chewbecca · 31/05/2016 15:46

We have a mortgage and we both have credit cards but they are all paid in full every month.

DH has a car loan, about £12k I think. I saved up for my new car instead and encourage him to do the same but he's not quite as risk averse as I am!

Bearbehind · 31/05/2016 15:46

Ignoring student loan of approx £40k

I'm Shock that people dismiss student loans and Shock how high they are.

Dont £40k or £50k student loans adversely affect your ability to secure other credit- I know they didn't used to but that's changed hadn't it?

MardyKnickers · 31/05/2016 15:46

None, I don't believe in spending money I don't already own so save up for everything instead.

97k owed on mortgage/15 years left on it, considering overpaying/downsizing/both to reduce/get rid of mortgage quicker

BravingSpring · 31/05/2016 15:47

I'm not sure you'll get a very representative response.

LadyLapsang · 31/05/2016 15:47

Zero.

firesidechat · 31/05/2016 15:48

Nothing. No mortgage now either.

MaliceInWonderland78 · 31/05/2016 15:49

Personal debt in excess of £35k, relatively small mortgage though and short terms on most of it.

Expect to pay it off within 18 months, though fully expect to borrow again. We do only borrow for tangible things though.

firesidechat · 31/05/2016 15:49

I'm not sure you'll get a very representative response.

I was just thinking that too.

oldlaundbooth · 31/05/2016 15:50

'About 40k, plus student loans I'm currently accruing (I will never those pay back so I don't really count those.) '

How though?? Why will you never pay those back?

Am I missing something?

ThinkPinkStink · 31/05/2016 15:50

I have zero debt - not even a mortgage (buying in London feels untenable).

That having been said I had £19K debt in my 20s, largely comprising:

Graduate loan + flexi loan + consolidation loan + credit card loan + a couple of overdrafts + another consolidation loan.

In essence I just lived £5-7K above my means for several years.

It felt ah-fricken-mazin' to shut that baby down a couple of years ago...

[whispers: I even have savings these days!]

ample · 31/05/2016 15:51

No mortgage. Cars are paid for, cash.
£50-£60 on store cards (Next) usually paid off same month.
£20 on credit card
Mobile contract £600 odd, brand new so another 23 months to go at £28 pm (was paying £13 for data and unlimiteds before then so I see it as just the extra £15 per month).

Recently paid off our world tour holiday from 2014 and it feels good.
I think I'm quite good with money budgeting month to month but I do like to splash out or save if I really really want something. I've realised I'm not as implusive as I was in my youth. That's a great feeling too Smile

ginorwine · 31/05/2016 15:53

None
But that's after years of putting some holidays on a credit card

However , now we prefer not buying anything until we have money for it - eg we have no stair carpet at the mo - however we have no dept exept a 29 k mortgage and have equity in the house
However no real savings
These days I prefer to keep my wage for stuff and not start off near overdraft when paid even tho no carpet ! - rather than be in dept but occasionally Wd love impromptu hokiday funded by card but the idea of the dept puts me off .

maggiethemagpie · 31/05/2016 15:54

About 3.5k on credit cards, repaying at £300/month, just had a wedding so there's a bit of debt on them from there.

Coming to the end of a car loan, had to get a car for work so unavoidable really, about 4 installments of £200 left.

The only other debt is my student loan, about £5k left which I should have paid off in four years. Thank god it is an old mortgage style one and not one of the new ones where they keep adding interest the more you earn so it is never paid off!

I don't mind a bit of credit card debt as I use it to purchase treats and extras, then pay it off on a 0% deal but I try to keep it under 2k so it's a bit high at the moment, due to my money-pit of a wedding.

StillRabbit · 31/05/2016 15:54

At this point in the month we have just paid for the credit card (all spending goes on credit card and it gets paid in full each month) so no debts. Mortgage was paid off about three years ago and we save up for our cars so no car finance. DH has always been careful with budgeting so only debt we ever had was the mortgage and a car loan many years ago when our car blew up before we had saved enough for a new one.

Bonkerz · 31/05/2016 15:55

I owe

£8k bank loan
£300 next account
£600 Argos card (paying off on Friday!)

That's it! Took years to get it down to that though! I do have an asda credit card but it's in credit and I have an evans store card that's also in credit!

sharknad0 · 31/05/2016 15:55

None (apart from mortgage!)

I have a couple of credit cards, but only took them to get a good credit record for mortgage and use them to shop online, safer. They are paid every month.

I am lucky I never ever been in debt, but it is a personal choice. I slept on the floor for 2 months when I bought my first house, before I could buy my bed. Used garden chairs and bean bags for few months before buying my sofa. It sounds silly, but I prefer my freedom. If something had come up, I could have delay buying them and go on holiday or something.

If things get tight, I don't spend anything apart from absolute necessities until I have 2 or 3 months worth of salary back in the bank. It gets harder with kids, but we've always manage. It makes me sound incredibly tight, but I am really not. I prefer to take an evening or weekend job somewhere to raise money than going into debt.

JeanGenie23 · 31/05/2016 15:56

No debt, paid it all off last week actually after receiving some good debt management advice on here.

I do have the usual monthly direct debits for electricity/water/council tax but none of those are in arrears.

It took me a matter of months to get into debt but it's taken me years to get out of it.

Radiatorvalves · 31/05/2016 15:57

Huge mortgage (over £300k) but it is a lot less than it was, and the house is worth (according to Foxtons [ha ha]] well over £1m. We have credit cards, but don't use very often and always pay off every month. Not much in the way of savings as we just had an extension done, so we are trying to replenish.

No other debts. We were going to buy a new sofa recently on interest free credit (why wouldn't you), but haven't yet chosen one. Car is about 10 years old and going strong. If it dies, I would hope that we could buy a new second hand one out of savings (don't die yet!)

BathshebaDarkstone · 31/05/2016 15:57

I have no debt. Smile

girlandboy · 31/05/2016 15:57

Nothing.
Paid the mortgage off in 1999.
Only ever had one credit card (as a "just in case" when we went abroad) which the bank eventually requested back because we never used it Confused

Only ever paid for cars/holidays/stuff if we had enough money.
I don't want to sound holier than thou, but the thought of debt makes me tremble. So we've never had any.

TheWeeBabySeamus1 · 31/05/2016 15:57

Just under £20,000. No mortgage, student loans etc just plain stupid with money. Several CCJs in there too Blush

Alyosha · 31/05/2016 15:57

Student loan of around £20k, mortgage of £265k. Nothing on credit cards.

Trying to overpay the mortgage before rates go up!

ommmward · 31/05/2016 15:58

I was going to be smug and say "no, nothing except mortgage" but actually, my lovely parents loaned us £10k recently to help with paying for a new roof. We can't pay them back until the roof works have actually finished and we know what the final bill is. They did it, bless them, just so we wouldn't be worrying if the final roof bill was a bit higher than the original estimates (which it will be).

I'm a really strong believer in not getting into debt - if you can't afford it, don't buy it. I have to think of the mortgage as being that we rent our house from the bank and they'll give us to us in another 20 years or so Blush

Junosmum · 31/05/2016 15:58

Student loan, about 10k but I don't count that as I only pay it off if I work (currently on mat leave so not paying) and it gets written off in 15 years if I've not paid it anyway.

Got a mortgage.

About £200 on a credit card- I have a cashback credit card so use it to pay for everything and then pay it off in full each month.

I consider myself debt free.

TheWeeBabySeamus1 · 31/05/2016 15:58

Oh, and that's to over 20 different companies. My credit score is shameful.

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