To ask how much debt you're in?

[rackhampearl]

Just need cheering up really. In around £6000 worth of debt. Just wanna know what others people's debts are and if you are avoiding them or facing them. I am facing mine but the whole thing is really scary and overwhelming. I wish I were as sensible with money back then as I am now. I feel such a fool. What debts do you guys have?

£436 overdrawn, I rent and have no assets. Low income until I start my business (I spent the £400 on materials and website to start it up). So neither good nor bad really but there is potential :)

If you want cheering up listen to this, in 2005 I was £6,000 in debt from student loans and an overdraft on top of that. I moved the overdraft around on 0% credit cards and paid off the loans out of my salary, which was more than it is now but not a lot, then tackled the credit card debt.

It's really good to read you're facing it. I dealt with it by knowing everything about my finances, logging into internet banking every single day and becoming obsessive about it. It even became fun. I think all you need to get yourself out of the situation is the will and belief to face it, and you will feel like a wily fox for taking control, you will feel like Gordon Gecko. Taking charge of debts makes you spend less too.

Also, if you can, try to sell something. Just for the psychology of it, it works. If you have something lying about, I dunno, an double of something like an ironing board like I had when I moved in with DH, put it on Gumtree for a tenner. When you get that tenner you will know how hard you worked to get it. Will you spend that tenner on a new lipstick when you have 5 already? No my friend, you will not. Now I make half my income on eBay, my house is free of crap, if I see something in a charity shop that I know I can double my money on, I buy it.

Good luck OP, I really feel for those in debt. It's shit, but do not let it own you, there is a way out, power to ya!

Couple of hundred on a credit card. Husband has a car loan and i give him half per month. Mortgage cleared.

About £4k plus £6k student loan plus mortgage. I'm not too worried about it as DH earns well and I have a decentish wage too.

I have a student loan of idk because i am just below the threshold im never going to pay it back with the job i have now.

Had £3,000 in credit card debt in september last year - I always paid my credit card in full before but last year got into a relationship where we were spending up to £1,000 on the credit card and didnt have any money the next month because i had used it to pay the cc. So was using the cc to buy what he wanted and cycle continued. Maxed out a second £500 cc for a one off convention that he wanted to go to in july, then when i was 8 months pregnant in august and too exhausted to monitor his spending just handing over the cc when he asked he spent £2k on it, got the bill just as i came home with dd in september, couldnt afford to pay more than £200 that month so by the first week in october he had maxed out the £2.5k limit and the £500 overdraft and £500 backup cc. I have no idea how he expected us to eat that month but i moved back with my parents and he left. Because of tax credits on top of full mat pay for 6 months i have had £500 'extra' each month which i should have been saving so that i could spend a year off but i will have to go back at 9 months just so i can pay off the £800 left before the interest free period runs out on the 3rd credit card i had to open to pay off the first one.

Theres no way he will pay me anything towards it as he says he gave me his wage to pay it off, but the one cc was twice what his wages were and now he has given up his job to avoid cms.

Mortgage is about £105k, have about £4K left on a loan for my car, will be paid off fairly soon. Credit cards paid off in full each month. Oh, about £3k left on student loan but I don't really count that. Should be gone in a couple of years.

Post divorces my DH & I had a £500k mortgage (thanks for digging us out of a hole, Northern Rock!) & £36k credit cards. That was 15 years ago. We worked very, very hard & have none now. Feels bloody amazing!
Good luck OP & PPs.

I have just taken a £7k loan for a new kitchen over 4 years. It's the only debt I have other than the mortgage. It's easily serviceable and for a purpose so I don't mind.

At my worst I was in £32k debt with no real means to pay it off. I remortgaged to clear the lot so can't see it anymore, but still paying for it in increased mortgage payments.

About £28k mortgage left to pay and that's it.

In my twenties I racked up about £6k on credit and store cards due to having poorly paid jobs, a waster of a boyfriend who I was always bailing out and being too stubborn to admit I was broke and move back home. Eventually I got a decent job got rid of the boyfriend and paid it all off.

You can do it OP x

*We choose to live within our means. If we need something, we buy it from savings if possible or use the cheapest possible finance.

If we want something, we save up for it or go without. No exceptions. Buying stuff you don't need with money you haven't got is stupid.*

Exactly this......the last sentence should be drummed into kids....it was mine.

Many years ago my now ex husband left debts when we split up. I have never had any debt since then apart from small credit card amounts which I pay off in full the same month.
I have to say though, that I don't get to enjoy a luxury lifestyle that many people who borrow, do.
It's boring but less stressful.

conkerpods
Have a look at the spreadsheet

the percentages boxes need tweaking as google drive keep changing the algorithm
BUT

if you repay by direct debit, paying the minimum
it will take up to 30 years

if you fix your repayment at this months amount by standing order
it drops to 3 years

you win
the bank loses

Up to eyeballs probably.
Need to face it.

I'm only 26 so I still have the chunk of my mortgage (bought the house 3 years ago), so about £71,000 on that. House is worth approx £120k though and our repayments are only £360 a month.. to rent our house out we'd be paying £570.

I pay my credit card off in full every month and only really use it for car fuel and emergencies.

I bought my car cash so no debt on that.

I actually managed to save up during Uni for the house deposit, but have a student loan (pre-fee increase by 1 year, so I think it's about £18k at the moment but I count that as a tax rather than a debt)

No loans or other debt anywhere so I think we're ok. I'm a massive saver though and I HATE the idea of owing anyone anything :(

Sorry to all those with an ex who dragged them into debt. My ex did his best to do this, but we had limited access to credit here in the UK while we were together (no recent credit history as living in other countries), for which I thank my lucky stars. It's terrifying the impact a bad relationship can have on your finances.

Have a mortgage and owe about £3.4k on a cc - aiming to pay it off before the 0% term expires. Overdraft of £2k. I'm not as careful with everyday expenses as I should be. Need to work on it.

1500 quid credit card.100 quid very account.
And a massive mortgage that I don't even want to think about.

Lauramarling
Any cards that are on variable direct debits, convert them to standing orders
IT WORKS
it really, really does

its a variant of the Moneysavingexpert "snowballing" technique

for the same monthly payment you can already afford, you clear your debts in 1/10 of the time

me £3500 post grad loan, should be paid off in 2 years, about £16000 student loans (that I'll never pay as I'll never earn enough I don't even bother looking at the statements now).

To cheer you up though- my STBXH had over £40,000 of debt, and we had a mortgage, small children and I was pregnant. He paid it all back then fucked off with another woman

About 11k

7k car load
4K credit card which I hate and am trying desperately to clear!

Another with an ex who dragged me into debt! It's just less that £10k (mostly spent on bills/ food during maternity leave as he refused to pay for anything 🙄) but am getting a bit of money in may which I'll plough into it and am switching them all to 0% and going to throw as much as I can at them over the next year! Well done for quitting smoking op, you will get there with the debts.

More than you.

That's all I will say. I would love to get ours down to 6k.

The biggest comes from the car

Debt is relative to your affordability OP. Most of us will get in debt from mortgages to credit cards.

If your think your debt is not affordable and you need cheering up about it visit step change website. They have fantastic budget calculators and give even more fantastic advice.

m.stepchange.org/?WT.srch=1&WT.mc_id=270049&WT.seg_1=step%20change%20uk&gclid=CJDd0baUjtMCFQ4o0wodTEoE5Q

Been there few years ago. But now mortgage paid, credit card paid off in full every month. Had to make loads of economy's for a long time, but so worth it. Good luck OP