Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Just opened our credit card statement

445 replies

Mooycow · 27/01/2018 23:48

And am so shocked , it’s over 25.000, ! My husband deals with all the bills ( I do everything else) ,he gets online billing and tears up the statement when it arrives , we have together spent the money ,it’s all way too easy ,obs, AIBU to be shocked that we owe that amount .

OP posts:
megansmandstop · 28/01/2018 13:57

TalkinPeace I just you a PM about the spreadsheet, I couldn't get it to work either, I'm pretty sure I downloaded it first but I'm worried I've done something awful to it for everyone - so huge apologies if so!

ShastaTrinity · 28/01/2018 14:00

Do all these people , who are gibbering wrecks with debt , have a mortgage?
But thats an ok debt right?

What a weird post. Don't you think that people need to live somewhere, and can't stay in a cave until they save enough to buy a house. Same people cannot afford to pay rent - which is lost money anyway - and save enough at the same time. Thanks to the property market since I bought my first home, the value of my homes have gone up a lot more than I paid interests to the bank, so I have made money despite (or thanks to) my mortgages.

At least many people can take public transport instead of using a car if there are such things, and regular cars don't increase in value over the years.

I don't understand your post mocking people who try to avoid debts, why is that?

TalkinPeace · 28/01/2018 14:02

megans
I've mended it and hopefully re-protected the big formulae so it should stay mended.
I'll pop an update on the Spreadsheets thread.

kalapattar
It's not really a trick. It's just like paying off a loan with a fixed affordable amount per month at an interest rate of 18% or whatever.
For those who do not understand their credit cards it is a magic trick.

THe mortgages sheet is good for those who think interest only mortgages were a good idea .....

kalapattar · 28/01/2018 14:02

There's a credit card calculator here

www.moneysupermarket.com/credit-cards/calculator/

Simply put your debt in, the interest rate and the amount per month

For example

£25,000 at £500 a month at 19% means the debt will be paid off in 7 1/2 years with £19,939 interest (

daisychain01 · 28/01/2018 14:03

Debt is still a debt, even if you "can afford" to pay it back All the while you owe that debt, it remains so until you pay back the person or company you're endebted to. It is on their ledger as a debt, with you the owing party. If you leave it on too long, it becomes a bad debt to the company, as they perceive it as getting riskier and riskier tat they'll get their money back. Debt is bugger all to do with affordability!

So whilst I also agree with pp who said mortgage should be for the house and the house alone that is idealistic in this instance. If you have equity and can do this it gives you back control it is worth considering

mooey (OP). Please don't take this ^ advice. This is bonkers!

You've bought too many electric blinds for your bedrooms and gone on too many beach holidays, and now someone is advising you to erode the value of your home equity to pay back your cc debts. Find a different way, talk with a proper debt management company with your DH and organise yourselves for the future. Don't risk your home. That's your most valuable asset. Protect it at all costs.

kalapattar · 28/01/2018 14:07

From that link

£25,000 at £500 a month at 19% means the debt will be paid off in 7 1/2 years with £19,939 interest

£25,000 at £400 a month at 19% means the debt will be paid off in 13 1/2 years with £41,000 interest

PoorYorick · 28/01/2018 14:08

I'm not a financial expert but I have been told that equity release should only be done as an absolute last resort, when there is no other option.

Tinkerbec · 28/01/2018 14:18

I don't understand your post mocking people who try to avoid debts, why is that

It was mocking the people who I felt were not being kind to Op. Yes she needs to take control but she needs support not to be terrified. That’s why I think MSE would be a better more supportive place for her.

I was also highlighting that debt is not all necessarily bad and it seemed almost a double standard. Though I do understand your point and why mortgage are seen as ‘ good debt’

Putyourdamnshoeson · 28/01/2018 14:21

Debt secured to a valuable asset is not the same as debt spent on electric blinds and bathroom tiles.

You know this.

Tinkerbec · 28/01/2018 14:28

Debt secured to a valuable asset is not the same as debt spent on electric blinds and bathroom tiles.

You know this.

Negative equity 😬

Op do you definitely just have the one cc?

Putyourdamnshoeson · 28/01/2018 14:30

And negative equity is terrifying for many. Much like a large, unsecured credit card debt would be.

It us an anomaly.

I fail to see your point.

Tinkerbec · 28/01/2018 14:33

And negative equity is terrifying for many. Much like a large, unsecured credit card debt would be.

That’s exactly the point

TalkinPeace · 28/01/2018 14:35

tinkerbec
Have you read the update from the OP?

TalkinPeace · 28/01/2018 14:36

I have clients still paying off their negative equity from the early 1990's crash .....

Putyourdamnshoeson · 28/01/2018 14:38

I don't doubt that at all. But surely it's not comparable to this situation?

TalkinPeace · 28/01/2018 14:41

Not in the least.
The OP is not poor. She has a DB pension coming down the track.
But she and her DH did not keep a grip on her spending.
Its sorted now.

Bluntness100 · 28/01/2018 14:48

It always surprises me how people live way beyond their means. To be at the stage you can't even afford to service your car and need to put it on a credit card, and spend frivolously on things like electric blinds.

I've a credit card that is paid in full monthly. I simply couldn't get myself into debt for materialistic crap. What happens if one of you gets ill and loses your job? To have that weight of debt hanging around your neck is awful.

TalkinPeace · 28/01/2018 15:00

Bluntness
I was in debt for 15 years.
I was paying the minimum on cards and borrowing from friends.
Its a vicious cycle that traps you in as you spend so much money servicing debt that you cannot escape.
I was lucky that I was able to sell an asset and clear all but my mortgage.
Those without assets never get that chance.
And the low pay traps condemn people to near poverty.

I therefore have a great deal of sympathy for those who are as I was
and am not arrogant enough to think that other than luck saved me from it.

Mummyoflittledragon · 28/01/2018 15:07

Gotta see the lighter side of electric blinds. Hopefully now you’ll have paid them off before they pack up. Smile

NameChanger22 · 28/01/2018 15:09

*I don't understand why people with good incomes have credit cards.

Then you are clueless.*

I'm not clueless at all. It's very easy for people (even those with good incomes) to get badly into debt and struggle to get out. I think this thread shows it's possible. The OP didn't even know she was in debt, and yet she has to somehow pay back 25k.

Everyone should try and avoid credit cards, they're bad news for a lot of people. Some people are always able to pay back in full every month, many are not.

The 'you need a credit history' nonsense is really bad advice for a lot of people. You don't need a credit history if you don't need credit. Just save for things, it's far cheaper. When dishing out mortgages, banks do not care if you have a credit card or not. They want to know if you will pay them back - do you have a deposit, do you have a secure job, can you afford to pay them. They will not turn down a good customer that doesn't have a credit card, because its not in their interests to do so, you will be giving them back 3 times what you borrowed over time on your average mortgage.

KidLorneRoll · 28/01/2018 15:17

"Everyone should try and avoid credit cards, they're bad news for a lot of people"

Well, no. Just like any other financial product credit cards can be incredibly useful and can save people money if managed properly. They are bad news for some people, good for others.

ShastaTrinity · 28/01/2018 15:17

It's a very dangerous advice to pretend your credit history has no impact on your mortgage. because it simply not true.

You will be able to get a mortgage possibly, but when you are looking to one of the best ones on the market, the banks are a lot stricter and take everything into account.

TalkinPeace · 28/01/2018 15:19

Namechanger
Just save for things, it's far cheaper.
Do, please tell me how people on Zero Hours NMW are supposed to save up for emergencies - once they are in debt ?

Staying out of debt from the very start is possible - but sad and dull on low incomes
but once in debt and with no employment / asset route out, its utterly grim
something the rich bastards in Whitehall DO NOT understand

MamaMiaReboot · 28/01/2018 15:20

I think the problem with credit cards is the way they are promoted by issuers. They are not and should not be viewed as a loan.

The purpose of a cc is to get credit instead of paying by cash. And to have a record of your purchases all in one place. Then you pay it off when your statement arrives.

The only people who win on minimum payment, which effectively incurs a penalty at a huge percentage, are the “lenders”.

If you use your credit card without the means to pay the full amount, it really is not much different to a pay day loan at extortionate rates.

TalkinPeace · 28/01/2018 15:20

@Mooycow
I've just rewritten the Budget sheet (linked from the spreadsheets thread)
It might be useful for you and your DH in working out what spending to prioritise

Swipe left for the next trending thread