Just opened our credit card statement

[Mooycow]

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 .

I can see how it can gradually build up, we have a 0% interest credit card we use for most spending whilst we save the money we would have spent getting a (fairly) decent interest rate. I keep a very close eye on the CD & savings so we can pay the CD in full when the interest free period ends. It originally had a £3k limit, I just requested an increase to £6k, approved instantly.

I wholeheartedly think some kind of money management needs to be taught in school, in my younger days i was pretty irresponsible with money, I'm glad I've grown out of it plus DH & i have very similar (sensible) attitudes to money. It would really sorry me that OP's DH kept this from her

can anyone tell me..the cc debt that my dh has racked up and which i didn't know about, can I be held liable now that he has defaulted on it?
We have a joint mortgage.

@dementedma You’ll only be liable for his debt if you are both on the card.

The Barclaycard advert at the moment annoys me.
It's basically telling people to spend now on things they want (but don't need) because life's too short.

www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/barclaycard-tv-ad-encourages-wannabe-hobbyists-spend-money-start-today/1445213

The TV commercial depicts a selection of people finding excuses for not embarking on the activities they really want to do such as bowling, biking, rock climbing, kickboxing, kayaking and learning to play the ukulele. The people finally manage to overcome their being "too tired", "too young" or "too busy" and manage to start their desired pastime.

"At Barclaycard we're here to help you get the thing you need to start," says the voiceover. "So that your 'one day' can be today."

Andrew Hogan, Barclaycard’s global head of strategy, said: "The ‘Start today’ campaign springs from the insight that we all have something that we’ve always wanted to try but have never done. We can all make excuses, but there are huge benefits and a lot of fun to be had if we overcome those barriers.

op sounds like you’ve come up with a plan to get it sorted.

@TalkinPeace your spreadsheet is an excellent way of explaining overpayments and the “standing order” solution is fab in its simplicity. Just pondering, have you come across any similar concept for mortgage overpayments? I’ve finally had a decent pay rise and when my daughter starts school childcare costs will go to zero. Trying to work out a sensible balance between long term savings, short term savings and mortgage overpayments...

Other people with mounting credit card debts, please get yourselves over to the Money Matters pages on mumsnet Andrew /or money saving expert. DP has helped me loads to get finances under control after a few wobbly years when I split with my ex and had lots of expenses, and it feels really good to be back in control. It’s easy to just not think about it, but it’s always there at the back of your mind

£25K on a credit card? Crikey. Do you spend £750 a week on food or something?

In all seriousness though, I'd be making living withing your means and paying that off a top priority. The interest on that must be staggering.

"...but it’s always there at the back of your mind".

Too true. My SIL aged visibly because of her debts. She had the bailiffs at the door, her car repossessed, and eventually lost her house. I was shocked when I saw her. In two years she had gone from young mum who looked like she had everything going for her, to someone who looked ten+ years older than her years and was living back with her mother in a single room with two children on a mattress on the floor.

She never recovered from the stress. She's a bit of a recluse now, divorced, social phobia, always looks ill. And just because she wanted it all NOW but didn't have the money.

Surely quite a lot of people have close to that amount of debt when you include stuff like cars on finance ect?

@Nevertwerk
Pop over to the money matters board ....
there are several threads with approaches to debt management and rainy day saving that work really well
I just CBA to argue with the AIBU brigade on a Sunday to explain how well they work [wink}
see you on that board

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

Then you are clueless.*

I put almost all my expenditure that doesn't go via direct debit onto a credit card

Which I pay off in full every single month

For large purchases it gives me buyer's protection

And primarily it means I get reward points - everything I put on my AMEX earns me points

I don't use cash, I use card for almost all purchases - so whether I use a debit card and the money is taken from my account immediately, or pay on credit card and then the money all comes out of my account in one job lot when my credit card bill is paid off every month (by direct debit from the same bank account), makes no difference to my finances. I don't pay any interest on my balances.

Except I earn no points when I use my debit card but do when I use my credit card.

Please explain to me why this is clueless?

If you are able - you might want to get an unsecured loan to pay off at least part of that debt.

Pros - the interest rate will be a LOT less - so you won't be paying a lot of extra interest.

It's also unsecured.

Negatives - should anything happen, you still have to pay that loan off by the end of the loan expiry date - whereas you have more flexibility with the credit card repayment as long as you pay back the minimum.

I would personally be looking for the best way to get that debt paid off in the best time possible whilst trying to pay as little interest as possible and with repayments you can afford.

To my mind, anyone running up a 25k cc bill and not really knowing how its all racked up, is not living well. Never had a credit card and I'm late 30s.

"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."

And how do you suggest people put a roof over their heads while saving up for a mortgage deposit or a rental deposit, namechanger? Genuinely curious. How about people whose car breaks down and they need it to get to work? Should they quit their job while they save up (from what...?) for a new car?

Don't tell me you're one of those people who managed to live with parents rent free to save for a home when they were cheaper or that you got lucky with an inheritance.

Never had a credit card and I'm late 30s

I had fraudulent activity on my account in the past, and I was really glad it was on my credit card, I could just contest the charge. With my debit card, the money would have been taken off my account.

My debit card was stolen while I was abroad and purchases made on it. The bank refunded me the money, I only had to ask. Shasta - you are incorrect.

Will do @TalkinPeace

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

This month our credit card bill will be in the region of £4K. A bit more than usual because our star needed new brakes AND a service.

BUT it gets paid off in full every month AND we get cash back. Our last "payout" was about £150. We use the card for every purchase we can (yes even the £2 I spent on milk in the coop this morning) despite having what most would call "a good income", however we don't gave any debt (even mortgage is paid off) and actually EARN from our credit card...

DH and I had all of our money on our main bank account wiped over the course of about 12 hours, but it didn't show completely for a few days (they had paid for items over a weekend, plus paid for some stuff online, some stuff with fraudulent mail order accounts and some stuff from telephone order food retailers that they knew would be lazy in charging, such as Pizza Hut).

It was DH that noticed, because he said 'Why have we only got X in the account?' I told him not to be silly, because I had checked the account the previous day, and we'd only just been paid. We don't have credit cards, overdrafts, debt....what's ours is ours. I have to say that once we realised, our bank was amazingly reassuring, but it was a weekend, and it all took a few days to process.

Fortunately, we had a second account that DD1's DLA goes into, and we used that to tide over until they reimbursed us the money, then rejigged the accounts to reimburse the second account.

But it's psychological isn't it namechanger although in one way it comes to the same thing having money taken out of your account is worse.

I have a credit card for two reasons. The first is that we have joint finances and so I'm never 100% sure what is in the joint account and if DH has been moving money about. So I only need to worry about it once a month when I pay it off. The second is I get Tesco club card points for all of my expenditure which is money free pizza for nothing.

Different people do things in different ways, never having any 'debt' won't necessarily make you better off in the long run. I think all this evils of debt is interesting, I'm guessing those who have debt are avoiding this thread like the plague. I mean don't most people have pcp deals on cars? I don't FWIW before I get a lecture on the evils of them

I have no debt at all.
I owe nothing to anybody.
It took me till age 47 to reach that stage.

@TalkinPeace even your mortgage? I would love to get our mortgage right down but only finally got onto the housing ladder a few years ago.

Our only debt is our mortgage (about 75% ltv) .

We do use a credit card but pay it off in full every month. We like the cashback from the credit card and the extra consumer protection.

I took out bank loans to fund my way through law school and hated every second of being in debt. I paid off the £12000 within 2 years of graduating by living in the most ridiculously tiny flat. It was an amazingly liberating feeling when I was finally free of the debt.

Nevertwerk
I bought my first house at 21 and never extended my 25 year mortgage term
so by 47 it was paid off
hard work but worth it

"TalkinPeace

I have no debt at all.
I owe nothing to anybody.
It took me till age 47 to reach that stage."

Being nosy (you don't have to answer) are you a homeowner/financially secure? DH and I are in the same situation (bar my income-linked student loan), but were bankrupt 11 years ago. We've never touched credit since, except once asking the garage in advance to pay for a clutch repair over 3 months, because we wouldn't be able to afford to pay it in one go. But we are not in an amazing position, just pleased that we live without credit.