To think living in overdraft is the norm?

[user1490465531]

Beginning to think it was just me.
Despite working I am always in my overdraft a week before pay day.
I have paid it of before only to be in it the next month.
Speaking to people it seems very common due to rising costs of living and no wage increase.
AIBU to think unless you have a fantastic paid job you will living in your overdraft.
I live a pretty basic life apart from odd treat so not exactly due to extravagant lifestyle don't own car don't go on holidays etc.

Me and dh lived like this for years when dc were young. We had an overdraft of £2000 so every month practically whole salary was swallowed up on pay day. Took a lot of hard work and sacrifice to get rid of it. I hate debt and am actually quite paranoid about it now.

I lived in overdraft for years (about 20 years) . It is only recently this has changed.

Trouble is it’s really hard once you’re in it to get out, as everytime you get paid you are automatically down on your wages after paying the overdraft so your always playing catch up. Spend one month being really really strict, no treats, make a menu for meals and draw up a shopping list based on that and buy nothing else. Hopefully this will reduce the amount you go into the overdraft and within a month or 2 you may manage without it - it’s the playing catch up which is hard. We used to always struggle when the kids were young but we have learnt to manage and we don’t have an overdraft now. We live quite lean and if we can’t afford it we don’t get it.

No. Not the norm here either and most people don't have high paying careers just regular jobs.

I'd hate to be in debt and don't want my children to think debt is fine and normal and it's ok to live outside your means.

Even in lean times I never had an over draft, I either went very frugal or picked up extra work.

Never had an overdraft and don't intend to.

Not since I was a student, no.
I fact I hated being in my overdraft so much that I slowly chipped away at the debt, then carried on saving that little extra each month until I had at least 1k left in the bank just before payday. Took ages to do, but I feel so much more secure knowing it's there.

Also at that time all our friends were in the same boat, i.e. a sinking one.

You aren't required to make a monthly payment like a credit card and on payday it's cleared but then you need the money live.

This isn't the case in the institutions I've worked in. I regularly see overdrafts in arrears.

Not been in my overdraft since I was a student. I do have £1500 on a credit card that I am aiming to pay off over the next 3-4 months.

Surely it costs though? My bank charges ££ even for an arranged overdraft. The thing is, you might be spending within your means each month anyway if you always end up overdrawn by the same amount, so you just need a cash boost to get out of the red. Then you can avoid being overdrawn. See if you can even spend 10pound less each month to try to clear it.

I don’t have an over draft and neither does DP. We don’t have amazing jobs and most of my pay goes on nursery fees. We are very fortunate that our mortgage payments are low and we shop for deals on everything.
We don’t have brand new furniture (except a few items) and don’t spend on luxury items as again we don’t feel like we need them (not preacy or anything it’s just the way we have always done things)

I'm definitely not living above means, I have to buy food and pay bills.
Live in the south east don't know if that makes a difference.
I'm on average 200 in my overdraft each month which isn't a fortune but annoying.
Glad to see despite rising living costs a lot of ppl seem to be ok.

No, I don't think it's normal. It does seem to be increasingly common, though.

Yes it’s the norm for me on a vow income subsidised by tax credits and also for my BF (who doesn’t live with me) who earns £70k a year.

It seems that however much you have you will spend it - plus a little extra if you have access to it!

My OD has crept up from £500 to £2000 over recent years and I realised I was paying £30-60 a month in OD fees so I got a 0% credit card and paid some money into my account to take me out of the OD - I still hover around £0 at the end of the month and will dip in and out of credit for a few days.

Hoping that now my youngest DC is off to secondary school I can work more and make a bit more money!!

Me & DP both live in overdrafts all the time, not ideal but neither of us earn enough money to get out of it.

*low income

Just to add I'm a lone parent so all bills are paid by just me get no money from dd dad.

Can we help you by suggesting ways to pay off the overdraft? What are the odd treats that you mentioned and how expensive are they?

No, definitely not normal here. I've never had an overdraft, I've never earned much money either. Dh had big loans in his 20s but got his shit together around 29/30 and hasn't had any since, that was nearly 10 years ago. We are not hug earners (we're very very low earners unfortunately particularly now as I'm self employed and can't work much now at all as we've small children) but I'm good with money, we don't live in a city with big costs, and our mortgage is very manageable. We would never be approved for a mortgage now, thankfully dh bought it when he was earning well in his early 20s.

Huge earners, not hug earners, although I like to think I deserve hugs too!

I use mine but hardly pay anything for it so it's not worth the bother. Occasionally I've paid it off but I've had the same account and the same facility for over 15 years and the bank don't bat an eyelid about it.

I smoke and spend 20 pounds a week but I don't drink and don't really have nights out so it is my main vice.
That's the only thing realistically I could stop but I enjoy it.

I have no credit cards and no overdraft.

This is very recent. For a long time it was absolutely the norm.

I don't think it's the norm but it's not uncommon. DH and I have pretty average jobs but manage to stay out of it.