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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To wonder if we have a lot more debt?

165 replies

Noseytoday · 03/09/2018 12:44

We have £7k of debts, mixture of major house repair work, holiday, getting pregnant much quicker than expected and so not having long to save for maternity leave. We are now focusing on paying it off each month and its going down but it really stresses me out. My DH isn't as worried, he thinks a lot of people probably have similar. Does this sound fairly normal or not?

OP posts:
AnoukSpirit · 03/09/2018 18:02

Debt seems to have become so normalised instead of something to be avoided if at all possible.

Even mortgages?

IronQuill · 03/09/2018 18:13

AnoukSpirit Yep. Because the vast majority of people will never be able to save up the cost of a property outright. And unless you’re very wealthy or sponging off someone else, you are gonna have to pay an amount for somewhere to live whether that’s rent or a mortgage.

ChiefSpoon · 03/09/2018 18:15

About 60k on the mortgage left. No other finance - car was cash. And no I'm not rich or even a high earner.

NT53NJT · 03/09/2018 18:21

I have about 20k. Low interest loan and 2 0% credit card. I'm not worried

BlackForestCake · 03/09/2018 18:30

With historically low interest rates, people have got used to cheap credit, and many have had to use it to supplement stagnant wages.

People's attitude to debt would look a lot different if interest rates were up at 10 or 15 per cent like in the 1980s.

Grimbles · 03/09/2018 18:32

We've got our mortgage, about £5k on an interest free credit card and another £3k on a buy now pay later plan for home improvements. Have enough in savings to cover the latter 2 but won't pay them off until we have to.

ballseditupagain · 03/09/2018 18:37

Gosh, I think most people I know are up to their eyes in it. Outwardly you probably think we are rolling in it as we all drive prestigious cars, shop in waitrose, have numerous holidays abroad as well as in the nice part of Devon. Most of us privately educate. When we are pissed (always a decent gin) we all moan about debt and the fact our lifestyle is so expensive. It's all relative though and I think people with higher incomes are often more comfortable carrying a sizeable amount. I have about £40k unsecured. It's a bit too high for me and I would be more comfortable if it were around £20k. I acknowledge it's a reckless way to live though.

Excited0803 · 03/09/2018 19:32

Debt makes me feel uncomfortable. I've been lucky enough to have paid off anything I've owed, but being inherently frugal helps. We waste money on some stuff of course, but it's always money we can afford.

Thesearepearls · 03/09/2018 19:40

My overdraft is around £8k. i don't worry too much about it. If it gets close to £10k I clear a bit of it. Don't have a mortgage on the house although I do have some debt on an investment property.

My income is salary and bonus and the bonus gets paid in October. The bonus usually clears the debt.

The two biggest costs in our household are my pension contributions and educating the kids. Bloody education, eh? University fees of £9k plus maintenance of around £10k so around £20k per child. If I ever stopped to think about this I would immediately suggest a plumbing career for both DCs. They'd probably earn more without the upfront investment. Anyway that's by the by ....

theSnuffster · 03/09/2018 19:56

Debt scares me. We owe about 3k on a credit card which we used when. buying a car. I don't like owing money and only use credit if I have no other choice. We had to have a car, I can't work without one. I'd never get in to debt for something that isn't essential.

My mum had to use credit to buy furniture, appliances, carpets etc when she and my dad separated. Then more credit to pay for clothes, school uniform, christmas gifts etc. Almost 20 years later and she's almost paid it off. It's caused her so much stress over the years!

FoxFoxSierra · 03/09/2018 20:01

We owe about 15k but I'm not worried because it used to be a lot more and now we have most of it on 0% cards and a proper plan in place to clear it in the next 3 years.

opinionatedfreak · 03/09/2018 20:02

mortgage only here.

Debt makes me uncomfortable. Don't currently have a car but used to drive something much less swish than colleagues to avoid car finance.

My indulgences are travel and yarn. I try to limit the spending as I desperately want rid of my mortgage....currently I've overpaid enough to reduce the term by three months so I think I'll have it for quite a while longer....

However London rent is so crazy my mortgage /service charge is around £400/month Less than my old rent and I'm chipping away at the mortgage too so Brexit house price crashes allowing I'm accruing equity too.

Doodlebug5 · 03/09/2018 20:03

1 x mortgage
2 x car loans (£50k)
1 x credit card (£3.5k)
Owe mum (£800)

That's my debt

Not bothered however. It's manageable. We have £70k household income but no children

Racecardriver · 03/09/2018 20:03

Ha ha ha ha ha. We have over ten times that. Closer to fifteen times that. DH had a mental breakdown and went on a spending spree. We're rolling with it.

Louiselouie0890 · 03/09/2018 20:33

Credit cards are a bitch and store cards. I was struggling to get it down because of the interest. I took a loan out with my bank set interest so much a month for 3 years can't use it again like a credit card paid everything we owed with it. Its scary but I'm paying it, it's going down. Ill pay it off much quicker this way and with much less money on the interest.

Beautifulblue · 03/09/2018 21:09

We have about 6-7k of debt. & we're both low earners, I'm gonna have to keep transferring from one 0% interested credit card to another while we're paying it off. We're already on card #2. It does stress me out if I think about it, but there's not much we can do other than what we're doing (paying off £50pm) on a credit card of £3700 (& £100pm) owed to parents for 3k loan. As well as £800 rent, £60 gas, £40 electric, £50 car insurance, 2 mobiles, petrol, council tax, TV licence, sofa etc etc etc. We're doing what we can 👍🏼 Just terrified of having to add to it if anything goes wrong! That would stress me out!

SilverySurfer · 03/09/2018 21:20

I'm retired on a low income and can't afford to go into debt as paying it back would take forever. No longer have a car, credit card or holidays. If I want something I save for it, or decide if there's something I can do without temporarily, otherwise I don't buy the item.

KanielOutis · 03/09/2018 21:46

I have debt, and can see that when you think of someone doing well in life, it's hard to tell f they are affluent, or up to their eyeballs in debt. The appearance is the same, but the route there is different. In my circles, it's all debt.

Thesearepearls · 03/09/2018 21:58

What i am hearing here is stories of manageable debt

Debt is not a bad thing per se, if that debt is used for sensible things like education or home ownership.

I'm personally delighted to hear about the demise of Wonga - aren't you? I hate the payday loans companies with a degree of passion. A recruiter once phoned me and asked if I'd be interested in working for a payday loan company. I did rant at length. Terrible for people caught into those traps.

SleepFreeZone · 03/09/2018 22:01

I’m personally not in any debt, my DP has the mortgage in his name so and a 10k debt he recently took out for some house improvements. He will pay that back over two years and is due a large bonus next year so it’s not a worry.

7k really isn’t much OP.

heattreated · 03/09/2018 22:04

i've got 425k of debt. it keeps me awake some nights but i try not to think about it.

heattreated · 03/09/2018 22:06

its mortgage debt but still a debt.

LemonysSnicket · 03/09/2018 22:14

I'm in a 2k overdraft and we have about 5k on various credit cards for various reasons. If you can afford to pay it off then it's fine. Most people I know have similar (I also have 65k of student loans but that's different)

blueshoes · 03/09/2018 23:06

I don't worry about my mortgage. It is big enough to take care of itself.

Botanica · 03/09/2018 23:41

My DH isn't as worried, he thinks a lot of people probably have similar.

I'm not sure why this, even if it were true, would make you feel any better. It shouldn't.

I have mortgage debts and nothing else. If I haven't got the money for it then I don't buy it. Simple.

I empathise with people who have unexpected circumstances whilst already right down to the bone but seriously... holidays on credit?