How much debt are you in?

[Bottomlesspit21]

Following on from the savings thread, how much debt are you in?

Not including mortgage but including student loans, car finance etc.

I’m not in any debt but haven’t got much in savings either!

None

No debts at all, well I do owe the man next door £18, he got me some gravel, and I had nothing in my purse at the time, then he went to Spain on business, But now I have just noticed he is back home, so can pay him now, so debt free now.

@NatMoz Does this include credit card debt that is paid at the end of every month. Depending on the time of the month, I have £200-400 on my credit card, these are my day to day expenses excluding bills and mortgage, this is paid off immediately once I get paid. I exclusively use my credit card unless its for bills.

@onlychildhamster no I'm not including that. I'm counting those who pay the minimum on a balance or less than the full balance each month and are therefore unfortunately accruing interest.

@Bottomlesspit21

£700 on a credit card, £200 on Argos card, £150 on a catalogue. No mortgage (we are mortgage-free.)

If you had asked us 15 years ago, the answer would have been quite different. We had around £20K unsecured debt, (credit cards/overdrafts/storecards etc,) and around £45K left on the mortgage.

Very little debt now though. We have savings, so could pay the small-ish debts off if we wanted. Not sure why we don't! Maybe we will.

@HerRoyalRisesAgain

£20,000

My dad fraudulently took out catalogues and credit cards in my name.
To keep the peace in the family I didn't contact the police, but I am now NC with him and keep a very close eye on my credit score.
I'm on a debt management plan to pay it off.
He did the same to my older brother which we've only just discovered.
My mum, although she's been divorced from him for almost 20 years, has begged us not to do anything.

This is why I keep saying UK is in need of national ID cards😳 This sounds horrible and I have to say that I would not put myself through debt management plan for someone who could do this to me

I've got £69k in student debt. By the time it's cleared I'll have paid around £150k or something silly like that because the interest is so high. All this rubbish about 'oh most people won't pay it off' is nonsense. Of course most won't pay it off because the annual payments don't even cover the interest. Ok rant over

£3k car loan, £7k credit card. Debt on card was partly for house renovations, then a sibling died suddenly this year with no assets so I had to put the funeral on there as I was next of kin. It’s taken my position from manageable to feeling uncomfortable, so the belt has been tightened and I hope to pay the funeral off within 12 months. Within 16 months the car will be paid off too, and I’m planning on keeping that for at least 4 more years, so I’ll be in a much better position.

No car, mortgage paid off, just debt from being a carer for my disabled son with very little income £2,900 on interest free credit card

What is the point in this thread?

No debts in this household - no mortgage, bought car (secondhand) for cash, credit cards are paid off each month. In fact I am owed money...£1.40 for buying a neighbour something in Sainsbury's.

no debt here except mortgage!

I had a gambling addiction … ended up £23k in debt. I have not gambled in 3 years, but still have £7k to pay back.

Can I just ask how a debt management plan helps people? Won’t you just default anyway after 3 months missed payments and be in a bad situation for the next 6 years? This is a genuine question as I’m in my own situation after a bad year.

twilightermummy
Speak to the CAB and get a budget drawn up. They were really helpful.
Then go through stepchange. They accept the CABs budget and only take what you can afford each month and offer it to your creditors. Most creditors are reasonable and accept the offer. Others have passed it over to debt collection companies who have then accepted the offer.

The responses on this thread are OTT. It’s an Internet forum - if you don’t want to answer, don’t.

I have about £10k plus mortgage but mortgage is huge. But it’s all manageable- I used to be in loads of debt with cards abs loans etc which stressed me out no end. But now I’m in control

None.

@twilightermummy worth looking into an IVA! me and DP currently have one, paying off our credit card debts and some other debts over 5 years at a really reasonable monthly payment. They also wipe so much of the debt too. Not our proudest moment but we were in shit street with money.

HerRoyalRisesAgain
MyGrassIsBrowner

Thank you both so much. I’m going to stop burying my head in the sand and come up with a plan tomorrow.

@GreenTortoise. I know. It’s the general smugness on these threads. All these “none and I’ve paid off the mortgage - I live within my means” posters.

OP. I’ve got £475k of unsecured debt due to starting my own orphaned tortoise colony but it’s ok cos the crown prince of Polynesia has promised he’ll pay it off if I bequest my eldest daughter to marry his son. Does that pique your interest.

I'm 60. Since I was 20 I've had debts, loans, frivolous payments, rooting down the sofa for coins to buy milk. I had times when I couldn't pay the bills, small debts become large debts very quickly in those circumstances. Mortgage payments were a huge 1200 a month for a long time. It's all relative.

In my 40s I had children, wfh, was skint all the time but could at least pay the bills, had credit cards and borrowed money.

Now I have a pension (tiny) no mortgage (thanks to poor MILleaving us money) two teenagers at Uni with associated costs. We have a decent roof over our heads, food, clothes, cars. We don't have much cash, no credit cards now and no overdraft facilities, no savings but we are (just) in the black each month.

It's just money. If you don't have any you can't pay stuff. You can't save. You can't get credit. But you do need to deal with it. Some times have been really tough and we will never be rich but that's life.