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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask has anyone else been able to do this in life?

42 replies

flamebuoy · 20/11/2021 09:45

Woman I work with has claimed she has never had...
A credit card
A loan of any sort, student, car, personal etc
Or A mortgage (she owns a house outright)

I know it's possible I suppose, she's not loaded etc...but is it more common than I think?

OP posts:
PermanentTemporary · 20/11/2021 09:47

Cor. Probably quite common but aggressive advertising of living on credit since the 70s has seen me become an enthusiastic debt aficionado since I was 20.

CounsellorTroi · 20/11/2021 09:47

She must have inherited a house if she owns one outright and has never had a mortgage?

MurielSpriggs · 20/11/2021 09:49

Loans don't mean you have any more money in your life. They just redistribute the income from one point in your life to another (and cost interest, so in fact overall you have less). If you've got a pretty stable income they're not necessary.

starrynight21 · 20/11/2021 09:49

If she's not loaded, where did the house come from ? If she inherited it, she would in fact be "loaded" by most people's standards.

Row1n · 20/11/2021 09:50

I think it is. If you inherit a house, save every month and only buy what you can actually afford its perfectly doable.

Simonjt · 20/11/2021 09:50

@CounsellorTroi

She must have inherited a house if she owns one outright and has never had a mortgage?
Some people buy cash, a friend bought his mum a house outright.
Original poster
flamebuoy · 20/11/2021 09:50

@CounsellorTroi she says she saved and then met her dh who had a mortgaged property so he sold (at a profit I presume) and then they pooled their money and bought outright...very plausible I suppose

OP posts:
Camomila · 20/11/2021 09:51

I imagine it's more common for the older generation who were less likely to go to university and more likely get mortgages just in their husband's name.

oviraptor21 · 20/11/2021 09:51

If she stashed enough away over the years she could buy her flat, then house outright.

Original poster
flamebuoy · 20/11/2021 09:52

@Camomila she's early 30's Shock

OP posts:
BeyondMyWits · 20/11/2021 09:53

No, not normal I think.

I am very debt averse (parents were very not), but have had, and paid off a mortgage.

purpleme12 · 20/11/2021 09:54

I've never had a credit card
Only loan I've had is my student loan so I guess if you didn't to go uni or you had someone to pay the fees for you which isn't outside of the realms of possibility
And I can see how the house is bought outright with what you said earlier

HoseMeDownWithHolyWater · 20/11/2021 09:54

I've only got a mortgage. No credit cards or loans or anything on finance.

ArblemarchTFruitbat · 20/11/2021 09:55

[quote flamebuoy]@CounsellorTroi she says she saved and then met her dh who had a mortgaged property so he sold (at a profit I presume) and then they pooled their money and bought outright...very plausible I suppose [/quote]
So a mortgage had been involved in the finances that ultimately bought her property.

KurtWilde · 20/11/2021 09:55

I've never had any of those things. I don't own a house though, I rent.

RampantIvy · 20/11/2021 09:56

We have had car loans and a mortgage, but no other loans. Our credit cards are set up as a direct debit from our current account, so we never go into debt with them.

For anything else, if we can't afford it we don't buy it. We wouldn't go into debt for anything other than a roof over our head or a car.

Both our cars and our mortgage are fully paid up, so now we don't owe any money to anyone.

Original poster
flamebuoy · 20/11/2021 09:58

@ArblemarchTFruitbat no the mortgage was his. She never lived in his old house as I don't think as it's in another city. He sold and moved to where she lives now with her.

OP posts:
SquishySquirmy · 20/11/2021 09:59

Not me!
I suppose the first 2 are fairly achievable, especially in generations without tuition fees, and of course lots of people don't go to uni. I've never had a car on finance or a personal unsecured loan etc.

Buying a house mortgage fee is much much more difficult without a large inheritance/family money I'd have thought.

I've not had many loans. But I have had:

  • Student loan (worth it in the long run, I now have a well paying career i wouldn't be able to have without my degree).
  • credit card for a short time while trying to build up a credit history, paid off in full each month (so not sure if that counts?)
  • Mortgage. Again, definitely worth it and I dont consider it "bad debt" iyswim.

But even though I've been very lucky in life, and I think I am reasonably responsible with money and financially literate,
I would never have been able to afford a house or a degree without a loan.

CounsellorTroi · 20/11/2021 09:59

I’ve had a joint mortgage with DH, and have a credit card, but never any loans or anything on finance.

This woman must have saved a hell of a lot if she had enough, together with the profit from her DH’s mortgaged home, to buy a house outright.

Fomofo · 20/11/2021 09:59

I don't have a credit card

ArblemarchTFruitbat · 20/11/2021 10:00

[quote flamebuoy]@ArblemarchTFruitbat no the mortgage was his. She never lived in his old house as I don't think as it's in another city. He sold and moved to where she lives now with her. [/quote]
Yes - I said a mortgage was involved .

Her DH (I assume) wouldn't have been able to buy the house he eventually sold to finance the one they bought together without taking out a mortgage.

MurielSpriggs · 20/11/2021 10:00

Not directly on the point, but mortgage debt is kind of different anyway. Although you borrow, you have an asset to show for it, which normally will at least hold it's value. In other words you might be £100k in debt, but you have a £100k asset, so in fact on your "balance sheet" you're no worse off.

If you run a credit card up to £10k on nights out and strappy sandles you're £10k in debt with nothing to show for it.

ArblemarchTFruitbat · 20/11/2021 10:02

this woman must have saved a hell of a lot if she had enough, together with the profit from her DH’s mortgaged home, to buy a house outright.

We don't know the proportions of their contributions, or how much the new house cost. She might have saved a lot, she might not.

sjxoxo · 20/11/2021 10:02

We have a mortgage & a small student loan. Never had a credit card or any other sort of credit or loan. My parents have never had credit cards and to be honest I’d be frightened to get one! Idea of being tied to debt frightens me. Mortgage is essential but we are doing a renovation and beyond the hump of it now so technically house is worth more than outstanding mortgage so I don’t worry about that. xo

newtb · 20/11/2021 10:04

When the idea of credit scoring first became a big thing, 70s or 80s either the Telegraph or Which did a fictitious application applying the standard questions to Prince Philip showing he'd either get turned down for a loan or a credit card.

I know several orthodox Jewish families where it's their tradition to buy a house/flat for the newlyweds. Means there's no financial obstacle to starting a family. If you think when interest rates were 15% you were paying £120/month for a £10,000 mortgage over 25 years, you paid back £36,000. That's £26,000 in interest.
The reason banks and building societies like 25 year terms is that it makes them a shed load of money.
I got slung off a mortgage 'advisors' course. It was when people were borrowing 7 times their income and they were able to do it without any accountant's certificate if self-employed, just shove a number in a box, and loans were being given.