To ask how much, if any, credit people have?

[Allinadayswork80]

Not wanting to offend anyone, but having seen previous threads asking how much you you earn, etc. I hope this question wouldn’t be unreasonable to ask.

Curious to know how much credit/debt people have and what for? I was brought up with the attitude that if you can’t afford it, you don’t have it but I also have friends whose attitude is “life is too short and have what you want”. There’s lots of things I’d like, new clothes, upgraded furniture/white goods but we live within our means and generally only buy what we can afford or have saved for. Whereas we have friends with lovely newer cars, latest clothes, American fridge freezers with ice dispensers etc. all on credit. I personally would find this stressful. I’d love to know the general consensus on peoples’ attitudes towards credit and if I’m cutting off my nose to spite my face?

I’ve never bought anything on credit that I didn’t know I would be able to pay off soon. We normally save between £500-£1000/ month depending on what is going on so if I wanted something that was £1500 and didn’t want to wait I might put it on my credit card and pay it off with the money I would have otherwise saved. It would stress me out to have debt but no means of paying it off. The only debt I have is my mortgage and student loan, neither of which I think count as “real” debt

We once bought a 3 piece suite on credit but apart from that I have never had a debt except a mortgage.

Always on National average-ish salary, so felt I couldn’t afford debt, interest payments.

Never bought a new car, kept a rainy day fund, prioritised function over fashion, for al things including kitchens, bathrooms, holidays etc.

We have a great time, too. Lots of fun, lots of fulfilment.

Kids grew up not hankering after designer labels or new tech for the sake of it, and have also not run up debts.

Phew!

2k exuding my mortgage but I have savings that I could clear it with today if I felt like it. But it is on zero interest and I can easily afford the repayments.

None.

We have credit cards for convenience; but pay in full so have never paid a penny interest. Other than our mortgage (long since paid off) we've never taken loans for anything. Pay cash, buy cheap and upcycle, or go without and save up.

None...never had a credit card or overdraft.
No credit or debt.

In addition to my mortgage, I have a loan for about £9500 and about £9000 on credit cards.

I was rubbish with money in my 20s. I had a student/graduate overdraft of £2000. I paid off £500 just before getting my mortgage at 23 then lived in my overdraft until early last year (mid 30s) when I paid it off. For some reason, I must have seemed low-risk to credit card companies as I have about a £30,000 limit on my credit cards (total between them all). I was only paying the minimum due each month and spending way more than that on them. I had a letter from at least one of my credit card providers when they brought in stuff about persistent debt. So I took out a loan for £15,000 to pay them off, then quickly maxed out a couple of cards again. I took out another £15,000 loan (previous was down to about £10,000 at that point), worse interest rate on the second loan. I paid off my first loan about 18 months ago and I switched my second loan to a cheaper provider with a much better interest rate. I'm working my way through paying off my credit cards and make the most of the 0% balance transfers I often get offered on my current cards.

Whilst I still have quite a bit more debt than most people, I'm not worried about it. I pay considerably more than the minimum due on my credit cards each month and haven't put any big expenses on them for a long time. I keep the accounts open for the 0% balance transfers I get and to keep multiple credit utilisation ratio down. I don't even have cards for most of the accounts now. I've even managed to save about £2,000 in the last year.

I have a bike on an Argos card and that's it

We will soon have a mortgage and that’s it.

If you can’t afford it, you shouldn’t have it.

Cars all paid off here.

Also student loans

I've not had a credit card for many, many years after I maxed one out and couldn't pay it back and my mum had to bail me out . In my defence, I was quite young, still at uni and very, very foolish. I was very, very fortunate my mum was so kind.

Anyway, I only have student loan debt. It's quite a lot still to pay off though and my income isn't enough at the minute to pay any of it back (I'm part time due to having preschool aged children)

Oh shit, yeah, mortgage...

Think it's circa £200k now. Maybe a little less. House is worth a good bit more though, so think it's ok

However seeing quite a few holier than thou posts here. It's very easy to say 'if you can't afford it, you shouldn't have it'. Does that go for food and living costs too?
Some people have been forced to take out credit to live due to losing income in the pandemic
Don't be so quick to judge

I have a mortgage.

No credit cards or loans.

My mum was awful with money, getting credits cards to pay off loans, then loans to pay off credit cards, forever till the end of her life.

I had a credit card once, when with my ex. We maxed it out far too quickly. Once we'd paid it off, I said never again.

I don't even have an overdraft now. If I can't afford something I don't get it, or save up till I can.

Having not owed anything on a credit card for a very, very long time, last year was horrendous for my business due to Covid and the only government help was £550, which I pay NI and tax on, to last five months to cover my bills, both personal and business. As a result I have an interest free credit card which was used to get me through after all my savings had gone. I'm not concerned as it's not costing me anything and will be paid off before it does. Beyond that, just a mortgage.

I think a lot of people with debt will not come anywhere near this thread so I doubt this is going to be reflective of real life.

@FloatyBoaty

I think you’ll get a very biased response here, OP.

I also want to say something to the “I was brought up if you can’t afford it you don’t buy it” posters...

I also think that there’s a lot of misunderstanding on this thread about how credit it used by many- particularly since the pandemic.

When I separated from my H, I was still (quite early) on maternity leave. I had to use my credit card to relocate my son and I 300 miles to a different city. I had no job to go to. I took very little with me.

I ran up CC bills on... 3 months rent in advance, a whole new house of furniture (just average, most second hand, nothing naice), living expenses for the last 4 months I took of mat leave- food, nappies, public transport ...

I then found a job and went back to work early- but tax credits didn’t NEARLY cover the shortfall in 30 hours free- so I topped up nursery fees on... my credit card.

And guess what? By the time DS was 1, after leaving a toxic relationship, relocating to a town with little by way of a support system, working 50-60 hour weeks and breastfeeding all night so serious sleep deprivation- I’d unsurprisingly begun to experience some increasingly serious MH issues. The NHS said it would be months for a counsellor or therapist. Did I want drugs to tide me over?

No I didn’t want drugs. So I paid for private therapy ... on my credit card! It saved my life. No regrets. But it cost me.

But ... None of these were purchases I WANTED to make- but had to- I figured getting back to work faster would mean I could get back to my pre-maternity salary quicker, and it would effectively be a debt run up at point a), to get us ahead in future . Paying for therapy kept me at work, kept me earning, kept me moving forward...

I don’t have a car. I don’t go on holiday. I don’t have nice things. I don’t get my nails done. I don’t go out to the pub etc. I don’t have loads of tech and gadgets- just what I need for my job. Credit for me filled a gap between the cost of living and my salary and tax credits- which as a median earning lone parent with a baby/toddler and long working hours/high childcare costs - was significant.

Anyway- I just think people need to be mindful that not all credit is frivolous. Not everyone who lives on credit is doing so without understanding what it means. Not everyone has a choice- particularly if you fall into the gap between benefits eligibility and the real terms living wage.

And this will only happen more as the cost of living continues to increase whilst wages stagnate.

Single parents are particularly susceptible to being caught in this trap, for reasons most often beyond their control.

So please before you post a sanctimonious “I was brought up if you can’t afford it you don’t have it” statement- think about what that means. For me that would have meant:

• a house with no furniture with an under 1
• less nursery hours restricting my employment opportunities
• no therapy- meaning long term medication and debilitating MH issues

For others that will mean not buying food, school uniforms, warm coats for kids...

Poverty looks very different in 2022- it’s time to people started opening their eyes to that, and being a bit more compassionate.

So sorry to hear about your terrible experience and well done for doing what you needed to do for you and your DC. I hope you’re happy and settled now.

However please don’t feel this was meant in a sanctimonious way, it wasn’t aimed at those in desperate situations such as yourself, but in curiosity of the more frivolous uses such as new cars, clothes, furniture etc. and how people generally use credit/finance as a form of alternative disposable income.

Of course you had to do what you needed to do and there’s no judgement that using credit in situations such as yours would be deemed frivolous 💗

My available credit from two cards is about £16k. They keep increasing the limit. I've used one as it had 0% interest for some purchases/ holidays etc but will clear it before the end of the 0% period.
Even with that and a decent income if you get used to spending more than you earn, paying it back is a double shock (i.e the money you pay back and the money you're not spending that month because you're not taking on more debt).

I have approx £85k left on the mortgage.

I have about £200 on credit cards which Is general spending that I clear every month. It's just to get credit rating up.

I have a car on PCP that's up in April. Those car payments every month are not working for me and I'm lucky enough to have saved enough for a small second hand car paid for outright.

Available credit is as follows:
Current account 1 - £700 overdraft available
Current account 2 - £1000 available
Credit card 1 - £4,200 available
Credit card 2 - £7,000 available.

Actually scary that I could very easily get into £13,000 of debt without a blink.... but I also feel very lucky I have that as a buffer should life go to shit. Access to credit is a privilege.

I've had several thousand on credit cards and store cards in the past through irresponsibility and a 'you only live once' attitude.

Now I have my mortgage, and £300 on a credit that's just reached the end of the 0% balance transfers period so I'll clear it next month.

Agree with PPs on the observation that sometimes , credit is for basic necessities.
It can also be used sensibly for planned borrowing that works out much cheaper than borrowing on a mortgage, for example.
It’s kind of nuts how mortgage debt is disregarded as significant long term secured debt (you could lose your home) whereas borrowing for essentials like a laptop for a job while living in a rental might be frowned upon.
MSE site is great for info on borrowing and the best way for doing it, if essential. 0% credit cards and balance transfer can be a lifeline - have done for us.

Do you mean debt? Uually nothing, but we needed to replace our back doors and I just took out a 0% credit card to spread the cost out. So we now have about £3500 to pay off but over 22 months so that should be ok. I'm quite disciplined about making payments every month.

We also have a mortgage!

Mortgage only

Credit isnt bad if well managed and not abused.

We dont have much credit now as (we are old) mortgage is paid off and we have savings. Think I have £3k available to use on a credit card and thats it, dh has a credit card too but not sure what his limit is. Both could be increased if we wanted/needed.

When we were younger we used credit effectively for things that were essential when we didnt have the funds. Using credit to live beyond your means is storing up big problems.

About 4k of a student loan to still pay off. Interest is higher than any saving account and that annoys the shit out of me. Maybe i should pay it off on a credit card then pay that back on 0% lol. Christ.