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Original poster

Debt in the uk

50 replies

noddyholder · 28/11/2007 14:37

Did you see the lunchtime news?Apparently at least a quarter of people are unable to manage their debts adn have been remortgaging and taking out loans cards etc to bail themselves out.This is not going to be available anymore as lenders tighten their criteria and the expert woman said a recession is a real possibility and we all need to take a reality check!What do you think?Did Gordon Brown sell us all the dream but it was all built on borrowing?

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FioFio · 28/11/2007 17:00

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saggarmakersbottomknocker · 28/11/2007 17:04

Didn't see the news but debt in the UK is mahoosive. Too much 'I want' and not enough folks willing to save to get it.

I have some debt but I'm 'managing' it well

FioFio · 28/11/2007 17:05

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SenoraPostrophe · 28/11/2007 17:08

I don't believe a quarter of people have unmanagebale debts. a quarter of people who have debts maybe, but lots of us don't have any.

saggarmakersbottomknocker · 28/11/2007 17:08

Well it's why I'm in debt Fio lol.

I generally have a problem separating what it is I really need and what it is I really want.

cazboldy · 28/11/2007 17:09

thing is you have to afford it in the end. if you can't afford it now, then chances are you can't afford it full stop.
A hard lesson to learn, but I think an important one.
We have had times where we have really struggled, and have got in a bit deep in the past, which is what made me make that decision.
Basically I would only borrow on something like a car or a house i.e secured borrowing.
It is hard though when you nearly have money thrown at you i.e overdrafts and credit cards etc
I think it is an important lesson for children to learn aswell. You should not be ashamed to say "I can't afford that"

Original poster
noddyholder · 28/11/2007 17:13

It is 24% of people.Apparently more than 50% have no money in their current accounts and have used up their overdraft facility 5 days before they get paid so for 5 days must be using credit.How did we get like this?I agree we do live in a society where we all think it is our right to have certain things.

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Freckle · 28/11/2007 17:15

Last month the money advice specialist at our local CAB took on 14 new clients, with a total indebtedness between them of just under £420,000. That doesn't take into account the 100s of clients who come in and see the general advisors who all have debts in the 10s of 1000s.

A lot of these clients are uneducated about finance and accept the credit offered without considering how they are going to pay it back. But, in my opinion, the major part of the responsibility for the debt level in this country is down to irresponsible lending, often to meet targets set by managers, etc.

Also bankruptcy is becoming the first choice for a lot of debtors, particularly when they can be discharged after only one year.

FioFio · 28/11/2007 17:15

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meemar · 28/11/2007 17:19

Not sure we can blame GB. There is a real culture of wanting everything now and people simply don't believe the economy will take a turn for the worse, or don't understand the real consequences of a recession.

Credit card companies and banks suck people in and consumers don't with the small print until it's too late.

It is possible to live without being in debt, but once you've gone down the route of taking out loans its really hard to get out of the cycle.

Original poster
noddyholder · 28/11/2007 17:20

The days of cheap and easy lending are over which is making it hard for eevryone who has just taken a bit of equity from their house to pay things off.record credit card application refusals in the last 2 months.I agree about irresponsible lending though we have been offered ridiculous mortgage multiples in the past and I didn't even have an income at the time.

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SenoraPostrophe · 28/11/2007 17:21

24% of people on what criteria?

SleeplessInTheStaceym11House · 28/11/2007 17:23

i hate the irreposible lending so much. if it wasnt for this then dh wouldnt have got into as much trouble as he is now.

wish it had all never have happened and we were still together.

stupid companies, stupid man!

CarGirl · 28/11/2007 17:25

The ridiculous amount of mortgage lending really annoys me that and shared ownership because they have kept the housing market artificially high. If people couldn't get mortgages to buy then the house prices would have dropped/stopped rising and people would not have unaffordable mortgages for first time properties. It's just insane.

There is also that want it now culture. How many people live at home with their parents and save up to buy a house with their partner, get married then buy a house etc.

I really feels so for the people fooled into taking on too much debt/credit cards/ridiculous mortgages etc.

SleeplessInTheStaceym11House · 28/11/2007 17:28

but cargirl, in a market like this that isnt going anywhere but up shared ownership is a godsend for some of us that needed a house.

dont berate it that much, its better than a grotty council bedsit to bring up my kids in.

Original poster
noddyholder · 28/11/2007 17:33

Shared ownership is not the way forward affordable housing is.SO has kept prices artificially high

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Columbia · 28/11/2007 17:33

I am in debt. I used up my overdraft last autumn by ridiculous spending, turned it into a loan, was great for a few months and started building up a balance etc. but then the bank told me I still had the huge O/D facility I thought wasn't there any more, ad I started to spend again. I got near my limit again in the summer. Since then I have been paying off a little more each month, rather than go into another loan - but it is hard and the interest is outrageous.
I am still worried about whether I really can pay it off as I am on benefits with two children. Can't believe I was so stupid to spend so much. With my loan still being paid off and my current O/D I owe about £7000. I never even used my overdraft till 2 or 3 years ago. That's when we moved to this house and I do wonder secretly if it has bad financial feng shui!

deenymcqueenygoreandguts · 28/11/2007 17:35

its the lack of feeling about the whole thing that baffles me.
i couldnt sleep ifi were in dept like some people yet when you talk to people they just shrug and dont seem bothered.
that i think is a huge shift in attitude towards dept.

SleeplessInTheStaceym11House · 28/11/2007 17:36

but there isnt affordable housing, and although it is better than SO, it is a godsend to those of us that had no other option. i'd prefer to own some of a highly priced house than nothing at all and be in a scummy council estate round our way!

Original poster
noddyholder · 28/11/2007 17:37

Isn't going anywhere but up?This is what got us into this mess adn ultimately when it unravels this country will really be in it

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deenymcqueenygoreandguts · 28/11/2007 17:38

debt obviously mean debt!

CarGirl · 28/11/2007 17:38

Shared ownership for individuals is only a good idea if in the near future 5 years or so you can afford to buy the rest of it. Your rent goes up and up and up and if you ever need help with housing benefit they ignore the fact you have a mortgage to pay.

I completely understand why people do it and I don't have a problem with that. I do have a major problem with the government supporting & encouraging it which has helped to drive an over inflated housing market. They should instead address the issue, create affordable housing and explain to the pubic why the housing market needs to "crash".

They have let this situation arise and it is completely unsustainable and wrong. As for selling of social housing and not giving the money to the local councils to rebuild just don't get me started.............

CarGirl · 28/11/2007 17:41

Sleepless I really hope for your family that your income should rapidly increase wihtin the next 5-10 years for you to be able to buy outright. It's the families that will only ever own 50% and struggle with the ever increasing rent for the other 50%, truly I looked at the figures and it was scarey - that was Thames Valley by the way.

Original poster
noddyholder · 28/11/2007 17:42

Cargirl I have neevr understood the selling off of council housing either!We are heading straight for recession I see no other way of controlling this.It is a monster thats for sure Apparently figures today say that you need to earn 80k ish to buy a basic property in London The average salary there is 25k so what is going on.

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SleeplessInTheStaceym11House · 28/11/2007 17:44

mines TVHA too! im now on housing benefit lol, after dh left, but thinking about selling up and moving on, we shall see we shall see....we'll have made £15k on it in just over a year if we move on now. will keep thinking.

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