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Original poster

Unsecured debt

153 replies

Cookiemonsieur · 29/12/2023 20:51

Cheeky question so feel free to scroll on-

How much unsecured debt do you carry as a household, and how does this compare to your income?

ours is 31k on a joint income of 72k and I’m uncomfortable with this and about to get intense with paying it back

OP posts:
BrightLightTonight · 29/12/2023 20:55

That’s high, and I would be very concerned. Do you have repayment plans in place?

Original poster
Cookiemonsieur · 29/12/2023 20:57

BrightLightTonight · 29/12/2023 20:55

That’s high, and I would be very concerned. Do you have repayment plans in place?

Yes, basically everything that isn’t totally essential will stop and we’ll be throwing every spare penny at it

OP posts:
littlemousebigcheese · 29/12/2023 20:59

No debt except mortgage, unless that counts?

Original poster
Cookiemonsieur · 29/12/2023 21:00

littlemousebigcheese · 29/12/2023 20:59

No debt except mortgage, unless that counts?

No, if we’re counting mortgages then I’m really in the shit 😩

OP posts:
Dartsforsmarts · 29/12/2023 21:00

Probably not what you want to hear but our income is exactly the same and we don't have any. Sounds like you've got the right idea though!

AlwaysForksAndMarbles · 29/12/2023 21:02

Our income is a couple of thousand above yours and we have none, and never have, beyond two years’ £400 interest free credit for a couple of sofas about 18 years ago.

KateyCuckoo · 29/12/2023 21:04

About £1800, joint income is c£55k.
No mortgage, we rent.

Original poster
Cookiemonsieur · 29/12/2023 21:06

Dartsforsmarts · 29/12/2023 21:00

Probably not what you want to hear but our income is exactly the same and we don't have any. Sounds like you've got the right idea though!

It’s all good, I’m a practical person so I’m not losing any sleep over it, as I know it’s fixable

OP posts:
LondonQueen · 29/12/2023 21:06

I've got none left now, slightly higher income but mortgage is paid off as well. I did have a car loan for a short while until the insurance payout came through as we had no savings!

Original poster
Cookiemonsieur · 29/12/2023 21:07

Would it be fair to say that mumsnet posters tend to be more debt averse?

OP posts:
Dartsforsmarts · 29/12/2023 21:12

Maybe, yes. But to be honest I don't think any of my friends will have any either, my family definitely not.

Dartsforsmarts · 29/12/2023 21:12

We do have a mortgage though, so not debt-free!

Radiodread · 29/12/2023 21:13

That is a lot of unsecured debt on that income unless you have eg no housing costs and own a very valuable property outright +very few other financial responsibilities.

i currently have 4k unsecured debt on 0% interest but a slightly lower income than you. It’s definitely way too
much for me, and I’m planning to get rid within the year by working an extra job. I’m the only earner so more will go on tax than in a dual person household but I’m also mortgaged and when I’m due for renewal I don’t want the unsecured debt reducing the amount I can borrow nor increasing the mortgage interest rate.

AlwaysForksAndMarbles · 29/12/2023 21:14

Cookiemonsieur · 29/12/2023 21:07

Would it be fair to say that mumsnet posters tend to be more debt averse?

Mumsnet is such a broad church that you can’t generalise like that. All human life is here. I am debt averse because it’s how I was brought up, and I don’t see the problem with saving for what we want, as we have disposable income and have never been without anything that we were willing to get into debt for. DH is the same, so we have always treated money the same way.

KateyCuckoo · 29/12/2023 21:15

Cookiemonsieur · 29/12/2023 21:07

Would it be fair to say that mumsnet posters tend to be more debt averse?

It's a self selecting demographic. Those with low debt are keen to answer and tell you all about it. Those with high debt will be more likely to avoid discussing it.

Overthebow · 29/12/2023 21:15

No debt apart from mortgage and joint income of £110k.

Id be ok with a couple of thousand debt but I wouldn’t get into £30k debt.

Radiodread · 29/12/2023 21:15

Mumsnet attracts an affluent crowd on the whole. High levels of unsecured debt is something those in less comfy circumstances have, in my experience.

Pigeonqueen · 29/12/2023 21:16

Mumsnet is very against debt. But in the real world people often need to borrow money to do things, some things can’t wait (for example we had a huge issue with our roof many years back which cost £5k to fix and we didn’t have savings - disabilities etc so just had to borrow the money). I think debt is okay as long as you have a plan to pay it off that you can meet somehow if circumstances change and if you’re not frittering it away on clothes / eating out etc.

We are a fairly low income family (dh earns £26k but we get a lot in disability benefits, both Ds and I are severely disabled and highest rates long term). We own our home outright, we paid off the mortgage when I used to be a high earner. We have about £7k worth of debt but it’s all getting chipped away at slowly, we aren’t adding to it if we can help it.

AnotherDayAnotherDoller · 29/12/2023 21:20

60-65k household income.
About 7k debt currently.
Previously 18k.
It's definitely do - able OP.

Ilikewinter · 29/12/2023 21:25

£0 debt - just the mortgage. Im not against debt, DH and I have both had car loans in the past, but right now theres nothing that we need to go into debt for.

Overthebow · 29/12/2023 21:30

Pigeonqueen · 29/12/2023 21:16

Mumsnet is very against debt. But in the real world people often need to borrow money to do things, some things can’t wait (for example we had a huge issue with our roof many years back which cost £5k to fix and we didn’t have savings - disabilities etc so just had to borrow the money). I think debt is okay as long as you have a plan to pay it off that you can meet somehow if circumstances change and if you’re not frittering it away on clothes / eating out etc.

We are a fairly low income family (dh earns £26k but we get a lot in disability benefits, both Ds and I are severely disabled and highest rates long term). We own our home outright, we paid off the mortgage when I used to be a high earner. We have about £7k worth of debt but it’s all getting chipped away at slowly, we aren’t adding to it if we can help it.

I can understand £5k debt to fix something essential like a roof or boiler, but I can’t really understand how someone gets into £30k or more debt unless really unlucky with essential things.

Talkinpeace · 29/12/2023 21:31

Assuming credit cards, are you paying them off by standing order rather than direct debit?
Just that a fixed amount every month clears debt 10 times faster than other methods
for no pain at all

teaandtoastwithmarmite · 29/12/2023 21:39

About 30k with 100k. Used to be 60 though

ActDottie · 29/12/2023 21:39

Technically £192 on my credit card atm but I pay it off monthly. No other debt but mortgage on household income of around £115k.

Talkinpeace · 29/12/2023 21:41

Credit card : pay £193 a month every month till gone.
Mortgage : overpay £10 a month if you can.

My 2014 spreadsheets thread is broken. I'll rewrite it and get the evidence base for you.