Debt.. if so, how much?

[Onetwobuckeroo]

Evening. For a bit of context I worry about money constantly. My husband doesn’t but understands why I do.

I was brought up to save, don’t buy anything without saving first etc. My husband’s family are more live for the day.

Please help me rationalise my constant worry. Do people have debt? My husband tells me everyone does, it’s normal. Then how much is “normal”?

I appreciate it’s a subjective question.

No, well apart from a mortgage. None of my friends or family have debt, as far as I know. I wouldn't say it's normal as such, but I imagine it is pretty common.

We have a mortgage and I have a student loan but no other debt.

I have a few grand credit card debt that I keep paying off and running up again mostly on 0% cards so doesn't bother me. Apx 3-4 k.

Mortgage < 50k

That's it.

My debt is purely student loans. 12 year old car, no credit cards. I also have a debt to pay off for my gas and electric which is about £1000 there abouts. I've started listening to Dave Ramsey alot and he is very inspirational about understanding debt, how to tackle it so it doesn't cause anxiety etc.

£40000 (£18000 left ) 0% to my parents (loan to buy my place outright)
£20000 (£13000 left) 3.3% for renovations
£2000 - new debt for stair carpet and new front door due to criminal damage

Around £700 a month payment but I have no rent or mortgage, totally manageable for me on my income.

• £38k student loans I ignore as payments gone out before I receive my wages

Just our mortgage. I did have a car loan but that’s paid off now.
Weve never had any other type of debt.

Mortgage of 185,000 and a small loan for home improvements. Less than 1800 left on that and it's on a low rate 1.2% so haven't paid it off. No other debt and only 8 months left on the loan so it will then just be the mortgage.

Thanks for replying. Interesting comments.

My Inlaws had no savings, no pensions. They’re now mid sixties and getting inheritance. They’ve literally lived for the day, everyday. I couldn’t imagine being that age and have nothing in the kitty.

Sometimes I wonder am I wrong for obsessing about the pennies. Your comments have helped me realise no, it’s important.

No-we are lucky enough to have paid off the mortgage and born at a time when we didn’t need student loans. I do have a credit card for big stuff, but pay the balance off monthly and only really use it for the points! I don’t know what debt friends and family have to be honest.

My Inlaws had no savings, no pensions. They’re now mid sixties and getting inheritance

Getting inheritance? As in they knew they’d inherit a lot in the future, so didn’t bother with pensions or savings?

Yes, exactly that.

Don’t worry about the responses here, OP. It’s a self-selecting group who click on the thread as they (quite understandably) feel good about their situations. Those with debt (high levels / unsecured) will not click as it fills them with stress to think about it.

if debt is worrying you and negatively impacting your quality of life, you should pay it off and not get into it again. It’s no way to live, constantly worrying about it.

Have no debt

Debt for specific, planned large purchases that you can manage are fine. As long as if things go wrong like illness or redundancy you could still manage them.

Running up debt on the credit card or catalogue for non-essentials, not paying it off in full at the end of the month and incurring interest because you casually live beyond your means is not.

No mortgage. but 10k on one card, 6k on another, 1.5k on the 3rd, and about 5k on the 4th. So 22.5k of creditcard debt - I'll have it cleared by May 2025.

In 60s, no debts no cars or anything on finance, ISAs, good pension savings and money in the bank.
We did pay our mortgage off 8 years early too.
Both brought up to save and not spend till saved up to buy it, other than mortgage.

Only debt is the mortgage. We will likely inherit well, however we would never rely on or assume that, and are currently prioritising overpaying the mortgage and our pensions.

I spent nearly my whole adult life in debt with credit cards. 3 years ago I had almost £30k in debts but worked my absolute bollocks off and have been debt free for almost 2 years and it's an incredible feeling. I now have savings (9% goes into pension and 20% into an isa each month) and everything I have now, including brand new car, designer jewellery and handbag, I've bought in cash. I never want to be in debt again, although still like to live for the moment like your in-laws because life is for living. If I can't enjoy spending my money then what is the point in working? I might as well just be a benefits bum if I'm just gonna live hand to mouth 😉

I think you have to balance being able to save and prepare for a rainy day with enjoying the fruits of your labour and living for today, because we only get one shot at life after all

I'm a debt adviser so have seen everything from someone who's concerned about one bill to another who has something approaching £100k in debts. In reality it has to do with what your income is and how you deal with your money.

A small debt can be devastating. A huge debt can be manageable.

Someone asked me once how much my overdraft was and I said £120k. They were astonished. But that was ok to me because this was my mortgage on a flexi account - it looks like an overdraft but it's not quite the same. It's just the different mindset.

No, no debt, except from my mortgage and the occasional small overdraft (a couple of hundreds). We paid off our 2nd hand car and I don't have a credit card. Having debts would drive me mad with anxiety.

No, only my mortgage which I’m trying to pay off as quickly as possible.

No mortgage, no debt.

Like you OP, I was brought up to save. My parents taught me and they were taught it by their parents (savings & pensions my dear old dad used to say).
Borrowing is ok for a mortgage but other than that I was taught that if I want it, I save for it and luckily my OH is exactly the same way.👍

I bought my first car out of savings which meant from day one I was able to start putting away for its replacement.

Had a CC almost since I started working and TBH just about everything goes onto it (for security & convenience) but it is always cleared off at the first of the month and the balance returned to zero.
Never incurred CC fees.

I think having a good start helped and gave me the security needed at the beginning.
When I left school I had some money in the bank (birthdays & Christmas plus I had a PT job) which meant I went into the world of work knowing how to save.
Even though I got a FT job at sixteen, I soon got another PT job which gave me extra money and meant I could do and buy things otherwise out of reach.
Having a deposit saved and being willing to buy a horrible house in a rough part of a town some twenty miles away from my work, friends & family meant I was on the property ladder early on and making inroads to the mortgage. House moves & marriage meant a few changes (all for the better) but we were mortgage free in our forties and concentrating on savings & pensions.
Now in our fifties, settled in a lovely new house, dept free and enjoying early retirement. All down to the lessons taught me by my parents.

Anything more than £3-4k debt would drive me insane with anxiety and worry.

£1-2k on the credit card is fine mentally for me, for example if paying off from our most recent holiday.

We still have a mortgage because we’re young, and I take pension savings very seriously. Never got a car on finance, always buy a second-hand one outright. Try to make good financial decisions and not live above our means.

Only debt I had was student loan, but I paid it off in one lump years ago, never had a credit card, never a mortgage, 45, fortunately I will inherit my home.