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‘Nice stuff’ on credit

36 replies

Allinadayswork80 · 19/01/2025 22:04

This is just a general curiosity, I have some wider circle type friends that always seem to have nice ‘stuff’, I’m talking cars, clothes, holidays, home decor etc. and am aware a certain amount is all on credit. I’ve been brought up that you live within your means, so other than our mortgage, we have nothing on credit but also live accordingly (don’t regularly buy new/expensive clothes, save/pay for holidays, pay outright for older vehicles and don’t have the most up to date of…well anything really!) But I wonder whether I’m spending my life being too cautious and should just think ‘to hell with it’ and have the things I’d like as you only live once etc. You can’t take money (or debts!) with you so why worry?
What’s people’s general views on this? How many people live like me and how many are more frivolous and don’t worry about credit/debts? Obviously this is in line with wealth/income - we’re ok, not high earners but manage without struggling per se, although we would if one or both of us couldn’t work. Probably isn’t such a relevant question to high earners with more disposable income I guess.

OP posts:
Moier · 19/01/2025 22:09

I had an old friend..married no kids.. big house.. both had expensive car each. 5 holidays abroad each year... designed clothes... bragged a lot... l always they must have really done well in their business.. but found out it was all on credit when business went bust.

MudpiesinEssex · 19/01/2025 23:03

Buying on credit is more expensive.

JennyForeigner · 19/01/2025 23:11

We have always been very careful but as we're getting closer to the end of the expensive childcare years are starting to liberalise a little. Not holidays but the things that are investments in quality of life so that for example we bought a new cooker instead of a knackered massive old range, replaced carpets and so on.

Until now we just haven't had the money to be comfortably with the risk. It feels like a departure though - the first time buying stuff on credit has felt like a kind of maturity.

unsync · 19/01/2025 23:23

Credit is OK if you can service the debt. If you don't have any savings to cushion you, it doesn't take much to put you in deep shit. Illness, job loss, accident etc and you're up the creek without a paddle.

I prefer the security of no debt and money in the bank. A life without financial anxiety will do you more good in the long term than a flash car and two weeks somewhere exotic on the never never.

Enough4me · 19/01/2025 23:27

Zero interest credit can be helpful for cash flow and to spread payments, but I'd never want to borrow with interest payments or above my means (apart from a mortgage which is longer term).
I wonder if that makes me more risk adverse and people who borrow more don't consider the risk a cause of stress?

ChannelFiveDrama · 19/01/2025 23:30

Buying on credit is more expensive.

Not always. Klarna etc are interest free

EveryDayisFriday · 19/01/2025 23:35

MudpiesinEssex · 19/01/2025 23:03

Buying on credit is more expensive.

Only if you pay interest.

We buy everything on 0% credit. We have the cash earning 4.9% interest in savings. We are actually earning extra from this.

However, we have to be extremely organised and disciplined to pay back at the right time before interest is due. Not everyone can't do that.

Bjorkdidit · 20/01/2025 06:38

This is where you need to not worry about what others do and you do you.

Whether or not they've thought about it, they're taking a risk by taking on credit and for a certain percentage of those, it will cause them stress and financial difficulty if things go wrong.

They're also committing to needing to work to service their spending/lifestyle. For most people, unless they've hit the utopia of earning a lot of money for doing very little or set up a passive income, which is unlikely if they've always spent all their money, if they don't work, it all comes crashing down fairly quickly.

Of course, it's unlikely that you know the true picture of anyone's financial circumstances except your own and the image they present might not tell the whole story. It might all be on credit, but it's interest free and actually making them a bit of money because it's backed up by savings earning interest. They might earn more than you think, have received an inheritance, won the lottery, sold a business, etc etc. I have a relative who retired at 40, but casual acquaintances won't know is that she had a serious accident at work, suffered years of pain and was left with a disability for which she received a significant amount of compensation, which has been invested to provide an income as she cannot work in the sort of field she previously worked in and isn't really qualified for work she could do.

As for your spending, you need to think about your eventual aims, which is usually being able to retire with an income that allows them to have the lifestyle they want without needing to work for it. Every penny spent rather than saved, pushes that date further back. But once you decide you have 'enough' there's also the concept of 'die with nothing' ie don't leave a huge amount of unspent money, otherwise, you've missed out on life. Obviously that's a difficult balance, based on unknown events, so the best you can do is aim for financial stability and once you're in that position you can spend a bit more freely. The financial flowchart sets out an order for this, which might be helpful.

https://ukpersonal.finance/flowchart/

The other point is what you do with your money. There's a huge amount of 'lifestyle' spending that can cost an enormous amount of money where you have to think 'is this worth it to me' and 'is it good value for money'? Because we make many many decisions all the time that can add up to a huge difference in your financial stability. People can spend hundreds of pounds a month, which is thousands a year or tens of thousands a decade and that's when it really shows in how some people always seem to struggle where others have savings and feel comfortable. It's not that the people with savings had more money, they just spent less and saved some.

Even lunch and a coffee a day vs free coffee in the office and leftovers from home can be a difference of £10 a day, so £50 a week, £200 pm, £2000 per year. And that's just one example.

The Flowchart - UKPersonalFinance Wiki

A starting point for your financial planning journey in 8 steps, from the wiki for Reddit's /r/ukpersonalfinance!

https://ukpersonal.finance/flowchart

HellofromJohnCraven · 20/01/2025 07:56

Define "on credit"
Made a different decision to you I.e leases a car.
Takes advantage of 0% credit deals?
Bungs every holiday on a credit card, never pays it off?
There's a whole variety of scenarios.

MudpiesinEssex · 20/01/2025 14:08

Well, I do buy loads of things with credit card, then pay it, before interest is charged.

I think the expensive (according to me) "credit" that is the subject of the thread does incur interest. Otherwise, the thread doesn't really have a subject.

If I had a point, it's that you can buy more "nice things" if you don't waste money on interest payments.

‘Nice stuff’ on credit
TheFlis · 20/01/2025 14:14

EveryDayisFriday · 19/01/2025 23:35

Only if you pay interest.

We buy everything on 0% credit. We have the cash earning 4.9% interest in savings. We are actually earning extra from this.

However, we have to be extremely organised and disciplined to pay back at the right time before interest is due. Not everyone can't do that.

Exactly this. I made over £200 in interest on the money we had set aside for sofas because we put them on interest free credit rather than buying them outright.

Justanotherusername27 · 20/01/2025 14:15

We only have credit on our car (and our house obviously)because it seems that everytime we pay a car off it miraculously breaks and goes to shit or when we’ve had old cars we end up fixing them every five minutes. We did have it on things we couldn’t do without for as short time as possible when we moved into our house (needed new windows)

Positivenancy · 20/01/2025 17:53

Nope. Nothing, I don’t even have a credit card.

bouncydog · 20/01/2025 18:45

We use a credit card with point rewards for everything and pay it off in full every month. The cash sits in the bank earning interest. Many people do use credit and used wisely and properly with discipline it can be beneficial. However far too many people aren’t properly organized and fail to meet payments on time resulting in huge interest rates. Cars saved up for and paid in full often negotiating a discount.

Jellycatspyjamas · 20/01/2025 19:15

But I wonder whether I’m spending my life being too cautious and should just think ‘to hell with it’ and have the things I’d like as you only live once etc. You can’t take money (or debts!) with you so why worry?

I guess for me there’s a long road between buying it now and not taking it with me, and in that gap I don’t want to be worrying about, or servicing, debt for things I don’t need. I do use a credit card for points, it’s paid off every month and if I can’t afford whatever I don’t have it.

Chewbecca · 20/01/2025 19:17

I'm with you and have managed to retire nice and early as a result!

Cornishclio · 20/01/2025 19:24

We have always lived like you and not used credit beyond the mortgage and occasional car loan or interest free credit. As a consequence we don't really need to worry about finances and paid off our mortgage, helped our kids through uni and buying a house and retired 8 years early. I think if we had overspent we would not have been able to do those things. We still managed holidays and changed cars every 6-10 years.

I counsel people in debt on MSE and would urge people against the YOLO attitude. The stress caused if things go wrong is immense.

QueSyrahSyrah · 20/01/2025 19:26

I used to be them in my misspent youth, and then there were some hard years of paying it off, and now I'm you.

I still think 'sod it, life's too short' occasionally and treat myself or the family but that's coming out of savings, not on credit.

Princessfluffy · 20/01/2025 20:04

Some people will always have more stuff/holidays etc than you have because they have more money than you, whether this be from higher paid jobs, side hustles, passive income, inheritance, help from family etc

If you are surrounded by people who have more than you it can make you feel poor even when you aren't.

For me, not having credit, having paid off my mortgage and having savings and pensions makes me feel a lot less stressed and more secure and I value this more than having a new car and a new sofa. Some things I'm happy to economise on but other things not. Everyone is different, if you get clear on your own priorities in life and follow them this will make you happier I'm sure.

stayathomer · 20/01/2025 20:06

If we lived within our means we would have no car and never go on holiday so no way! (4 kids that we chose to have yes but doesn’t mean we shouldn’t get to go away too!!)

nordicwannabe · 20/01/2025 20:40

stayathomer · 20/01/2025 20:06

If we lived within our means we would have no car and never go on holiday so no way! (4 kids that we chose to have yes but doesn’t mean we shouldn’t get to go away too!!)

But how does this work? If you live beyond your means (consistently rather than occasionally buying something on credit then paying it off) won't you get into more and more debt?

When will you pay it off?

stayathomer · 20/01/2025 20:46

nordicwannabe

car is on hp so at the end of the term, we pay for the holiday over the year (to be fair have only been on one big big holiday, and had saved somewhat for that then rest using a loan)

ps we used to just not do holidays outside of the country but then the kids were getting older

Buildingthefuture · 20/01/2025 21:06

How do you know it’s on credit? Or that they aren’t paying it off straight away? I pay for most things on credit card, for the points and extra cover if something goes wrong, but it’s paid off every month and I don’t pay any interest. But friends who saw me using said credit card probably wouldn’t know that.

nordicwannabe · 20/01/2025 23:09

stayathomer · 20/01/2025 20:46

nordicwannabe

car is on hp so at the end of the term, we pay for the holiday over the year (to be fair have only been on one big big holiday, and had saved somewhat for that then rest using a loan)

ps we used to just not do holidays outside of the country but then the kids were getting older

Edited

Ah, OK - so you are actually living within your means. You're just using credit to temporarily help your cash flow (at a cost). That makes more sense!

FindingMeno · 20/01/2025 23:30

If you'd ever been in the position of being in the debt spiral you would know that having things you can't afford can cause you to have a hellish time.
To go into debt for necessity is a sad sign of the times, but to do it intentionally is sheer madness.
We never know what's round the corner.