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Original poster

out of interest - how much do you go overdrawn by each month (if you do at all!)?

26 replies

fairylights · 16/06/2008 21:29

We have recently found ourselves regularly going about £200 overdrawn each month which was stressing me out (have a bit of a fear of debt having grown up in v cash strapped household) til i realized that we were paying about 40p a month to do this which seems ok to me. When i was out with some other mums the other night i realized that people can actually end up huge overdrafts which cost lots..
so it has set me wondering about what is "normal", if there is such a thing..
so if you don't mind divulging it might set my mind at rest about whether £200 is good/bad/average! cheers

OP posts:
mumblechum · 16/06/2008 22:27

I have a limit of £200 but (touch wood) never use it.

Towards the end of the month I keep a close eye on the ac count, ringing the automated balance thingy and if it starts getting towards zero I transfer money over to avoid going in the red. Even tho' it would only cost pennies in charges, it obviously has a knock on effect so will always avoid getting o/d.

bythepowerofgreyskull · 16/06/2008 22:28

we don't unless we have had our eyes off the ball.. but generally we dtay in the black.

sagacious · 16/06/2008 22:30

Sits on hands and hides bankstatement

DanJARMouse · 16/06/2008 22:30

have 2 accounts. one with no overdraft, one with £200 overdraft. Always use the overdraft. Costs us about 34p a month.

paddingtonbear1 · 16/06/2008 22:31

we used to every month - by quite a bit (arranged). This month we're in the black though, by some miracle!

lilyloo · 16/06/2008 22:32

i would be much happier at that we regularly live in ours and it costs us about £5 a month!

maidamess · 16/06/2008 22:32

Never go overdrawn. Have a limit of £250 and have used it before, but I find working more hours, means for me, less time for spending!

lifeisadisappointment · 16/06/2008 23:24

£200!! Thats pennies!

Have facility of £1750 and feel saintly if i only get to £1500. Hsave had o'd facility of £3000 in the past! And personally know of someone who had a persnal 'd of 50K!!!!!!

LuckySalem · 16/06/2008 23:25

I used to be in my £250 O/d regularly. Nowadays I'm rarely in it, I try to use it as I would a credit card. It only gets used if there is an emergency and I try to pay it off before I get charged.

expatinscotland · 16/06/2008 23:26

usually about £500

morocco · 16/06/2008 23:26

never go overdrawn altho we're not rich, we just live off beans for last few days of month

Piffle · 16/06/2008 23:27

nowhere near our limits for sure...
my limit is 1x my income
dps is 4/5 his monthly income.
but every month its less and no credit card debt or loans

bogwobbit · 16/06/2008 23:28

£1500 limit on one account. £700 limit on another.
I don't there is a single month since I was 17 (many years ago) that I haven't been overdrawn, and believe you me I'm not proud of that face

bogwobbit · 16/06/2008 23:29

Dur! meant to say not proud of that fact....obviously

sherby · 16/06/2008 23:30

sits on hands

BreeVanDerCampLGJ · 16/06/2008 23:33

We have an overdraft facility that would make you boggle.....

We do not use it, to do so would be madness.

We do go overdrawn sometimes, but my measure is how overdrawn were we...... if at all on payday.

AbstractMouse · 16/06/2008 23:43

Used to go overdrawn to max of £1400 each month, silly us. Now nothing (we have an IVA, bye bye credit) breathes sigh of relief.

Quattrocento · 16/06/2008 23:46

I overdrew by about £7k last month.

The problem was that I hadn't submitted a couple of months' worth of expenses.

Seemed a lot though. My overdraft limit is £25k so it wasn't a problem. Just hadn't really got myself organised.

MrsTittleMouse · 17/06/2008 08:09

We don't go overdraft, I'm a bit anal about our finances. When I was a student though, I can remember months when the only time I was in the black was the day my money went in.

MrsTittleMouse · 17/06/2008 08:09

overdrawn, rather

Fanella · 17/06/2008 08:15

O/D faciity is £700 - we probably go over by about £150 each month, although we're trying to claw it back a bit. It's not going to happen this month though as we've had to pay the balance on our holiday.

Flamesparrow · 17/06/2008 08:19

about 750 on both accounts (they are the agreed overdrafts)

We increased the o/ds for car problems and a house move and have never managed to get out of it.

At the moment we are working to clear a loan - the o/d is the last thing on my list of things to clear. It is slow, but we're getting there.

Once the loan in clear I will be going to the bank to get the o/ds reduced by the loan amount each month.

NatalieJaneIsPregnantAgain · 17/06/2008 08:21

When DH and I first got together, he was in a fair ammount of debt, credit cards all over the place, bank loans here there and everywhere, and his wages never ever covered his OD.

8 years later we have no debt (except mortgage/hp for car) and we have a buffer on our account for £100 can't remember ever using it. It's been bloody hard work but worth it

Original poster
fairylights · 17/06/2008 08:41

really interesting, thanks - so i am not the only person to not like going overdrawn particularly! We have a limit of £1500 but i would be very worried if we went near that..

OP posts:
Barnical · 17/06/2008 08:44

I don't go OD.. I do have a £50 buffer (just in case) but don't use it.. It can be hard work, but it can be done