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Original poster

How many of you have racked up huge debts?

131 replies

Twiglett · 16/09/2007 08:44

OK, up front I appreciate that this could be taken as an arsey thread but its not meant to be.

I was brought up not to borrow money and our only debt is our mortgage because quite honestly we were scared to incur other debts and went without instead

I find it difficult to truly understand whether this whole 'looming debt crisis' is for real or a media-invention

Do people re-mortgage every time their house value goes up, have you racked up loads on credit cards and taken personal loans every time they're offered .. if so why?

OP posts:

ThePigletGuru · 16/09/2007 08:46

I did have loads of credit cards when I was younger, completely living beyond my means... now we have absolutely none, not even a mortgage (mind you we don't own a house either!) and it's a much happier place to be in. But it is incredibly easy to do. Credit cards are like "free money"

Original poster

Twiglett · 16/09/2007 08:49

that's what I get I have never felt that a credit card was 'free money' its 'farking expensive money'

OP posts:

Jill60 · 16/09/2007 08:51

We're like you Twig and i do wonder sometimes if we are missing out. Only one life and that. When I see my friend whose husband earns alot less than mine, lives in a smaller house in a less nice place but has a mahoosive t.v. new sports car etc I wonder - they aren't in 'debt' but buy loads of things on HP etc and have great holidays. Who is the mug?

charliecat · 16/09/2007 08:51

I havent, the only thing I owe on is my sofa, which is £40 a month, but it gives me such pleasure just looking at it its worth it.
I dont own my house either, so no mortgage looming.
I did see my friend and her husband rack up MASSIVE debts, on credit cards and catologues and id say within 5-6 months the minimum payments were too much for him, but they struggled on for another few years, interest piled on, debt collectors ringing and all they had to show for it was a stereo worth under a grand, a tumble dryer, a 179.99 microwave and a walls worth of cds/dvds.
I rememer once saying I cant come up ive got no money...he said to his wife, shes just making excuses, shes got a credit card...and that explains his mentality exactly.
Yes, I have a credit card, but I still have no money.
To him, credit/debt is money to be spent.

charliecat · 16/09/2007 08:52

Oh they lost the house by the way.

FlossALump · 16/09/2007 08:53

Dp has basically caused us quite a lot of grief, as he is crap with money. He also has a belief that he shouldn't go without and has never saved for things. We've recently taken out a home owner loan, which is basically his last chance to get sorted. If he messes this up we'll probably have to loose the house. I'm horrified by the amount of debt we are in, a large proportion of which DP was in before we even met. However, I know someone with double the amount of debt we have, tens of thousands, and DP knows a couple who are younger than us with no children who are also in quite a lot more.

I made one mistake with credit cards and quite quickly learnt my lesson. Unfortunately we're still hoping DP has learn't his!

ThePigletGuru · 16/09/2007 08:54

Twigs, I agree with you, I'm just saying that is a lot of people's mentality, as charliecat has just shown.

(it's LL BTW)

charliecat · 16/09/2007 09:00

Also on the same income, I run a car, have full cupboards, never run out of gas/electric/food/cat food...yet my friend who doesnt run a car has empty cupboards, running out of gas/electric/cut of the phone etc, doesnt have a pound left for bread/milk.
The difference is, I pay my bills, then see I have a fiver left and cherish it.
She spends her money, then cant pay the bills.

LoveMyGirls · 16/09/2007 09:03

I am in debt but we can afford to pay it off. It spiralled and has gone on from there we started off getting a loan for about 3k from my bank to pay off my dp's over draught from when he was at uni and to buy us a car as we had moved top the other side of town and my dp was working in the middle of nowhere until midnight most nights. Then we extended the loan the next time we got into money troubles and its gone on from there. We do have a savings account but i go and get the money back out to try and keep myself in the black at the bank. We have recently extended the loan again up to 14k (21k by the time we have paid it off in 7yrs!) to get my car repaired, pay off my od, get a new sofa. I hope that when the dc's get older and we can earn more we can sort ourselves out and stop borrowing money. We don't own our own home, we have been together since we were 19 and i had dd1 when i was 17 so I have never earnt a massive amount as I am unqualified, I now run my own business as a childminder which is just getting off the ground so has been unreliable at times and has contributed to us having to borrow more money.

I can tell you where all of the money we have borrowed has gone, we havent used it for things we haven't needed and we aren't careless with money.

rosierooster · 16/09/2007 09:03

We have a small mortgage and re-mortgaged to do an extension but it's still relatively small. DH never owes more than £500 on credit cards and even then pays off straight away. I owe about £2000 but that was for a Plasma TV for dh's 40th birthday. I have also bought a bed, dining table and couch on interest free but they all finish this year. In the past I have bought other items but always interest free.
I left uni with a £10000 debt but payed it off in 3 years at £400 per month.
I have friends that owe in excess of £40000 on credit cards and one couple I know have re-morgaged lots they started owing £30000 and now owe £130000 and are maxed out - they couldn't raise more when they needed IVF. All they have to show for it is new cars (replaced regulary), holidays and they have changed their kitchen 3 times in 6 years - madness!
Another friend I have regulary gets into debt but is always bailed out by her family - her latest purchases have all been plastic surgery related non of which she has needed as she looks fab already.
I don't understand it but a friend once said "if you leave this world owing money then you've mad a profit!" It makes some kind of sense I suppose

Pollyanna · 16/09/2007 09:06

yes, have been guilty of remortgaging lots of times to meet our debts, because basically have lived outside our means in terms of holidays and spending etc. Not sure what on, as we don't have a new car or lots of gadgets.

We were lucky as we both earned well and our salaries (and value of our properties over the years) have only increased, but in the last couple of years I realised it has to stop (if we want to have a pension!) and we now live within our means. dh is still crap with money, so I am in in charge of the budgeting etc.

ThePigletGuru · 16/09/2007 09:06

My MIL thinks - and I agree - that there is an entitlement culture, partially engendered by the media - everyone believes they are entitled to the big TV, and the designer clothes, and the latest mobile phone.

SleeplessInTheStaceym11House · 16/09/2007 09:07

ok i believe the same as you twig, only on tues last week i found out dh owes 11,500! !

he hadnt been earning enough money, was promised more and didnt want me to worry about it. now nearly a year down the line he doesnt know where to turn!

its horrible and i never want to be in this situation again!

ThePigletGuru · 16/09/2007 09:08

This is a good site if you have lots of debts - "Living Below Your Means", lots of tips.

SpawnChorus · 16/09/2007 09:12

I'm with you Twig. Debt scares me. I have a credit card which I pay off in full each month (and I even feel weird about that ). We do however have a loan for a car, but it's paid for by DH's work car allowance (he's obliged to have a car for work, and he chose this as alternative to having a company car).

Original poster

Twiglett · 16/09/2007 09:24

'entitlement culture' .. I think you're right .. but I'm not sure if that concept is also media-driven

I don't know people who must have the latest gadgets even if they don't have the money

it seems a very ego-centric teenage concept .

what stopped people growing up?

OP posts:

Cammelia · 16/09/2007 09:27

That's probably a separate thread Twig......but connected

ThePigletGuru · 16/09/2007 09:27

why not media driven, T? By which I mean you see all these things on the TV and in magazines, in adverts and catalogues, not that journos are saying "oh you all deserve new cars" IYSWIM

glitterchick · 16/09/2007 09:30

I was chatting to my 8 year old the other week about the fact that I would love a nice garden/decking etc and maybe by next year I would have enough money saved to get this done. His answer was 'why save?' you can phone Debt Matters and get money from them for the garden. If you watch any of the kids channels especially on Sky they are laden with ads about loan consolidation, credit cards, etc. Now, maybe my son watches more tv than he should but certainly on tv it instilled into people from an early age that credit/loans are acceptable. I don't think these ads should be allowed on kid tv.

Original poster

Twiglett · 16/09/2007 09:36

sorry LL .. what I meant by is 'entitlement culture' media-driven is .. have we bought into the fact that there are people, not us or anyone we know of course, but there are people out there who have this 'entitlement culture' and they are the ones in huge debt and they are the ones of whom we right

I just wonder whether I'm sheltered that I don't know people like that or if they don't actually exist and its another 'daily mail style NIMBY shocker' separating them (they're crap with money they are cos they want it all now, now, now) from us (we just don't have enough money so have to get into debt to afford to just live)

OP posts:

ThePigletGuru · 16/09/2007 09:38

Ohhh I see .

Sadly I do know people like that. I had a good friend who ran up a massive CC bill, got a loan to pay it off... then ran it straight up again. She was in dire straits and was only saved by meeting her BF (now husband) who cut up all her cards. Thank god one of them had some discipline, she was hopeless (says LL with a cupboard full of shoes)

WideWebWitch · 16/09/2007 09:40

We have debts but a) our debt:income ratio is fine and b) It's mostly on 0% so not costing anything in interest and c) we can easily repay it and are on target to do so within a year

Original poster

Twiglett · 16/09/2007 09:40

glitterchick .. now that's rather scary isn't it .. an 8 year old already instilled with the have it now culture

I never thought of that before

OP posts:

WideWebWitch · 16/09/2007 09:41

Oh btw, we don't have the enormous debt which msot people have, i.e. we don't have a mortgage.

gess · 16/09/2007 09:44

We have terrible debt.

Most run up paying for therapies/training/equipment for ds1.

We are in repayment mode now but it will take years and years.

Didn'\t really feel as if we had any choice tbh. DS1 couldn't wait for us to earn it.

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