Average debt per person? Anyone debt free here?

Apart from the £180K mortgage i’m debt free….. but have no money to spare…. and have sacrifced a lot of my toys, bikes and cars doing so….. hmmmmm SC bronson on 0% finance….maybe… or just carry on with not a lot other than a 3bed end of terrace in surrey… 😐

I don’t really have much of an issue with people using large amounts of credit to run their lives provided it’s sustainable and not spiralling towards disaster. It sometimes makes good financial sense to use a loan to make something happen. The bigger issues is the link between people that use large amounts of credit and their lack of (through either financial ability or lifestyle choice) investment in their latter years (be it pensions, property or whatever). It’s only when you get to an age where you can’t work and you haven’t been able to prepare for it that you realise what properly **** looks like.

When I was 27 I’d just bought my first house and owed 86.5k to Nationwide. I then extended the house and the mortgage went up to over 100, then added a car to it. Then spent the next 13 years paying it all off.

I’m 27 next month, albeit shared with miss njee20 our mortgage is nearly thrice yours (time’s moved on 😉 ), and the car is the next plan!

The bigger issues is the link between people that use large amounts of credit and their lack of (through either financial ability or lifestyle choice)

Totally agree, I could, if I so desired, accrue about £25k on credit cards, which is pretty worrying really. I’ve never in my life asked for an increase (in fact I only applied for one card, but have 3 – the others came with bank accounts!), but they still used to put them up fairly often. In fact since I started earning more they’ve stopped increasing my limits, which seems a little unscrupulous!

no debt here, no pension, son in forces, daughter goes in a month.
wife employed by local authority for 28yrs.

gonna go into old age going on nice holidays and travel, **** saving for my dotage…….. 8)

I think a better thing for people to say would be, “Yes, i’ve got debts, but hopefully I have enough equity in my house that I could settle them if necessary”

I have more than double the vslue of my debts in equity, I’ve been tempted to pay them all off using that, but I’ve resisted. It’s to easy. I think i need to learn the hard way.

njee20 – Member
interest rates on CC are low/0%.

Really?

I have more than double the vslue of my debts in equity, I’ve been tempted to pay them all off using that, but I’ve resisted. It’s to easy. I think i need to learn the hard way.

Equity in your home or cash?

If cash, why are you paying interest on the debt? Surely you’re not getting anywhere near the same amount in savings interest?

Well for those who do their research and have a good element of self control there are signficant benefits to utilising credit over using cash. You get nothing for spending cash – there is alot on offer by utilising credit if you do your research. For example, simply by using a credit card to buy normal everyday things instead of cash you’re getting loyalty points, which in my case pay’s for the Xmas shop every uyear – so that’s £250 for free a year just by using my card rather than cash – and i’m not being charged a penny of interest. Also buy keeping cash in my account for longer each month in my daily calculated interest mortgage, i’m getting a signficiant interest rate discount on my mortgage meaning i’ll pay it off years early – or as in my case, is being traded off against my full repayment term and effectively funding an extension (or the vast majority of it) that is adding value to my house.

Also, if you’ve got access to interest free credit, why on earth would you spend your own cash? You’d be a fool.

So you can use debt to your advantage if you do your homework and are disciplined and keep it under control.

Really?

Yep – vast majority of balance on a 0% card, remainder (to be paid off next time I get round to logging in to online banking) is 4.9% APR (no offer, that’s just what it is), low enough that I’d consider using it to buy a car as opposed to getting a loan.

However, due to the joys of running your own business in the middle of the biggest financial shit-storm ever, its all other peoples really. Who kindly went bust on me owing me shedloads of cash for work I’d already done for them. I’m likely to be paying it off for the rest of my life.

Same here Binners. Mortgage was due to end three years ago. Now it’ll be another ten years. Never got a penny from my customers that went into Administration/liquidation/bankruptcy.

Still a small mortgage, thank God and £2 on the credit card. The only thing I can be remotely smug about is the capital in the house, if the kids and grandkids weren’t living here I could bugger off.

Mortgage, £2000 left on 0% finance for my MTB, £2800 on a 0% c/c deal and £11k on car loan.
Does it worry me? not in the slightest! I have assets worth more than every debt I owe so if I needed to, could clear it all tomorrow.
I just view it as saving in reverse with the interest being the fee for having your toys now 😉

I have more than double the vslue of my debts in equity, I’ve been tempted to pay them all off using that, but I’ve resisted. It’s to easy. I think i need to learn the hard way.

Equity in your home or cash?

Equity in my Home 🙂

Mortgage only here

Wife fell ill = half income we were getting.

Lots of debt, just getting by for now, will see what the future holds.

about £180k mortgage (0 equity) and about £25k in loans and 0% cards. Fun fun.

not ideal, but until we can actually start paying it off or find another solution….Doubt the wife will ever work full time again so we’ll need to juggle a few things.

Second high 5 to binners ina week. Well said that fellow.

No unsecured debt here, but still got a chunky old mortgage (fast becoming an obsession), and I suspect that for my age group I am one of the few in that position. I must thank thieving ex-wives for that.

Only debt is my mortgage, somewhere around £135,000 I think on a 200k ish house. Car is owned outright, student loan is paid off, credit cards cleared each month. I sometimes dip into my overdraft as a cashflow thing but my overdraft limit is lower than my savings.

For the first time.. Me, no mortgage, cars paid for, no credit card or overdraft,, nowt! 😀
It’s took 47 years though..

Finally got everything, mortgage, vehicles paid off a year ago—of course now Mrs busydog is eyeing doing a big kitchen remodeling that will require an equity loan on the house—back to square one.

There’s no point in being smug (not aimed at anyone other than me). I have a mortgage that in my current employment I can more than afford. I choose to rinse my credit card each month and pay it off, I appreciate that is a luxury. I have freinds who are better off and friends who are worse off. Money, debt, how to make money is something I spend way too much time thinking about and something I’m not sure there are concrete answers to. Do what works for you and if you need to get into a sticky situation for a while I wish you well in getting back out of it again.

End of the day, you might as well enjoy the time you have and not spend it all worrying over pennies 🙂

About a grand on q credit card. But will have it paid off soon. No mortgage as we rent.

I must thank thieving ex-wives for that.

Forgot about that one, been there to. All my savings, all my hard work on our first two houses then off you go and thanks very much. 15 years down the pan 😀

Totally debt free right now.

Large mortgage but no other debt. I’m very debt adverse but I’m amazed how many otherwise sensible people have such a relaxed attitude to it.

Equity in my Home

Using equity in your home to pay off debts isn’t really getting rid of the debt – you’re just moving them to another debt! One secured with your home no less.

That said, if you sold your house and moved somewhere cheaper, using the leftover sale proceeds to clear debts then that’s different 🙂

Then again if you can afford your debts and if borrowing is improving your life then there isn’t really an issue?

Then again if you can afford your debts and if borrowing is improving your life then there isn’t really an issue?

The issue is, i think, that life changes and what was previously an affordable debt can become unmanageable.

I’m certainly no stranger to unsecured debt, my education cost me £32k personally, all borrowed from banks, and that’s before the interest started ticking (started in 1999 and it was 2005 before my first repayment). I was fortunate enough that my investment paid off, but many of my peers weren’t so lucky and are now trying to pay back a crippling debt on an average/below average salary.

You’re completely right though, there is no issue at all with properly managed debt (most businesses for example couldn’t function without it). It’s just that it doesn’t take much for things to go pear shaped at the moment.

I tend to run up about £3k per month in credit card bills.

But I also pay it off in full every month before any interest is charged.

So I Guess I’m constantly in debt to some degree or other.

Completely debt free for over 12 months now, both myself and Mrs C.
The best feeling ever.

It’s just that it doesn’t take much for things to go pear shaped at the moment.

Indeed I’m not a stupid man and I’m very cautious with the pennies, yet I didn’t see the two most financially crippling events in my life coming.

It’s just that it doesn’t take much for things to go pear shaped at the moment.

Indeed I’m not a stupid man and I’m very cautious with the pennies, yet I didn’t see the two most financially crippling events in my life coming i.e divorce and the failure of my business.

My main expense is booze, and that’s entirely social – I’d go mad without the outlet of pub banter.
But I’ve little need for constantly buying new shit, and have little sympathy for people who go bankrupt through doing so.
It’s different for mortgages, student loans, a small business, using your CC a lot but paying it off monthly in general, although I still think as a country we could do with a large dose of Caledonian Frugality.

2 overdrafts totalling 4k at around 45pcm interest
3 credit cards totalling 9k at 0% interest.
29, renting, married, second on the way.
All but 2k racked up in the past 2.5 years. Wedding, furnishing a house, baby (just turned 2) Mtb habit startup costs.

Do i have debts? Yeah, doesnt worry me at all though as we can afford to pay them back each month. We have 2 cars, each via a (very low interest) loan, and about 6 grand at 0% for 2 years on a credit card which bought us some new furniture for the house weve just bought…with a 250k mortgage. Ive had serious big momma loans in the past and always paid them back…debt is only a problem if you cant afford to pay it back IMHO.

Just sorted a 140k debt for new house (203khouse). No credit card debt, its paid off each month, no car debt or other loans. Will have a worryingly small buffer for a while though.

About £26k soon to go to £32k on a overdraft, small mortage with significant equity. Loan covers car and substantial long term home improvements. Seems like a lot but its not been frittered away and lm more secure income wise than have been for a long time so quite happy about it.

My main expense is booze,

Just brilliant 😀

The timing of this thread is a coincidence. Just been debating if to pay the mortgage for another ten years, end of term. And have disposable income each month or scrimp and pay it off early.
I’m reading all this because I’m a born worrier, but after reading some of this I’ll sleep better tonight.
No credit card debt, no overdraft nothing. Three cycling trips abroad, a family holiday and a new bike this year all cash, yet I really do consider myself poor and loose sleep over finances.

No debts at all here, and no real prospect of any.

Which is flipping marvellous.

I’d like to say it was down to prudence and hard graft. But really I’d need to say thanks mum, thanks dad. Not mine either, but the girlfriends.

The day I got a grasp of the house finances involved something of a Bond villain evil laugh.

Debt free here, no mortgage, nada.

I’m very lucky and thank my lucky stars every day

I have a tiny bit on a credit card, but I could pay it off tomorrow if I wanted to. I have a mortgage too.

Think it’s been said before but credit cards are a very good way of using money if your disciplined and pay it off, keeping your cash invested until you need to pay the bill.

The mortgage, and I think about £300 on the CC from holiday over the past couple of weeks, which will get paid when the bill comes through.

I tend to use it for the little bit more protection it offers, then clear it every month.

Not always been that way, but it’s nice now 🙂