What Caused Your Debt in the First Place

Broken_hearted

I did both spent on dream holidays and life went down the drain. I see no point in going over why it happened, better just to sort it.

tesuhoha

I can sympathise with all of you. i have done exactly the same over the years, 6 mediterranean holidays for the kids when we should have carried on wearing our kagouls in Cornwall. Free range chicken and eggs, organic veg, doing up our house, thinking the credit limit was how rich we were, solid wood floors, lovely kitchen and bathroom. Shopping trips to Bluewater with my daughter, wanting to kit out the kids for summer/winter. Beer in the fridge, wine with every meal, it goes on and on.

Wizwoo

Well done everybody for facing up to all these things and for now doing something about it. :T and I think we all deserve a bit of a :grouphug:.

My debt started gradually.

My partner and I had been together for about 9 months when he was sacked. We worked for the same company and I felt pretty upset at what they did to him (a bit underhand - but that's another story).
So I resigned after a new job offer (better pay :rotfl: ). This involved relocating so the debt started especially since my partner was initially not earning.

When he did get a job we let go a bit and started to live a little - we needed furniture for our new home (we'd lived in a furnished flat before then). Debts started - but nothing major since we were both earning.

Then after another 9 months I was made redundant and didn't work for about 3 months (I hadn't been there loong enough to get any redundancy). I finally did get a job but I was off sick soon after and realised after suffering with a lot of stress that the industry I worked in wasn't for me.

Now I love my job but I earn £10K less than I did (actually I don't earn much more than I did when I started out and my OH earns about the same!) so the debts that seemed handlable on my old wage now seem like a mountain to climb.

I guess what our mistake has always been is that we've never built up a cushion of savings during the good times to cover the bad.

We're working away at them now though thanks to all your help.

MoaningMyrtle

Ours was when my husband was diagnosed with a life-threatening illness at the age of 24, we wanted to enjoy ourselves whilst we could, had a few holidays, managed to buy a house by hook or by crook in a lovely area.

Fourteen years down the line, we are deep in the proverbial, OH kept alive by a cocktail of drugs in a poorly paid job. I have three part time jobs to try to pay for the basics and a DMP in place. I still want to buy things to cheer myself up though, the pain of the past, present and future is too much for me to cope with.

THE_LONE_RANGER_4

i think in the main from this thread most people get in to debt through a number of ways in the main unemployment etc ,the dca seem to think it is done through fraud the wish to evade payment etc etc and then make matters far worse for all in volved

brranger

I never learnt to say no to my wife and girls got them all they wanted or I thought they needed.
I also never made the adjustment from being single where I had bought a house on my own, new car and could go out spend what I liked and still not overspend and if It did get tight just stay in till payday. you cant do that with an extra 3 people and 2 dogs it don't seem fair to them.
Now its just me and 1 dog its harder being single again.

taplady

Ours started due to OH's ill health, 2 heart attacks under 40 years old then a triple heart byepass. I was also seriously ill with pneumonia in the middle of all this and nearly died and had to have months off work, unpaid as I was only a casula waitress.He was in a poorly paid job anyway and this only paid statutory sick pay, then incapacity benefit. i worked part time and we were told we couldn't claim anything extra at all so to eat we used the CC.

This was in the days before I knew about this site, if only I had then things might be different. We depended on the CC for car repairs,food and even a new car at one stage when ours was knackered and we needed one for work.

Barclays bank kindly kept increasing our bank loans and overdraft until last summer when I had my lightbulb moment and took back control and consulted CCCS. We are now in our 9th month of an IVA and getting used to budgeting with lots of help form here!

If we had been better informed at the time we would have done things differently but I'm just glad I found this site eventually!:j

Sea78

Hi,

Mine first started when i moved to London after Uni (don't count my student loan as a bad debt as it was completely unavoidable and I had no other choice as mum has no money). I used savings I had to pay off a computer buy now pay later ona flat deposit instead, which then started my debt. I moved in with OH and we began to live a nice life! I then fell pregnant quite quickly and spent spent spent without really considering the loss of income due to mat leave.

I am to blame (and OH too) as we have lots of nice things: nice furniture, gadgets for him, books and stuff for me and the kids, wow. Now I'm annoyed that I did spend that much, but hey, we have the things now and that's the way it is.

I've really changed now though and really think I can get out of this mess! Rading the inspirational stories on here and realising I'm not alone has helped beyond measure.

I think I got into debt, but then wanted to live the lifestyle our salaries (without debt repayments) afforded us!! I also think society now does bombard you with messages to buy buy buy, need need need, want want want. I did feel that I would be failing as a mum if first baby didn't have this and that etc. Stupid.


Gosh what a ramble! Sorry!

Tondella

Ours wasn't through unemployment. We both went through uni before having to pay fees, although we took out student loans for living expenses. We both got good jobs after uni, OH in the forces, me in academia. The debts are mostly OH's, started off from living the single officer high life with an attitude of .. when i die at least my debts die with me. Then he met me, we had a long distance relationship and so treated ourselves on the weekends we were together. I knew he was on a good wage and so never questioned his spending. He spent out of wanting to convince me that he could provide for me, and he spent very generously on presents for other people. He also has a weakness for gadgets and outdoor gear for himself. It was like his spending thermostat was set slightly too high.

hatsepsovet

Our debt started when my OH was made redundant, couldn't find work and all the bills had to be paid - so really like most other people.