When did it become normal to have an overdraft

vaporate

Lokolo wrote: »

A lot better of as they would have to learn the value of money.

Well year 1 and year 2 I didn't touch the overdraft but year 3 I did.

The less well off would have to.

oxenryd

vaporate wrote: »

Well year 1 and year 2 I didn't touch the overdraft but year 3 I did.

The less well off would have to.

No they wouldn't !! this is exactly the attitude that is being described in earlier posts - "You have to use/have an overdraft these days"

(By the way this post is not meant personnaly)

vaporate

oxenryd wrote: »

No they wouldn't !! this is exactly the attitude that is being described in earlier posts - "You have to use/have an overdraft these days"

(By the way this post is not meant personnaly)

No problem :beer:

theesel1994

I occasionally let my bank account dip into the red. At this moment in time I'm £35 overdrawn. I don't pay any interest or other charges on this but if I go over the £100 mark they kick the !!!!!! out of me with referral fees and other charges. The only reason I go over the £100 mark is when I take my eye off the ball. Up until two months ago I had little time to check my bank and credit card accounts so did get hit with needless charges. I think I've waste £84 in late payment fees alone on two credit cards. With the help of this forum I check my accounts every day. I have a spreadsheet which details future payments and so I can see when I need to transfer money. I could transfer the money today - but where's the fun in that.

EDIT : I don't get help from this forum checking my accounts every day - what I mean is after reading this forum I realise the importance of checking things each day.

vaporate

theesel1994 wrote: »

I occasionally let my bank account dip into the red. At this moment in time I'm £35 overdrawn. I don't pay any interest or other charges on this but if I go over the £100 mark they kick the !!!!!! out of me with referral fees and other charges. The only reason I go over the £100 mark is when I take my eye off the ball. Up until two months ago I had little time to check my bank and credit card accounts so did get hit with needless charges. I think I've waste £84 in late payment fees alone on two credit cards. With the help of this forum I check my accounts every day. I have a spreadsheet which details future payments and so I can see when I need to transfer money. I could transfer the money today - but where's the fun in that.

EDIT : I don't get help from this forum checking my accounts every day - what I mean is after reading this forum I realise the importance of checking things each day.

Call me paranoid but I always check my online banking 2 to 3 times a day.

theesel1994

vaporate wrote: »

Call me paranoid but I always check my online banking 2 to 3 times a day.

I said I checked them every day - I didn't say how many times each day.

At times I'm almost disappointed to see the same figures as two hours earlier.

vaporate

theesel1994 wrote: »

I said I checked them every day - I didn't say how many times each day.

At times I'm almost disappointed to see the same figures as two hours earlier.

Same.

I'm always hoping a few grand gets put in there by 'mistake' lol.

bingy_burge

Over the last 20-30 years people stopped living within there means and we (ie 20-30's) have been encourraged to 'buy now pay later' you see it on telly various furniture companies etc. In the boom years we have had til last year credit was rife people could borrow alot of the time more than they could afford.

Hence the financial mess the world especially the US and the UK as we are some of the worst offenders.

As some mentioned it doesn't help people borrowing more than they can afford or what has been happening and I make no apology for banging on about it is some credit agreements have been uninforcable due to not been worded correctly and some people have used this as opportunity to get out of paying back money they where lent in good faith.

funky_snow

My overdraft stems from being a student.
In the years of work I've kept it - usually as a buffer for unexpected things e.g. unusually high bill, new job/changing rent/mortgage payment dates etc.
Insidiously I came to rely on it - because it was interest free - and it kept getting extended from the original £300 to nearly £1000 at its highest.

I'm now virtually out of it completely but would still use it for unexpected things. As I'm with Halifax I'll now shift to using credit cards for short term unexpected things - just doesn't work with certain utilities or if you need cash.

I do have savings - I just can't be bothered with the hassle of having to move money when I had a convenient overdraft. e.g. my savings are a passbook ISA, shares ISA with different banks to my current account - and most don't have online banking to allow easy money movement.

thatsean

I used one (well three actually) while I was at Uni, and the cash was so tight I couldn't have done without them, Now I'm 'all grown up' I don't have one. I can understand the reason that some do, for taking advantage of shares, or monthly capital to avoid touching savings, but I'm glad to say that I've had a credit balance since 2002.

I agree with others in this thread who say that banks do make it easier to get into debt than to get out of it, but they don't have the same interests as the consumer...