How??

wtbdebtfree

And to some, this sums up why all forums require moderation.

I agree sky tv etc are not necessities but i believe the internet is now a key tool and to some extent almost everyone has made some money out of the internet by one way or another i.e. ebay etc

firestronaut

A huge majority of my debt was an overpayment made by my previous employment.
How could I not notice an extra few K?
Well, I worked less in the summer and more in the winter, yet my wages evened themselves out.
Previous employment digged for a reason to fire me so I didn't have to be paid maternity leave.
In the process, leaving me with a couple of grand to pay of while being forced onto state benefits.

Think before you judge.

moo_cow

I don't have to pay for my internet useage BUT, if I had to I would, as it is a lifeline and also a way of making extra money. I don't smoke, rarely drink, don't go out at all socialising, have never had a holiday and have to go as careful as I can because of our household drop in income. I also think the internet is a much cheaper way of communicating.

Trollfever

Why does The Insolvency Service allow you to file for bankruptcy on line?

Do they really intend you to do it in a public library?

.

euronorris

I have to have internet access at home for work. I do get an allowance for it though.

OH insists on a higher package though, but he pays for the extra part.

And I'm not sure that everyone on here has internet either. There are some who only access it at work or a friends house.

But the savings made on entertainment, together with the extra earnings potential, outweighs the cost of the internet. I'd be worse off without it.

TV packages don't need to be huge though. I think they should be limited to basic package or freeview. The cable TV package we have here only costs us 8 euro's per month so my half is only 4 euro's per half.

Britwife

I'm not in debt myself and we only have the bare minimums of phone/internet/and no cable. However, we have had issues paying at certain times due to my husband job loss.

Nobody can predict the future and many of the members here may be in debt because they have lost a job or became disbled or some other event in their life that led to being here.

As for anyone who borrows more than they can afford, they are here trying to fix it and we all make mistakes. I know for 1, I'm not perfect and wasn't created to be perfect, but I learn from my mistakes.

You also have companies who take advantage of people in bad situations.

When we bought our first house in the sates, we were told we could buy a home 40 thousand US Dollars over what we thought we could afford. Can't tell you how tempting it was but we thought it over and knew we didn't want to live at the limit of our means and live to pay for our house. Was one of the best decisions we ever made.

I also want to point out the cost of living in the UK and inflation continues to rise yet salaries don't. In order to buy a house here, you have to go 5x your salary and to me that can be a very tight budget. But, it's the only way to get a house over here because they are so expensive.

So before you judge someone, try to understand that there may be other reasons the person is in debt. Maybe it is their fault, maybe it isn't. Bottom line is, they are looking for help and the majority own up to what has happened.

euronorris

moo_cow wrote: »

I don't have to pay for my internet useage BUT, if I had to I would, as it is a lifeline and also a way of making extra money. I don't smoke, rarely drink, don't go out at all socialising, have never had a holiday and have to go as careful as I can because of our household drop in income. I also think the internet is a much cheaper way of communicating.

You are right. It is the cheapest way for me to communicate with my friends and family back home. Webcam calls are fantastic! Much better than me using my mobile and we don't have a home phone (the connection is still in the shared hallway so can't really have one).

hypno06

My internet costs me £17 a month (in a rural area where we can't get the cheaper services, unfortunately).

However, each month, I take part in the "make £10 a day challenge" which regularly brings me in £300 + PER MONTH......via scratchcards, free bingo, mystery shopping, ebaying......all of which have to be done online.

So, my internet pays for itself several times over, each and every month.

That extra money, in turn, is thrown straight at my debt, bringing the amount I owe down quicker and quicker.

I therefore see the internet, and the laptop that provides it, as essential "tools of the trade" on my quest to become debt free.

I don't think anyone is judging on here - it was a straightforward question, that hopefully has been answered for the OP.

Merry Christmas :xmastree:

Billy-no-Money

I pay £7.50 a month for unlimited broadband (O2 with £5 discount because son has an O2 phone).

In the last year I have:

• Earned £50 cashback for signing up to O2 broadband
• Earned £40 cashback on breakdown cover
• Earned £45 cashback on car insurance
• Earned over £50 cashback on various smaller items

I got Microsoft to PAY me to have a copy of Office 2007 thanks to a tip on an internet forum.

I got diagnostic codes for my motorbike from the internet meaning I could fix a fault myself instead of going to the dealer - saving around £100.

I have access to really useful sites like MSE and whatsthecost.com - savings unquantifiable.

I keep in touch with my kids who live 150 miles away for free through tools like Messenger.

This is just a typical year and there are lots of other things I've not listed. Besides, I need it for my job!

I don't know whether the OP is trolling or not, but to me this really isn't contentious.

plunk172

Thanks for all the replies. I think the thread has raised some interesting questions.

I am not a troll, and I do not judge people.

I think someone mentioned that what we class as essential items nowadays would have been luxury items 10-20 years ago.

Companies pay people vast sums of money to come up with ideas for marketing things. Promotions such as 'buy now pay later' etc etc are not always a good deal.

At the moment i find companies like 'Brighthouse' absolutely disgusting. They sell crap items at sometimes 3 times the cost of a quality product like sony etc etc.

The whole cash for gold thing is horrible aswell. Are people really stupid enough to fall for scams like that?

Thanks all!