We'd like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum. This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are - or become - political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.
We're aware that dates on the Forum are not currently showing correctly. Please bear with us while we get this fixed, and see Site feedback for updates.

Why do people get in debt?

Having read some of the posts on here, I got to wondering why/how people get in so much debt. I know there'll be 101 reasons/excuses, but if the causes of debt were talked about more openly, perhaps more people would be able to avoid it.

Seeing that some people owe more than a year's salary on credit cards is really scary. Why do they allow themselves to get in such a mess?

:)

GG
There are 10 types of people in this world. Those who understand binary and those that don't.
«1345678

Comments

  • Because you often don't realise it is a mess until it is almost too late.

    We got ourselves in to a mess. I shopped a lot to make myself feel better - I felt fat and worthless and unable to be the person I wanted to be. So I bought nice clothes, presents and ate well to try and make myself something else. Didn't work of course but in the process I used a lot of credit. At the time the repayments weren't an issue. We can still meet our monthly payments and over pay by 50% - we are lucky although very foolish to have got in to this position.

    I suppose you live and learn. For me it was character building. And only now, through budgeting and working hard, am I really learning who I am and what I want out of life.
  • lisa_75
    lisa_75 Posts: 555 Forumite
    For us it was:

    * keeping up with the Jones (nice car, furniture, holidays)
    * laziness (takeaways, buying presents on the last minute)
    * entitlement (husband works hard, so why should we not have nice things?)
    * large rise in income (an interesting one. My husbands wages have tripled over the past 2 years, leaving my frugal ways of the past to go out the window)
    * I found credit very easy to get, despite having 3 CCJ's

    It is frightening to think none of the debt was because of need (illness, loss of job etc)

    About 4 of my close friends owe £30k plus on credit cards. It does not seem to worry them. We owe around £8k and have nipped it in the bud before it got too bad. It seems many people just keep on spending and forget the future.
  • Going to uni did it for me, then living the uni lifestyle with my earnings from work when I graduated - out most nights spending money instead of saving





    !!!!!!!
  • jpwhittle
    jpwhittle Posts: 1,509 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    stupidness. we went through a really rough time recently and needed to use the credit card for some stuff and kept using it. suddenly the debt we had got down had mounted up again. just plain stupidness.
    back to comping in 2017, fingers crossed :beer:
  • I'm in debt cos I spent money that wasn't mine! Simple as that...

    :heartpuls CG :heartpuls
    Ever wonder about those people who spend £2 apiece on those little bottles of Evian water? Try spelling Evian backward.
  • spud30
    spud30 Posts: 16,872 Forumite
    Mine started with negative equity on the sale of our first house and we never got straight after that really.

    A lot of stupidity was also involved :mad:
    Is it better to aim for the stars and hit a tree or aim for a tree and land in its branches :think:
    Loves being a Wonderbra friend :kisses3:
  • Gemmzie
    Gemmzie Posts: 14,876 Forumite
    Letting my parents lend me money too often
    No longer using this account for new posts from 2013
  • Not realising that the little things add up, sticking my head in the sand about "paying it off later when I earn more" and also taking on large debts to live when I had a very uncertain income at the start of my career.
    All my own fault though as really I should have known better and lived within my means!
    Grocery Challenge: target 400: so far spent 247
    Credit Card [STRIKE]3231[/STRIKE] 3218
    Overdraft [STRIKE]1215[/STRIKE] 1122.27
  • my debt started when i got divorced , starting from scratch nuff said !!

    megabroke99
  • LJD1_2
    LJD1_2 Posts: 2,173 Forumite
    Being unrealistic did if for me...wanting things NOW, of course I could pay them off in the 0% period! I still fight the urge but I make the right choice and don't bother anymore!
    January budget
    Nothing left!
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 348.4K Banking & Borrowing
  • 252.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 452.4K Spending & Discounts
  • 241K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 617.3K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 175.7K Life & Family
  • 254.2K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16K Discuss & Feedback
  • 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.