Why do people get in debt?

Toomuchdebt

For me it was getting divorced and being given cards with low introductory interest rates and stupidly high limits considering I wasn't working.It's so easy to spend and forget that it's not really your money.I would buy things to make me feel better,I would buy food on the card because it was easier and then not remember to pay it back-in short I was stupid and I can only regret it took me this long to realise it.The really stupid thing is I had £10,000 as part of my divorce settlement and paid off several cards-I halved my debt straight away and could have paid the rest off in 2 years...instead I kept spending and now it's going to take me 7 years to pay it all off

Gemmzie

GreyPilgrim wrote:

Can only speak for myself here, but as a student the word "saving" never even entered my consciousness - "Saving" was something that was lumped in with "mortgage", "pension", "gardeners question time", "carpet bowls" and "liver spots"...something that happened to other, older, more square people.

Anyone got a time machine so I can go back and beat some sense into me?

This is why I appreciate these threads.

I'm going to be a higher education student from next year and am taking the very slow long road into a degree - why? Because of the soaring costs, the devaluation of degrees and the fact that it just doesn't guarentee a job.

I've got an amazing volunteer job in the field I'm working towards and hopefully with just an HND and a couple of NVQs, I can do a Social Work degree in two years with one of those being on the job - well paid.

As soon as my car and the insurance is paid off, I'm going to save. Luckily, I can live at home because it's no distance to the college and I can keep my current part-time job which pays pretty well for here and for retail. So am going to avoid aa student loan for anything except making me money :money: :T

So thanks to all your experiences, I'm learning

david_hellier

I used to think it was individual greed, but at my stage of life, and having witnessed the growth of the banking system over 30 years or so I think the main responsibility lies with them.

When we were paid in cash years ago it was easy; that's what you could spend, so people instinctively budgetted.

But now money comes from so many different sources it leads to loss of individual control and confusion. Numerous credit cards, loans, overdrafts, store cards simply encourage overspending, which is the key to all this. When combined with little or no education at school on to how to control spending, it leads us to a right mess. This is so evident in the number of young people in money trouble on this site.

dinkylou

Most of my debt was from going to uni and then coping with life on the other side.

I think that its easy to get into debt now.

For some people its greed or change of circumstances etc but for many its not being in control of your money and where it goes.

Sometimes all of a sudden you think 'where has all my money gone' and then other things come along to pay for. Thats when things start to go wrong and you think 'oh I 'll be alright when i get paid etc etc and it never gets better.

Its easily done and can happen to absolutely anyone.

anniebooklover

I haven't read the whole post here but I can tell you about debt from my point of view. Husband worked full time, as did I. I was made redundant (it was taken gladly as I wanted to have another baby and change to part-time hours). Problem was, I continued to spend as if we had two incomes. Then I realised that we owed over £1000 on credit cards. It was a wake-up call. I made sure that as much was repaid as humanly possible as quickly as possible.

We had various problems, least of all was the debt. I just couldn't live with someone who expected me to be his mother 24 hours of the day. When we split I had about £1000 debt plus my mortgage. This has now been reduced to £250 on credit cards and I can manage the mortgage on my own (though ex hubby - refuse to call him XDH as he is nowhere near Dear to me - thinks I have robbed him of the equity in the house [I haven't] ). I will gladly work all the hours that god sends (is that only a scottish expression?) to repay the mortgage early.

In response I would say that there are many,many reasons why people get in debt. For those who are spoilt brats, I have very little sympathy. For the rest, I wish them all the luck in the world.

scheming_gypsy

anniebooklover wrote:

(though ex hubby - refuse to call him XDH as he is nowhere near Dear to me - .

it also stands for !!!!!!

Pobby

I think that debt has become an everday thing.I have just returned from holidays with some of my family.20 year old neice,9k a year,car loan and has been to Ibiza this year,with me to Portugal and has announced that she is going to the West Indies next month with boyfriend as the deal was so good.18 year old nephew,20k a year {which amazed me}15k car loan.

Clearly schools could help out in teaching some basic money facts.Talking to these 2,it would appear that their relationship with money is almost abstract.One has a girlfriend the other a boyfriend nad they are talking about saving up a deposit to buy a house in the south east.Be great if they could but I can`t see them ever affording to do so even if they curbed the spending to nothing!

Tr@cker

Southernscouser, if you dont mind my asking what are you doing gambling with a debt of 26 grand ? Not on betfair by any chance ?

Mirtos

University - overspending during my BA :mad: because I had no idea how to budget, and was assured that my excellent degree from one of the best unis in the world would guarantee me a good pay packet:rotfl: , and then trying to keep my head above water while funding my MA with no outside financial supprt whatsoever. Now I'm paying it all back with a wage I could have got without my degree. What a nightmare. Oh! no, I forgot! It's my life :doh: On the plus side, At least I know that because of my qualifications, there is more money at the end of the tunnel - I just have to grit my teeth. :rolleyes2

Mirtos

bargainbetty wrote:

Sorry, but I disagree with this one. I worked out how much I would need to pay my way through Uni, and realised I couldn't go. I got a job to try to save and watched a lot of my friends get deeper into debt because they didn't think about budgets etc. I have finally realised I will never be able to afford to go back into full time education, so am now using the Open University.

How is paying a tax once you hit 40 any more or less fair than repaying your own study costs once your income hits a certain level? How about making key jobs better paid instead so the people who invest in them DO reap rewards.

I had a flick through the newspapers during Uni Clearing and noticed a course called 'Adventure Studies' - something about organising activites on adventure holidays (abseiling etc). Sorry, I resent paying taxes for someone to study that!!

So who gets to decide what degrees are worthy? Every vocation has a social value, even if <b>you</b> can't see it. We shouldn't make it impossible for people from poorer backgrounds to study and improve their intellectual powers in the direction of their choice- yes medical degrees or law degrees should be funded, but what about actors? musicans? singers? historians? athletes? physical therapists? and all the other myriad of careers that need focussed training but would never be counted as essential and worthy of funding under your system? Think what our world would be like without all these peoples skills. <b>All</b> education is valuable, and <b> should </b> be valued.