Grandparents

macaque_2

What if the value of your house fell? There is a world of difference between a £30k secured debt and a £30k unsecured debt.

Earlier generations were brought up with a healthy suspicion of debt. What would your grandparents say to you now?

Total UK personal debt at the end of May 2010 stood at £1,460 billion.

Average owed by every UK adult is £30,000 (including mortgages). This is 126% of average earnings. Average outstanding mortgage for the 11.4 million households who currently have mortgages now stands at £108,972.

http://www.bestadvice.net/story.php?id=18660

beecher2

To me personally? They'd say 'good on you for being debt free and not feeling you have to keep up with everything else by buying the latest tat'. Not everyone was sucked in by the hype.

Jojo1daffy

How can the average debt be £30k, including mortgages? Is that excluding...? If the average outstanding mortgage is £108,972.....
I'm about £30k in debt excluding mortgage. Glad to know I'm not on me own

My Gran would be head-in-hand ashamed.

beecher2

Jojo1daffy wrote: »

How can the average debt be £30k, including mortgages? Is that excluding...? If the average outstanding mortgage is £108,972.....
.

Because not everyone has a mortgage - the article states only 11.4 households do, which is about half of all households. Plus the article's talking about 'adults' not 'households'

PasturesNew

My grandad died in 1971, my grandma in 1984. They lived in a council house. No idea what they'd say, but I do know that for Xmas each year I'd get a pair of tights. That was all. Bit different to what today's grandparents get their grandkids. One year my grandad gave me a small rug he'd made himself. I loved that rug. I've often thought of rug-making.

My other grandparents died in 1951 and 1974, so didn't know them so well.... and they weren't in the country. Used to get sent a pair of PJs from my grandma from there... I loved looking forward to getting a new pair of PJs for Xmas.

vaporate

I have no debt so count me out.

Jojo1daffy

beecher2 wrote: »

Because not everyone has a mortgage - the article states only 11.4 households do, which is about half of all households. Plus the article's talking about 'adults' not 'households'

Thank's for clarifying that for me, its been a long day

silvercar

Earlier generations were brought up with a healthy suspicion of debt. What would your grandparents say to you now?

My grandfather didn't believe in any debt, consequently they never had a mortgage. My father was brought up in a tiny flat, totally unsuitable for children. Years later my grandparents acknowledged that their children would probably have had a more pleasant childhood if they had taken a mortgage and bought a house sooner.

RenovationMan

I'm £270k in debt including mortgage. I'm doing my best to push up those averages! My grandparents would wonder why I wanted to live in a such an old clanger of a house when there are so many nice modern ones around.

SingleSue

My maternal grandmother lived in a council house and had no debts.....she didn't even have a cheque book, my grandfather died before I was born.

My paternal grandmother lived in an owned house and had no debts, she did have a cheque book but never a credit card, my grandfather died when I was 1.

My parents own their home outright and have done since the early 70's (mortgage taken out in 1969, paid off in 73/74 ish), they don't have a credit card, they don't have an overdraft and they don't have any loans or finance for cars/laptops etc.

I live in housing association, I have one credit card kept from married days just to keep the credit rating ticking over (only a very small limit and used once or twice a month and then paid off in full), no loans, no finance, no overdraft.

vivatifosi

My granddad was a footballer for a then major club in the pre-Matthews days and his win bonus was a chicken, so I doubt he would recognise anything of the world today.

Having said that, my mum as a kid remembers doing the "moonlight flit" to leave the house where they were living when his business went down with a string of bills unpaid, so I daresay there have always been people with financial problems.