I got into debt trying to keep a roof over my head and yet....

PropertyGuru

richardvc wrote:

I will be paying my debts off for about another 4 to 5 years

Good for you sir! Living up to your responsibilities!

Zulu_Dawn

To add to the mix I was a compulsive gambler.

I cannot go bankrupt because of my profession and so I am slowly paying everything back. This will take me until I'm 60.

Whilst I know how stupid I was, I do question whether the lenders are totally innocent.

In the USA, a bartender who gives a drunk another drink can find themselves in real trouble if that drunk crashes their car or causes an accident.

I had many times when after taking out huge amounts on credit cards to play online gambling, I would have credit limits doubled by the provider or special secured loans offered to me etc. My available credit at the time I stopped gambling was over 5 times my gross annual salary, a sum that was clearly unsustainable.

They have also received many thousands of pounds from me in charges and interest (sometimes at 30% apr).

If they end up not getting every penny back from me, is that so wrong?

ZD

richardvc

Zulu_Dawn wrote:

To add to the mix I was a compulsive gambler.

I cannot go bankrupt because of my profession and so I am slowly paying everything back. This will take me until I'm 60.

Whilst I know how stupid I was, I do question whether the lenders are totally innocent.

In the USA, a bartender who gives a drunk another drink can find themselves in real trouble if that drunk crashes their car or causes an accident.

I had many times when after taking out huge amounts on credit cards to play online gambling, I would have credit limits doubled by the provider or special secured loans offered to me etc. My available credit at the time I stopped gambling was over 5 times my gross annual salary, a sum that was clearly unsustainable.

They have also received many thousands of pounds from me in charges and interest (sometimes at 30% apr).

If they end up not getting every penny back from me, is that so wrong?

ZD

Crumbs, talk about a different perspective on things and one that has got me thinking.

I admire your honesty and see your point.

Whilst I do agree with you totally that the credit companies make it very easy to give you money and those same companies offer no / little advice regarding debt I guess I am still a believer that we are all ultimately responsible for our own actions.

Let's remember that the banks etc don't point a gun at our heads forcing us to accept credit.

Dr.Shoe_2

I had to take £200-300 per week pay cut a while back.

Zulu_Dawn

I agree that banks don't force you to accept credit.

However if there was a stall selling crack on interest free credit outside the hospital, you wouldn't simply blame the junkies who took them up on the deal.

Tr@cker

Which gambling medium out of interest Zula Dawn ? Its a growing problem is on-line gambling and far from do anything about it this government-LABOUR government are aiding and abetting it, they're disgusting.
I hope you're fully recovered if thats possible compulsive gambling is a vile addiction as bad as any of the other addictions.
I too pin a lot of the blame on irresponsible lending by the institutions in this Country, they know exactly what they're doing inducing gullible people in some cases into massive debt far beyond what they can afford to repay.
Ive never owned a house myself its a myth the great homeowning rip-off by the time you've paid up you're probably ready for knackers yard then leave to it someone else!
Mind you such sustained low interest rates have contributed to soaring house prices so some young people may never own now anyway.
I personally would have no problem at all going bankrupt if i had to businessmen do it all the time and just shug it off like it never happened-maybe thats the difference between them and you-YOU are honest.

yung

Reading all this make me think back 20 year ago when I was in a position where I will spend money like there is no tomorrow because I was earning a lots, at that time I was in my early 30 married with a baby and new house with a mortgage we were happy. My attitude at the time was I have got a job for life but that soon changed when without warning everyone was made redundant panic set in, did not tell my wife about it because I was in Singapore at the time the redundancy came in. When I got home I sat down with the wife and explained the situation and she was in tears I thought to myself what am I going to do. all types of thoughts flashing through my mind about the future and it was not easy but after a few weeks gone knowing what I was entitled to, thing started to get better and because I was never unemployed since I started working I was determined to seek another job which after 3 months I managed to find, albeit with £ 3000 a year less than I was earning in my previous job. from then on I decided that I will not want to go through this again, that is when I decided to live on 80% of my earning all the time which has done me some good over the year enable me to take early retirement and enjoy life.

richardvc

yung wrote:

Reading all this make me think back 20 year ago when I was in a position where I will spend money like there is no tomorrow because I was earning a lots, at that time I was in my early 30 married with a baby and new house with a mortgage we were happy. My attitude at the time was I have got a job for life but that soon changed when without warning everyone was made redundant panic set in, did not tell my wife about it because I was in Singapore at the time the redundancy came in. When I got home I sat down with the wife and explained the situation and she was in tears I thought to myself what am I going to do. all types of thoughts flashing through my mind about the future and it was not easy but after a few weeks gone knowing what I was entitled to, thing started to get better and because I was never unemployed since I started working I was determined to seek another job which after 3 months I managed to find, albeit with £ 3000 a year less than I was earning in my previous job. from then on I decided that I will not want to go through this again, that is when I decided to live on 80% of my earning all the time which has done me some good over the year enable me to take early retirement and enjoy life.

Sounds great if you can afford to do it !! Well done to you though for being a real DFW.

going2die_rich

Zulu_Dawn wrote:

They have also received many thousands of pounds from me in charges and interest (sometimes at 30% apr).

If they end up not getting every penny back from me, is that so wrong?

ZD

Yes if I was the one that would suffer do to lower profits. Don't forget normal people (i.e you don't have to be a millionaire) can have shares in Banks too. A lot of banks give it's employees shares as part of their incentives. It's not just millionaires losing out on money but also everyday hard working people too.

So don't make out it's fine because they've made X amount off you already so you deserve to wipe out a debt because you struggle to pay it. They've provided you a service with terms and you broke the terms hence the charges.

Do you really think the banks don't try and recoup the loses they make through bankruptcy? Thats their justification for such high interest rates, because people do just go down the bankruptcy route, so other people suffer with higher charges.

going2die_rich

Zulu_Dawn wrote:

I agree that banks don't force you to accept credit.

However if there was a stall selling crack on interest free credit outside the hospital, you wouldn't simply blame the junkies who took them up on the deal.

I personnally would blame the junkies as everyone knows the effects of drugs, so you know from the first time you take it, no excuses. It just shows you are stupid and with stupidity like that you were bound to end up in some gutter unless you were put in a padded cell for the rest of your life.

Even a 10 year old knows nothings for free, so why would an 18+ year old think banks are giving away free money?

I think it just shows poor character if you don't live within your means and do just live the lifestyle of "I'll put it on the card and pay tomorrow".