How long have you been in debt for?

Malky

From turning 18 and getting my first credit card, I racked up debts right up until I was 35 so a total of 17 years. I'd hate to look back and see how much I paid/wasted on interest all those years by paying just minimum payments.
I eventually managed to break the habit and have been debt free for 5 years :j

DNW_2

Well done on the 5 year debt free :j:T


I went OD on my very first salary payment when I was 16 and it's all gone downhill from there. I'm 40 now and got huge debts. In fact it works out that over the last 26 years, I've been spending approx £8 more than I earn every day

I like looking at things this way though as it makes me feel even better about now finally stepping off the credit merry-go-round and taking control

Billy-no-Money

It all started with my student overdraft, so I suppose it's been around 25 years.... there have been ups and downs in that time, but I've always had unsecured debt of some sort, and nothing specific to show for it!

If I clear it before I'm 50, that'll be just under 30 years

goodgirl80

About 3 times within 12 years. I think it's important to differentiate between having a credit card and managing that credit, and being 'in debt' where you can't afford to meet the min payments, etc..

Melmoneysaver

I started racking up debts at around 21 and it took me till I was 35 to get debt free, I spent all my 20's racking it up and then from 30-35 paying it off and being stone dead broke, I feel guilty that I only really had a LBM when my dd was around 2 and realised that she would be 9 before it was all gone if I stuck to my plan of becoming debt free and that seemed so far away at the time, but here we are, dd is 9 in june and we can look forward to the rest of lives being debt free (one hopes!)

Hannah_10

Like many others, it started at 18 with a student account and an overdraft. I don't think I can honestly say I have ever been totally debt free, nor will I ever be in one way because some are now statute barred and I don't ever intend to pay those. I will count myself as debt free when I have paid everthing I'm going to pay.

GeorgieFTB

goodgirl80 wrote: »

About 3 times within 12 years. I think it's important to differentiate between having a credit card and managing that credit, and being 'in debt' where you can't afford to meet the min payments, etc..

I kind of half agree with you, in theory nobody should be in debt 24/7. There should be a reason for debts... need a new car, boiler breaks down, I can think of loads more... but day to day spending is where most seem to start getting in trouble.

But thats not how the world works, as far as I can see we are the freaks, the rest of the world seem to think its normal to have several CCs, HP and the rest. I think its really interesting that most that have replied started early and spent a good portion of their lives in debt.

Gx

Gordon_Hose

16 years on and off.

ElmerFudd

Congrats on being debt free for 5 years . I myself started getting into debt in 1998 (student overdraft, bank freezes etc, then relying heavily on the CCs) and it's just snowballed from there. It was fairly manageable until 2001 when I became unemployed for a few years. Now I have a fairly large amount of debt that, as long as everything remains the same income wise should be paid off in 5 years.

May2013

I started spending on my first credit card when I was 22 and from that day forwards started living beyond my means until my LBM in 2007, by then I had maxed out five credit cards, a bank loan and an overdraft...I'm 46 now and won't be debt free for another 2 years...that will be 26 years in total

Sharon87

0Well I've been in debt since my student overdraft at 18. (sounds familiar to some people on here) I'm 23 almost 24, but it's manageable for me, I know how to control it and now I'm earning more than I've ever earned I can pay some of it off. Don't think I'll pay it all off any time soon, but hopefully will in a few years, but I'm still going to enjoy myself.