How did u get into debt ?

cupkate

Just_Plain_Jane wrote: »

I got into debt after using my credit card to cover bills and general living expenses while my ex husband p*ssed his wages up the wall.

Ha! You and me both! At least we finally had the sense to make them EX husbands

IDProtected

Simply by what H M Revenue & Customs call "innocent error". Innocent or not, they still wanted 100% penalties, plus interest for about 7 years worth of underpaid tax. Hence the loan, second charge and cash credit card to pay the b****ds off.

Innocent until proven innocent.

cydney65

It started with the civil partnership, the dress, the gazebo, bridesmaids outfits...then DD2 got married, the dress, the venue, the food and then we moved house! Soon I'm 17 grand down the swanee, lying to my other half about the amount before having my lightbulb moment.
Getting there now though, only another £2800 to go

NVP2123

I know this reply may not be very popular but I don't consider myself to be in debt.

I owe, including my mortgate, less than 22% of the value of my home.

My loan and credit cards willl be paid off in 2 years and my morrgate in 18yrs.

I use this website to enable me to stay in this position or decrease my borrowings sooner.

sdt1986

2 posts in 4 years, you're certainly not in debt with that post ratio!

Me, 18 year old, first full time job going well earning a good little bit and living within my means other than a few clothes on the store card but it always was paid within the 56 days all my mates were trades people so were earning a pittance in comparison to me at the time. We decided to go on holiday and I wanted a laptop, so I had a nosey at a loan as a quick way of doing it rather than saving, got a £1500 loan or something like that including interest, payable back was £131 a month over 12 months I think roughly, piece of cake I thought, mates are all earning like £500 a month and I'm on £800 before any possible extra bonus, we do the same things etc of course I can pay it back....
Within 30 days I was made unexpectably redundant, didn't have payment protection as at the time of taking the loan I'd only been at the company a month out of the pp criteria. Devastated. I got the laptop for about £700, got some extra money for leaving the job but not much, I then proceeded to go on a bender and party for the last 3 days across two towns with different sets of friends, damaging both my liver and bank account.

For 3 months after that I didn't find a full time job but continued to borrow from parents and spend like I was still in work because at that age I'd got the bug and was scared of missing something in town plus I'd also developed the habit of spending that certain amount of money as you do.

I'd built up to about 3k in debt a bit later despite now working, store cards, my loan charges etc, parents being the worst as they nag you especially if there financial position is not comfortable etc, so bright idea, time to get a consolidation loan 5k loan was acquired, once again not a problem and all that as long as I remain in work and keep going.

Then came 15 months later and the luck part came in, I was assaulted and lost a tooth, a front tooth, no 19 year old should lose a front tooth in his prime when single! Straight to the dentist and he wanted £2k for the new one, had to be done, nothing I could do, at the same time I decided it was time to pack the job in and move away to try and calm down a little, so after some discussions, nagging from me, etc I agreed to get another loan this time in my parents name to keep the interest down. This came to a total of £7500 including interest, this would allow me to pay my first months new rent, deposit, 2k tooth and pay my own loan off in full. This made some sort of sense at the time to try and resurrect my precarious financial position.

5 years later things are only worse, I can't maintain a job despite never really being out of work longer than a couple of months, I tried my hand at being a student but that made things ten times as worse financially. (Finished being a student summer 2008)

So my debt now stands at....

£7k - Student Loan (never completed because it wasn't financially viable to continue, was just pointless but glad I tried it)
£3.5k - Loan in parents name
£1k - Overdraft
£4k - Student accommodation ccj as I didn't bother paying whilst I was there as it became too easy not to in my !!!!ed up state.
£1.3k - Rent and loan arrears to my parents
£500 - Roughly what I owe friends

Overall roughly it's about 16.8k that I owe out, I've made a little headway since January 2009 as it was at 20.7k but at 24 it's !!!!ing !!!!!, I'm single and thus have lived on my own paying £400 rent per month including bills with only one barely above minimum wage coming in. It's !!!!ing hard work seeing £650 leaving your wage monthly when you're only earning around £900-£950 and it's demoralizing as you get into a mindset that your working all that time and see nothing for it, I think that's probably why I've struggled with keeping jobs.

It's the demon drink that has caused 65% of it, 20% is being single which leads to the going out etc and the rest is a mixture of circumstances and sheer stupidity.

One thing I must say, is if I was lucky enough to win £17k on the lottery or something then I can guarantee I'd be awesome with money, I know for a fact I would, what I'd give to have a grand wage coming in and only £400 going out on rent, I'd feel like everyone else again, I'd be able to buy clothes again without going stupid, I'd be able to have a few pints without feeling the need to go crazy because I don't know the next time I'll have the money to go out.

sdt1986

Oh and the worst part of all my debt is the mistake I made getting the 7.5k in my parents name and renting from them, I can never get on a DMP and it's harder to sort out rent arrears, my parents cannot cover the monthly payments as they are broke themselves. Being out of work at the moment I get £330 housing and council tax leaving a £70 shortfall on my rent plus I can't pay them the loan meaning they are shelling out £235 each month I'm out of work which is building up arrears which is what happened last year and as soon as I got into work in January I worked on clearing the arrears I'd built up meaning that I was actually giving out of a 2k wage per month £1.6k, the lack of motivation I felt because I wasn't seeing anything despite knowing what an excellent wage I was was plain to see when I didn't knuckle down hard enough, stupidity most certainly. I just know for a fact had I been seeing £2k in my bank minus the rent per month there is no way I'd have let myself get sacked for a silly thing as I'd feel like I was achieving something, I'd be buying home comforts to make me motivated to work etc.

Also the other destroying part of all this debt is the absolute joke that most call centres now credit check employees meaning I'm struggling like hell to find something local as I'm surrounded by bank call centres for every single bank as that's mainly what this area has in terms of big call centres.

diable

Fast women, fast cars, night clubs and alcohol...... I had lots of fun and enough stories that I could write a book, It took a while but the debts are paid off but by george I had a lot of fcuking fun ;o))))

mum2one

I was in debt before with loan and credit cards back to 2001, but was earing 13.5k + bonuses, all was manageable.
Then 2002, fell pregnant, ended up going off work sick at 6 weeks gone money eventually dropped to £250pm. Got myslef sorted over the yrs, cleared couple debts, my loan.

Then the last few yrs, trying to balance the books, the interest adds up, the car needs work, clothes, holidays, took out a loan to clear most of debts, but didn't go as far as I wished it had done, basically another credit card to live, balance transfers back and forth, not an extranagvent lifestle as I would say 50% of my debt is interest / charges been added on. Depression didn't help. get stuff didn't need, maninly clothes for my daughter, single mum, dad disappeared, felt I had to be 2 parents and that she never went without. Now hit 40 am trying my damm hardeat to pay them off. Paid back good sums over the last couple of years, but then had to use the cards to live from as money had gone.
Also topping up my study grants. All goes to quick.

If I ahd top range car, foreign holidays 3 times a yr, then yes be stupid, but no interest keeping it high, so am bobbling along

xeniaalice

PM1CAS wrote: »

For me it all began when I separated 3 years ago. I spent 5k on legal fees as my ex took me all the way to court.

Then there have been numerous things over the three years since, £840 this month for car repair/hire. previous car repairs, new dishwasher, £400. Throw in a month between jobs and two kids and it's been really hard.

I aim to be debt free by Christmas day. I can do it, I know I can.

so many fees that spend on divorce and you must be sad.

billydo

NVP2123 wrote: »

I know this reply may not be very popular but I don't consider myself to be in debt.

I owe, including my mortgate, less than 22% of the value of my home.

My loan and credit cards willl be paid off in 2 years and my morrgate in 18yrs.

I use this website to enable me to stay in this position or decrease my borrowings sooner.

lucky you...hope this continues and you stay in control of your finance. Remember though...everyday all types of people rich,pour,young,old etc....are hit with problems springing up, out of the blue, no fault whats so ever of theirs, and £3000 month salary becomes £300,because they loose job. How dose that feed a family, pay the bills etc....we need more hearts in these tough times. ..not martar........billydo