Is it ok to have some unsecured debt??

John1993_2

worriedwilf wrote: »

Do my question is..... Is some unsecured debt ok??? If it's maangeable???

Well, as the question is worded, then I'd not think it strange if someone took out a small car loan for a year when starting their first job from college, but it's hard to see, other than that, why anyone would choose to have any at all.

Why this desire to have debt? Can't you learn that it's a bad thing, and find your way to managing your finances properly long-term?

Your destiny is not in your own hands if you've debt that you need a job to service.

quantic

Personally, I would always recommend saving up to buy something over getting into debt, some would argue that if you can't save up you can't afford to buy it with debt either.

I think it depends greatly on what it is really, I sometimes put car tax etc on my 0% cc, even though I can afford to pay for it in full I would rather just spread it over the months its for, wish they would allow you to pay that monthly really.

I think the problem with debt is, you commit yourself to future payments and while you may be able to afford it now with ease your situation can change very quickly.

[Deleted User]

bargainbetty wrote: »

Then again, it is your life, your money, your choice!

Correction. "it is your life, someone else's money, your choice!"

Cycrow

there can be some advantages to debt.

i have an argos store card which has buy now pay later, so i can get stuff on interfere free credit.

so throughout the year i can buy stuff on this card then on my cashback cards anniversary i use that to pay off the total balance, earning me twice the cashback (get double cashback 1 month a year).

And i can also put the money i would have used to buy the items into a savings account to earn a small amount of money until its time to pay it off.

Of course, some debts are unavoidable, the last debt i got into was down to needing money to relocate after starting a new job, i would rather get into some debt than not get the job

dreamdreamer

I agree, most debt is not good. I certainly didn't feel comfortable with my debt at any level, for the simple fact that I couldn't guilt-free save money or spend money on anything without that nagging feeling that I should be paying what I owed instead.

I do have a credit card, for the cashback and to keep my credit report active for when we want to remortgage etc. We also bought our sofa on a BNPL 0% deal. We had the money to buy it outright, but we thought why use it when we could leave it in a savings account for 4 years and pay £X per month instead. It's earned us about £180 in interest in that time! Due to be paid off in a few months.

I'll always abuse a 0% deal *IF* I could clear it tomorrow if I wanted, but I'll never again pay interest on unsecured debt if I can help it, it's just throwing money away!

You say you'd feel comfortable with £10k of debt - if that debt is at 18% (which many credit cards are these days) it's costing you £1800 a year just in interest! That's a very nice holiday paid for just in the interest payments if you pay it off.

ChopperST

Totally agree with the poster above.

Not all debt is bad.

We recently moved house and bought new furniture and budgeted for it. When it came to buying beds, sofas, wardrobes etc. we asked in store how much discount we could get for buying goods outright and not using finance. The answer in all three stores was nothing.

We therefore bought everything on 0% interest free and left the money in savings for the next 4 years.