What's the worst you have heard of?

FireWyrm

thecassman86 wrote: »

I'd never tell anybody how to raise their children but when the time comes for me to become a Dad i'll certainly be teaching my kids about financing and swatting them up on my spreadsheet!!

Beware though...my eldest (10) was watching the OH play Assassins Creed (the pirate one) and was commenting on the types of cutless he should be buying. She was of the opinion that since the British Naval one had the same damage stats as another one, but cost more, it was actually better to buy the other sword instead...:rotfl::rotfl:

She was also scandalized at the cost of a coat I bought recently demanding to know why I had spent £100, when I could have bought an anorak for £10. She was only half right, the coat was a replacement for another one I had had for 20 years.

On another occassion, she offered some sage wisdom while watching a PDL advert....

"Why do people borrow money from them? If they havnt got it this month, why do they think they'll have it next month plus the money you pay to buy the money"...(direct quote)

Indeed.
Out of the mouths of babes.

thecassman86 wrote: »

Perhaps the trick to getting your LBM earlier is actually to not need one at all - we all just know from the start.

When I started work, my father said to put the first wage packet in a savings account and dont touch it until next payday.

How I wish I'd listened.

zenthra

my debt back in 2005 (just before i started my IVA) was £85,000. i now am debt free and have an ISA of £4,000 and rising.. it was a big turn around but i am now a changed person with my attitude towards money!

thecassman86

FireWyrm wrote: »

Beware though...my eldest (10) was watching the OH play Assassins Creed (the pirate one) and was commenting on the types of cutless he should be buying. She was of the opinion that since the British Naval one had the same damage stats as another one, but cost more, it was actually better to buy the other sword instead...:rotfl::rotfl:

She was also scandalized at the cost of a coat I bought recently demanding to know why I had spent £100, when I could have bought an anorak for £10. She was only half right, the coat was a replacement for another one I had had for 20 years.

On another occassion, she offered some sage wisdom while watching a PDL advert....

"Why do people borrow money from them? If they havnt got it this month, why do they think they'll have it next month plus the money you pay to buy the money"...(direct quote)

Indeed.
Out of the mouths of babes.

Ha ha, brilliant ... Hey, that's great though. I honestly think children that think like that at 10 are much less likely to get into debt when they're older! Although yes, the extra scrutiny you get in the meantime must be a drag


And yes, words of true wisdom there from your father. I fear none of us would have done that yet all agree we wished we had!

FireWyrm

thecassman86 wrote: »

Ha ha, brilliant ... Hey, that's great though. I honestly think children that think like that at 10 are much less likely to get into debt when they're older! Although yes, the extra scrutiny you get in the meantime must be a drag

She puts away half her pocket money in a piggy bank each week...no joke. She also chiddies her younger sister who spends her whole pocket money on sweets. She has been known to buy a packet of biscuits instead of sweets reasoning that the biscuits weigh more than the sweets and therefore she gets more for her money.

I worry about her sometimes.

National_Debtline

Here's the breakdown from our callers from this January:

• 39% of callers owed between £1 and £5,000
• 32% owed between £5,000 and £15,000
• 12% owed between £15,000 and £25,000
• 9% owed between £25,000 and £50,000
• 4% owed between £50,000 and £100,000
• 1% owed over £100,000

These amounts do not include secured borrowing like mortgages or secured loans (unless there are arrears, in that case we generally list just the arrears figures). I hope this gives you an idea as to the general callers we speak to.

Best wishes,

David.

tallyhoh

My OH owes approx. £50,000 accrued in the last 3 years. That's not taking into account the statute barred debts from 2003 which amount to possibly £100,000.

Firewalker

We had £100,000 worth of debt and this was twice our take home income. We paid it off in three years - by getting spending under control and increasing income further.

Oh, and it is easy to happen - failed business; misguided attempt to protect your loved one and refusal to even think about money do it.

Firewalker

EvaCustard

blisteringblue wrote: »

Debt is relative to income though, A £20k debt to somebody on £20k PA is in principle the same as a £60K debt to somebody earning £60K. It's your ability to repay it.

I think this hits the nail on the head. It's really all to do with your ability to repay.

I'd say our unsecured debt is about £35k including car loan but we can service it.

To be honest it scares me. The debt, I mean.

We bought our house last year and the DIP from the Bank said we could borrow over £350k!! - Our house was £95k - I could not imagine saddling myself with a gigantic mortgage. I don't think I'd ever sleep again. I'd much rather have a modest house that I could do things to and have holidays etc.

I do realise though that we are lucky to not be living in London where house prices are terrifying and some people have no choice but to have huge mortgages

blisteringblue

Its crazy how it gets out of control so quickly. We started to snowball in 2011 with 40k owing, still had access to credit, some 0% deals which we've not paid back and now all in all it's 60k, an increase when we were budgeting too.

I think once it gets above a certain amount it's almost impossible to get down, especially after several rounds of rate jacking, and a little bit of ostrich syndrome.

[Deleted User]

I recall one MSE member, who had close to £1/2 million of debt (admittedly including mortgages), and a household salary of just over £60,000 pa.