How did you get into debt

chunky79

The debt i have is all becuase we bought this house.

I bought the house purely because the prices were rising fast and it had a good size garden, what we did not realise was that the house needing gutting all the way through. We took out a 15k loan and we managed to do it all for that which i suppose is quite an acheivement. Now i want to get it paid off as well as the mortgage! The day i bought this house i started a job thinking get the decorating doen and then i will be a sahm! 3 years later and still there. So now i am back at work of AML and not being used to the money i have decided that the old me going to town everyweek and frittering is gone. I want to see something for our money money not just material items that last 2 minutes. I want to be proud of our acheivements. We have had some luck in the fact that OH doubled his salary when he found a job doing what he is trained to do as there are few and far between where we live. So with that stroke of luck we can use my earings to acheive the overpayments if my teeth stop rotting and things stop breaking :rotfl:

tiggat28

My debt was caused by my step daughter, lent her £10,000 in 2004 on a credit card rate 3.9% for 9 months. Only had 2 payments from her in that period. Had to transfer debt over to a loan for 8 years which my husband then took out in his name with interest of nearly £3,400. Debt still not paid so took her to court - all court costs now added on debt amount is now £14,000. She now has a CCJ and is only paying £80 on an attachment of earnings each month, but this will stop as she will be exempt from paying because she is now pregnant. This has caused a rift with both families and the money problem is still there and we are struggling financially while her lifestyle has not changed!!!

tryinhardtosavethepennies

coops024 wrote: »

Most of mine was getting on the property ladder !

We had to take out a £7000 loan to boost our deposit and already had an £8000 loan (for the car) so yeah now have £15000 to pay and a £120,000 Mortgage !

But I am a big fan if this site and these forums ! so hope to pay it off sooner that the bank have planned !

Its funny but I didnt see the £15000 as a huge debt but after reading loads of posts on here It does seem quite high !

Me too! Got out of Uni with a small student loan (still not paying it off because I don't earn enough! how ironic...) two maxed out overdrafts and a little bit on a couple of credit cards. Had savings which we used to pay these debts off when we got married straight after I'd graduated, and then started to save for a deposit to buy a house.

That's when it all fell apart. Couldn't afford a shoebox round here unless it was falling apart so we did (and were very lucky to afford a house) but had to take a 100% mortgage, interest only based on 5 times my husband's salary (wouldn't take mine into account) then took a loan to do the place up, borrowed from parents too. Still had a car loan from beforehand, so all in all owed somewhere in the region of £20000-25000!!! (plus a >£100000 mortgage!)

Finally bit the bullet and released the equity we'd built into the house and cleared most of our debts. Feeling quite comfortable now, but that's the danger isn't it?! Been spending like we're earning millions this last month so need to reign it back in now!! I do NOT want to get into that state again - so much so that I don't even want to venture into my interest free A&L overdraft!

painted_lady

I rented a flat which I couldnt afford when i graduated. I then thought it was essential to go travelling, I have relatives in Canada and have been there loads of times. I worked in America for a while, which didnt pay well, but salary included accomodation and bills etc, so not bad. I have travelled all over the world.
I was born with a medical problem that got worse 3 years ago, it is now harder for me to travel, I also have a baby now.
I woudlnt change anything in return for the memories I have, I have bungy jumped in New Zealand, had a Cuban Policeman hitch a lift in my hire car, got very drunk in New York, white water rafted in canada, hung out with Orangutans iN Singapore, ridden motorbikes in Vietnam.
I have had a fantastic time and am pleased I did this while my health was a lot better than it is now. I would do the same again.

Baron_Greenback_2

Living beyond my means and then inserting my head into a bucket of sand!

consumerpower

I feel so ashamed too after reading about people who through illness or other much more vailable reasons have got into debt.

I got into debt because I thought that being in debt did not matter, focusing on all the things I wanted regardless wether I could afford them. Basically i use to think how much have I got available to spend on my credit card not how much do I owe. Until i got to the stage where I couldnt pay the minium payments, I had no money the day after I got paid (yeah seriously).

The thing is I will never forgive myself for putting my OH through it, he had to take out the loan to consolidate my debts in his name, after he paid for our wedding and honeymoon, put down the deposit on our house, takes me on holidays each year etc. I considered leaving him so he wouldnt be involved with me finanacially, but now what the thought on leaving him was worse than the whole debt situation, I knew I had to tell him, I think it is my love for him that has got me through, and makes me want to pay back all my debt. He is 40 in four years my aim is to be debt free and to have saved enough money to take him on holiday!

I am sorry but the monkey story is bloody funny! I mean I have brought some crap but a monkey..? Surely monkey selling is illegal..?

Not that what he did to you was funny, but you are funny I think you should start you own thread and cheer us all up!

Debt147

Well mine is due to buying a house when house prices were high yet still thinking I could live like I did when I lived at my parents because 'on paper' it looked like I could and then having a couple of hefty bereavements and using gambling as a means to escape my real issues.

Luckily I realised the error of my ways and my life is gambling free, and I feel so much better

katherinedrex

Just read your post. Be proud of yourself mate, you beat your addictions and even when you got knocked down you didn't use that crutch again you just got up again and dusted yourself down :T :beer:

At times it feels like your just waiting for another train to come along but there is light at the end of EVERY tunnel it's just some tunnels are longer than we think because we've been in the dark for so long but eventually the light bursts through :A

Good luck and keep us updated on how you're getting on :A

Kathy D xx

tightfistedmoneysaver123

The problem is that too many people now have the attitude 'live today and pay tommorow' and don't save for a 'rainy day' anymore like myself.

I ran up all my credit cards when I was in a relationship without a child and on a decent salary, I didn't know I was going to get pregnant, lose my job and my partner leave me!

Consequently at the moment I don't work either (dependant child age 12 months) as the child care costs eliminate any earnings!

I am so mad at myself at being in debt because it's probably what split up my relationship and I don't really have any thing 'material' wise to the value of my debts to show for it.

I can understand your frustration about what the woman in the street said, but maybe it was because she has to choose between paying her credit card bill or feeding her children?

At the end of the day, I have always paid my bills in full and on time and now I'm struggling (last three months) and i'm not getting any sympathy from any of my creditors, so you do come to a point where you think 'stuff 'em.

The credit card and loan companies should not make it so easy, they are partly to blame i'm afraid.

Please let me know what you think of my point of view if you have a spare few mins. Thanks.

steve700

tightfistedmoneysaver123 wrote: »

I ran up all my credit cards when I was in a relationship without a child and on a decent salary, I didn't know I was going to get pregnant

The credit card and loan companies should not make it so easy, they are partly to blame i'm afraid.

Please let me know what you think of my point of view if you have a spare few mins. Thanks.

I don't mean to sound harsh here but perhaps if you had thought a little more aout contraception than spending, you may not be in this situation.

I think that some people look for the easy way out - even though they have incurred the debts through their own greed for the latest gadgets, fine foods, etc.

To just offer half when you have 'lived the high life' makes me so mad, especially when I see people on here that are paying back 30 or 40 thousand pounds as they have PRIDE.

I even saw one young person on here contemplating Bankruptcy for £3k..............