Drowning in debt.. or are we all?

view

So watching the program the other night got me thinking. What figure to you personally think would be considered drowning in debt?

I know it would differ on salary and other commitments however, someone might think £1000 is where for others it might be higher despite salary/other commitments. Or is it a case of you are only just meeting commitments and keeping the head above water with little money for anything else..

Personally I feel anything above £10k (not including mortgage) would feel like really drowning in debt.

The_Boss

I'd say where I was paying interest on debts and the interest added each month was greater than what I could afford to pay off.

I've not paid interest for a few years though so my debts have always been coming down.

diamondfan25

I was in debt of nearly 20k, so yeahhh I was drowning or I may of drowned & OH gave me cpr, which ever way I look at it I was in a bad place

Puddylove

I would say it very much depends on individual circumstance particularly income.
I currently owe around £13k but to me that's manageable as I earn nearly four times that each year.
I have never paid the minimum, been late or defaulted, never had a payday loan etc.
I am very conscious that my luck and circumstances could change at any time though, so paying it off as quickly as I can.

woodformoretrees

I think it's completely dependent on the % of your monthly wage that's getting eaten up by repayments. Some people would be drowning with a 10k debt, others are just floating by on a lilo.

The_Boss

Agree with the above comments. I owed £23k at worst and that was manageable because of 0% credit card rates and the fact I was paying off £700 of actual debt most months. But if interest on my debt meant that this £700 wasn't even paying off interest accrued each monyh then I would have been drowning.

BillJones

view wrote: »

Personally I feel anything above £10k (not including mortgage) would feel like really drowning in debt.

I'm on a very good wage, as is my wife, and I feel distinctly uncomfortable at the £2,000 that I owe Mercedes, having financed a small part of my car to take advantage of the great offer that they had on. The moment I am allowed to pay this back I will.

For some reason the mortgage feels different, but I doubt that I will ever, ever borrow again, as I dislike debt so much.

So, to answer your question, any debt at all feels like drowning in it to me.

Kate_fixing_it

It's my opinion that many people don't realise they are drowning until a spanner is thrown into the works. I was merrily paying off everything I could and throwing every penny at my debt. I thought I was doing brilliantly. All it took was a tax credit correction and a car repair and suddenly I have the weight of my mistakes on my shoulders, £400 of payments due and not enough income to cover it. I had no idea I was treading water.

My debt is under half my annual salary. DH has a similar salary but we cannot clear this debt alone. Thankfully step change is around to throw me a life jacket.

I have 10k and I'm drowning, with 3k more I wasn't. I currently have no car (can't afford to fix it) limited income and the way out is going to be long and difficult. I've screwed any chance of credit for the next 6 years (which is actually a good thing for me).

One persons ocean is another person's puddle.

Kate x

jackieblack

Kate_fixing_it wrote: »

One persons ocean is another person's puddle.

So true.

For me, any money paid in interest is money wasted.
I accept that we need a mortgage in order to buy a home, but still dislike this.
Other than our mortgage the only debt we have is on a 0% cc with the equivalent amount (to the penny) in a savings account ready to pay it off at the end of the 0% period, but I still struggle with this. My head knows it's financially benefitting us, but my heart just wants the debt gone

thecassman86

The_Boss wrote: »

I'd say where I was paying interest on debts and the interest added each month was greater than what I could afford to pay off.

I've not paid interest for a few years though so my debts have always been coming down.

This is exactly how i feel about it... I think if your debts are going down and there is a DFD that isn't unreasonable then you are managing the debt. As soon as the interest approaches what you can afford to pay then your debts will never go down - or worse, go up! That's what i'd consider drowning.

Some people would consider £1000 of debt as drowning... Whereas others will comfortably be able to pay £1000 per month towards their own debts without any problems... It's all down to your own circumstances really.

Trishiapp

I currently owe £1157. Whilst its not a lot ( relatively speaking) it's plenty enough for me!

I have good money coming in, but no savings, which is why, once I payed this off, I will never get into debt again! Ever!


I also agree that, any interest paid, its money down the drain.