feel ashamed by our debt level

Mort

midlander81 wrote: »

I know it's not a competition and that everyone has different circumstances/income etc but I feel really dreadful and ashamed that I have ended up in this situation.

There no need for you to feel ashamed, anyone can make mistakes and the way credit works the more your income is the more lenders will loan to you. By addressing the debt issue you are doing the right thing.

Anaheim

Hi Midlander

Don't feel ashamed, I know its easier said than done though. We had a decent joint income of around 55K but had debts totalling 52K!

We thought it was manageable at one point and stuck our heads in the sand and carried on. Things came to a head and we took a step back and took the decision to knuckle down and clear everything.

It took us just over four years and we are now completely debt free :j Spreadsheets were our best friend, you must have an emergency fund and a fund to allow occasional treats.

Its not easy but it is satisfying and the benefits are enormous!

Good luck

National_Debtline

Hello there,

What's important to consider is that the amount you owe might not be the most important thign to concentrate on. What's more important is your ability to repay the debt and how long it might take. As you've already highlighted, your joint income is higher than average.

To give you an idea about general debt levels, here's some statistics from our callers in May. Please bear in mind these figures are not representative of typical debt levels for the UK - simply the callers to our charity.

44% of our callers owed between £1 and £5,000
30% of our callers owed between £5,000 and £15,000
10% of our callers owed between £15,000 and £25,000
9% of our callers owed between £25,000 and £50,000
3% of our callers owed between £50,000 and £100,000
1% of our callers owed over £100,000

The above figures do not take into consideration any money owing on mortgages (unless there are arrears, then it's just the arrears that are considered).

If you have any further questions please feel free to ask.

Best wishes,

David @ National Debtline.

bargainbetty

Have a look at this too

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5023056

National_Debtline

Oh do excuse my typos earlier. It has been one of those days!

- David.

carrielovesfanta

Don't feel ashamed for the amount debt - feel proud that you are tackling it before it becomes completely out of control

I had approx. £10k debt on a salary of £18k (to begin with) which is a similar ratio of debt:income as you guys.

You will succeed

Puddylove

I admire you for taking steps to pay back what you owe, OP, rather than trying to weasel out of it.

Be proud of your resolve.

tlc678910

When I watched the tutorials to learn about the YNAB budgeting software it struck a chord with me when the guy said that people tend to think if they earned more they would not be in debt but that this is rarely the case. We have earned more and we have earned less and we have never had any money at the end of the month, plus slowly growing credit cards so I think this is true for us! We need a new approach.

It is my observation on the forum that the higher the earners the bigger the debt (not at all surprising of course as people on high incomes with little or no debt won't need this support) but sometimes previous high earners who have faced redundancy post and then their high debt levels with sudden loss of income leaves them in a very sticky situation as it is difficult to get another job so well paid.

So even if your debt repayment seems fairly manageable it is prudent to get rid of it asap so that you are able to cope if your circumstances ever change. Good luck.

Growurown

Our debt was around £50,000 when we embarked upon a DMP with Step Change 3 years ago. We now owe just under £17,000 with a year and a half to go until we are debt free.

National_Debtline

Growurown wrote: »

Our debt was around £50,000 when we embarked upon a DMP with Step Change 3 years ago. We now owe just under £17,000 with a year and a half to go until we are debt free.

That's really impressive, you've really made serious inroads!

- David.