what's the worst you have heard of?

bearcat16

From what I've seen here on MSE forums, large debt is often accumulated slowly. Like living beyond one's means by a few hundred pounds each month.

Do that for a few years and you find yourself heavily in debt with mothing to show for it.

yuiop220

It is definitely fixable for your brother on his salary but he will have to cut back drastically if he wants to get it down in a reasonable time frame.

meer53

Elsewhere wrote: »

My daughter (like the rest of our family) has always been very careful with her money. She is now 32, has saved £100,000 and is about to buy her first house outright.

Not a very nice comment really, it's not nice to gloat over other peoples problems. I hope the OP ignores it, it should be removed really.

Maximum_Saving

I know that banks offer university students credit cards. Borrowing money is seen as so easy do and is very acceptable in society. People that work in big cities like London can earn figures like £50,000 a year and they typically spend a lot. The banks see their earnings are large and give them credit cards with high limits. It is easy to spend with a credit card and it is more difficult to spend using just cash.

I wish your brother tries to pay off his debts using the snowball method. He will feel so happy paying off the lowest debt and then can work at paying off his next biggest debt. He must make sure he pays the minimum payment on all of his debts. Try to look at a snowball calculator with him. Your brother will reach a debt free day in the future. Good luck to your brother and well done for helping him.

JES_F1

mmyers80 wrote: »

he owes 85K in unsecured debts on a salary of 50K. He is in a mess. We are planning to speak to Stepchange this week.

Is this sort of debt level common and is it fixable on his salary of 50k? I cannot offer him any financial support.

When I faced my own financial mess, I had almost £46,000 of unsecured debt and a salary of about £22,000.

I can highly recommend Step Change. I did a debt management plan and it took just over five years to pay it all back.

It's quite scarey to start with. For example, it can be a bit fraught dealing with letters and calls from creditors but having set up the DMP gave me the strength and confidence to always respond with "you know I have financial problems so have a DMP with Step Change and you'll be getting X amount each month".

I wondered how I'd cope 'without any money' but adapted surprisingly quicky to my new budget. And becoming debt free was the most awesome feeling!

Going through all this completely changed how I approach money - each month, I now save a substantial amount and pay off my one credit card in full, for example.

I wish your brother lots of luck. It can be sorted! And there's lots of great advice and support on this forum.

dumpyboy

When my partner left in 2007 , after the shock off her and the children going , then losing the house found out I I owed 68 neraly 69 thousand pound ,was a total shocked all ways thought we were doing well now at the start of 2016 it s down to 3500 pound all ways earned between 20 and 25 thousand a year so it should be doable on 50000

getmore4less

you get a full range.

this is by no means unusual between 1&2 times salary

For some on low incomes even a few hundred is a struggle, on another forum someone came with around £170k on top of the mortgage.


what really matters is can something be done personally I think any plan over 5 years needs action.

if the snowball won't work can a DMP freezing all interest, if that does not work then an arrangement to pay and ultimately Bankruptcy


a snowball looks like it would be too long 10% interest 5years is £1800pm
looking at 5y DMP £85k is £1420pm

On a £50k(£3kpm) salary that is probably within range depending on expenses.

At that age maybe a few wage increases are on the cards so could start with a slightly longer plan with a view to overpaying with pay rises.

full details may change things eg if there is a car loan and the car can be sold

have a look at the SOA that people have done to get an idea of what you need to start with to get the picture.

Finding out how/why is about stopping the pattern not judging what went before.

getmore4less

Elsewhere wrote: »

My daughter (like the rest of our family) has always been very careful with her money. She is now 32, has saved £100,000 and is about to buy her first house outright.

MY guess is that the thing the OPs brother needs right now is a girlfriend with smug parent

Elsewhere

getmore4less wrote: »

MY guess is that the thing the OPs brother needs right now is a girlfriend with smug parent

My post was purely in response to this in the post right above my original comment and not a comment on the OPs post :-
"a reflection on today's society that many people want instant gratification rather than the discipline of saving and waiting for things they want. Bad financial education and ready credit available makes it a potent mix which often leads to disaster. "

I get very annoyed that people make generalisations about young people's behaviour; many are capable of controlling their finances. However, I apologise for upsetting the OP who is obviously concerned about their brother - my irritation should have been vented in a more general thread.

Crashy_Time

mmyers80 wrote: »

I am currently helping my brother sort out his finances. he owes 85K in unsecured debts on a salary of 50K. He is in a mess. We are planning to speak to Stepchange this week. He is 28 years old!

I don't have any debts apart from my mortgage so I have never been in his position. He reckons that he knows other people who have debts of a similar to but I don't think I know anyone who owes such a huge amount. I am still trying to establish how his debts reached such a level

Is this sort of debt level common and is it fixable on his salary of 50k? I cannot offer him any financial support.

How much is your mortgage?