What Caused Your Debts

spud30

For us, it started with negative equity on a house we had to sell.

Plus, helping someone out in a very big way financially who, with hindsight, didnt deserve our help :mad:

In_Search_Of_Me

Leaving uni (having lived sucessfully on nowt for 5 years!) & getting a reasonably well paid job & then just going mad with money! Put everything on CC & just consoldated every time it got big! Got a new car, did flat up (but cheaply!) and took my mum to NY for a week but mostly just spent way way too much on rubbish! Also had a very expensive spa habit! STill love treatments but now they ar a treat rather than weekly occurence!

immoral_angeluk

Not much money.. not much money sense... too many I want it nows!!!!
That and a car... :P

Spendaholic_Chick

For me its just basically living above my means! When I was married we were always in debt cos first we borrowed the deposit for the house, then had a huuuuuuge white wedding and carribean honeymoon.

We got out of debt when DS was on the way and managed to stay solvent for a couple of years but in the meantime I got a job that paid well plus gave bonuses of around £400-£600 a month and we just got used to it, so when I had to leave due to stress it was a shock to the financial system!

We then accrued a load more debt, and when we split in 2002 I bought him out of our house and got a mortgage to cover the debts and improvemnets on the house. ONce that was done I tried to stay solvent, but I was really depressed and turned to shopping and making the house nice to make me feel better. :mad:

SPANIEL36

my partner.... stupidly i listened to him wen he said well we can pay this with this and that with that.... elastic money by the sounds of it

kristianwilliams

living the playboy lifestyle when in uni. Working part time, but spending everything on partys and nights out. when I finished Uni I realised how much debt I was in, but could never really chip away at it.

supersavershal

livingbeyond wrote: »

I know this will sound stupid, but my debt began because of something I had saved to buy. I saved up for several years after buying my first house and paid cash, yes CASH £15,000 for a new kitchen. As you can imagine it was fantastic and I had the best of everything put in it. Anyway, following this I had a reputation for always buying the best of everything, which I did. Unfortunately I was trying to live up to the reputation that I gained and then had a bathroom installed which cost nearly £8000. Unfortunately, I hadn't saved for this, so partly loan and partly credit card. The reputation continued and ever since I have used credit cards to fund the lifestyle. We weren't keeping up with the Jones's we were the Jones's. Cars, TV's, holidays etc etc all went on the cards or loans.

LivingBeyond

You sound just like me, you could be telling my story!we were the jones too.I always had to have the best of everything, even now when im skint my brothers and friends say "but youv got loads of money", thats the impression I have always strived to maintain up to now.even now I find it hard to admit iv got no money.I buy designer clothes for my kids of ebay but pretend iv bought them from designer shops.I am trying but the trouble is no one beleives me now when I say I cant afford things as far as they can see I still work , live in the same house and dont go on exotic hols, they wonder how I can be skint.I think they think im mean now which in a way i am.They would choke if they knew I owe £26000. (thats the first time iv admitted that its a milestone for me!)

MadDogWoman_2

We were OK until CC people realised I was 20 and had a mortgage - threw credit cards at us.

It got worse after we discovered we'd struggle to have children - we spent to fill the hole.

OH bought a lemon of a motorbike early in the relationship spent god knows how much keeping it on the road.

MDW

smileitconfusespeople_2

Mine......I was very young ,it was fashionable to have loads of credit cards and store cards in your purse,it was in an age when they had low deposits £99.00 to drive away a new car..etc etc, then we decide to consolodate everything and go with( First plus)...NEVER NEVER NEVER again we borrowed on £45000 after 6 years of paying back £500.00 a month when we got a settlement figure was informed we owed £87000 ??!!!:mad: :eek: it ruined my life we have remortaged im just off 40 with a 3 year old and a 14 year old and remortgaged last year to a total of £250000 pay £900 interest only mortgage, ......But ive learned..if ive not got it in the bank ..We dont get/do it.....tough but im much much happier .........proud to be dealing with my debts

Sagaris

Getting divorced and never having to deal with bills etc - I started off ok then got into a (doomed) long distance relationship - it's a lot of petrol driving 200+ miles most weekends! Plus wanting to give my 2 DD's everything - suppose I over compensated, tried to compete with their well off father and his very rich new wife.
Then the cost of decorating and renovating my tiny old house - it all adds up!
Thankfully this site and all you lovely posters have shown me the error of my ways - I don't get a kick out of spending any more, I'm practically allergic to it - but I do enjoy seeng my 2 CC balances reduce and our savings increase (a bit, anyway!)