Worried about £13k savings vs debt

thaylock

That's what I mean by sacrifice, have no life for a year so you can enjoy the rest of your life without having sleepless nights over debt - you reap what you sow. Anyway, seems to me if people don't make sacrifices now, they will have no life when they retire on their pension, but hey, why plan for tomorrow, live for today, this attitude is fine, it's all down to personal choices, problem is that tomorrow will come & then what will people be thinking ? But who care's about tomorrow ? You might get run over by a bus, but then again you might not, you might die from an uncurable disease, but then again you might live until your are 100. Personally I hope to live for a very long time, I don't have negative thoughts about dying & using it as an excuse to stop planning for my future. I still say pay the debt.

Willsnarf1983

yeah but if the OP did what we suggest then he is planning for tomorrow rather than living for today....

Will

YorkshireBoy

Willsnarf1983 wrote:

yeah but if the OP did what we suggest then he is planning for tomorrow rather than living for today....

Will

Hi, Willsnarf1983. If I can come in on the discussion, have you read the OP's history (see my earlier post)? I think it's "living for today" that's got him where he is now. I really do think it's time to settle all the debts, cut the cards up and start afresh.

Willsnarf1983

hi yorkshire

yeah i have seen his other posts and he does need to get control of his spending and he knows this, and i can understand how having a clean start can help but hadn't he already done this by paying debts of before, whats to stop the OP from carrying on and building the debt up again....either way he has to control his spending and if he can make the debt work for him then so be it, but if he feels that he can control his spending and wants to start again then he should clear the debts. in the end £120 is £120 but in the grand scale of things its nothing...its down simply to choice

Will

ceegee

I agree with thaylock. If it was me, I'd get shot of the debt straight away. The thought of owing anybody money is like a black cloud hanging over me, a weight on my shoulders and a millstone around my neck (all at the same time!). I once had a loan with Abbey National and when I had the opportunity to pay it off early, I did. Even with that blasted "rule of 72". Had I put the money away, it would have earned me some interest, but I was happy to forego that just to get rid of that flaming debt. I absolutely hate the thought of being in debt and nothing that anyone could say would persuade me not to pay off all of the debt if I was the op.

Having said that, I have a mortgage, but if I didn't have a mortgage I would not have a home and, like most people, I was not a cash buyer!! Nor do I have any intention of releasing any of the equity that has built up over the years. That would be "debt" as far as I am concerned. A mortgage is a fact of life for 25 years.

I think it boils down to what you feel comfortable with.

thaylock

ceegee wrote:

A mortgage is a fact of life for 25 years.

I think it boils down to what you feel comfortable with.

Not necessarily so, did you know if you could afford to double your mortgage repayments, you could pay your mortgage off in 7 years. I know only a small percentage of the mortgage population can afford to do this. The 25 year term was probably introduced because the banks calculated this is the period of time in which people could pay manageable monthly interest/capital repayments to pay off their mortgage, I believe some mortgage companies offer 30 year terms. I think it's excellent that you paid off your debt, that's the sort of attitude that will set a good example for others to follow, well done.

Malestrom

Its the 'rule of 78' ceegee, I know what you mean though. I also got caught with it thanks to First Direct. Here's a link to Martins description of it for anyone who's interested.

badmission

thaylock, what works for you might not be the most suitable for this guy, why struggle with less cash than you have to, when you can make some £120 you wouldn't have been able to otherwise.

i.e. redress some of the balance in paying creditors the 18.9% he has been doing...

The thought of owing anybody money is like a black cloud hanging over me, a weight on my shoulders and a millstone around my neck (all at the same time!).

I never feel like this...

Debt as long as it's managable is fine. Don't think about it on a personal level, think about it like business (debt = cashflow). Make the payments when you should and everyone is happy.

Martin outlined 3 possible routes, depending on the guy's dedication to improving his financial situation.

Choice is up to him...

DrStep

If this is turning into a "ask the audience" - I say pay it off now

mountainofdebt

Well I can't see the point in earning interest on savings if the interest you are paying on debt is higher....something I am trying to point out to hubby !

So if this was me I would pay off the debt attracting 18.9% interest and leave the rest until the 0% offer expired.

But if you asked my mum she would say pay the whole lot off!