In credit on pay day?

tyllwyd

If you only look at one side of the situation, it can be a bit misleading.

One person might always go up to the limit on their £1000 overdraft, but have no credit card bills outstanding.
Another person might not go into overdraft at all, but have £5000 on their credit card.
Another person might go into overdraft, but have £5000 in a savings account.

Personally, I don't like going into overdraft, and we shift our money around to avoid it. It's a psychological thing mainly - there is nothing worse than seeing all your money swallowed up at the start of the month.

We used to have a One account, which linked the mortgage and current account, so your balance never went down to 'zero', and what the equivalent of zero would be changed every month - it was a nightmare to keep track of where we should be, which was part of the reason we were overspending without even being fully aware of what we were doing.

Gemmzie

Yup we are always in credit now, as much of a struggle it might be sometimes We've paid off the overdrafts after a year of tarting them on 0% cards.

denerobt

Hi Cleosmum,

Up until last year I was quite good, but since then I have seperated from my wife, had to get another car, pay over £1000 up front for a rental home, needed a tv, telephone, basic internet access, kitchen equipment, sofa, beds etc etc etc. So as it stands I'm usually about £400 OD but it's coming down slowly.

I guess there but for the grace of God go I. I wonder how many other DFW's have savings in case of this eventuality?

Good on you though for keeping the OD to zero - I will do so this year:T

flutterbyuk25

When I was a student and for approx 6 months after I graduated I was like that (graduated 2003) since then I'm proud to say I very very rarely go into my overdraft. The only time I do is if my car needs petrol a few days before payday, because of where I live it's better to fill the tank up full than just put a tenner in.

I know lots of people who regularly live completely in their overdraft.

x

RTSFirebat

I'm sad to say its been about 1 year since I was last in credit by any amount on my bank account.

My overdraft is one of the lowest APRs I'm dealing with at the moment, and I can live with being in my overdraft and worrying about other debts first.

I once tried to move to a better overdraft deal but it turned out to be false promises in the end.

Too many credit file checks have left in stuck for the next 6 months while I just deal with the APR of my various debts.

tsharp

Who has been tempted to pay their entire month's salary into a debt just to see the difference it makes, and then spend the next few months surviving?

I play with the idea now and again, but know it would be nigh on impossible.

izzybusy23

GhostDog wrote: »

Apologies if this has been covered somewhere but I didn't have a clue which keywords to use to make a search.

I was genuinely shocked a couple of weeks ago to find a work colleague's salary is spent the day following pay day and the rest of the month her bank balance is overdrawn until next pay day.:eek:

I loathe going into overdraft each month and my goal (at which I'm trying to work very hard!) is NOT to be overdrawn when my salary goes in on pay day.

Am I being naive here in thinking that most other people are NOT overdrawn each month. OH reckons "everyone" lives on credit these days but I had the "traditional parenting" which said that "if you can't afford it you don't buy it..." :rolleyes:

Hmmmm not very good at following that advice as I believe life is too short....!

So.....if its not too nosey Who DOES have money left in their account the day before pay day?

About 4 years ago I was forever in my overdraft.. in fact when I was going through a divorce my lovely then husband froze our joint account with it overdrawn which was a nightmare.:eek:

I currently have a £3k overdraft on my personal account and I haven't been overdrawn for about 3 years now. I have an account that I use as a 'joint' account (but only my name on it, learnt my lesson the hard way) and it has a £5k overdraft on it and sometimes that does go into the red, but will be out of that in a few months. Never overdrawn on payday though, its normally towards the end of the month when I do the last shop of the month.

redsquirrel80

Sadly my bank account hasn't been in credit for a long time. Got into a desperate situation (part stupidity, part circumstances) a couple of years back when I had to use my overdraft to survive for a couple of months and I've never really got back from there. I've got a £1400 overdraft which is nearly always at its limit before payday and my wages are about £1000 so I never get out of it. I don't get charged interest or charges on it at the moment though so it's not a priority, I'll sort it once I get other debts out of the way. At least it's good for your maths, having to work out what that minus figure actually means you have available.. ummmm :rolleyes:

Teacher2301

I think its a sympton of todays society that we are all expected to have credit - just look at all ads and flyers that come our way. Now the so called credit crunch is here (?) its the likes of you and me that are stuck with debts. Prudence should now be the key word - do you really need it? I took a loan out after Christmas for a new car - same symptoms as most people - everyone has a new car so I now want one - but do I need it - NO. So paid loan back this week. Now £180 better off already

georgiasmum

I have an o/d and use it! However it is competitive and I have been able to clear other more pressing debts so it has been worth it. I can't worry about the o/d at the moment!