What did you do before debit & credit cards?

I am old enough to remember the days of old.

firlstly you got paid in cash! You paid for things in cash, if you didn't have it, you did with out. Men came to the door and you gave them the club money, milk money, insurance money etc !!

I can remember the horror of others when some one furnished thier house on the never never!!!

It was difficult to apply for HP initially. You crawled into to the bank grovelling if a family crisis happened (for example) to get an overdraft or loan.

Yes its alot easier to get get credit but there are good things about it too. When I needed to get my daughter home quick...just a couple of phone calls and the use of the plastic card and wwhish it was done!!

I am not sure when debt became respectable, but it has! Student debt burdons a lot of people early in thier career.

I am a bit of the old school I am afraid and save for anything rather then get it on the card and pay later (usually!!!).

now that you have written about it and added up the sums you can reverse the trend. Keep set amounts for certain areas. Realise you don't NEED to have the latest book CD, outfit, what ever it is you like!! Holidays dont need to be expensive.
Target your o/d and whittle it away..make the bank give you money in interest ..its only pennies for me but its better than charges!!!


I got microsoft money a few years ago and Iknow exactly whats on my cards/in my accounts its wonderful!!

mah

prior to early 90s I was being paid in cash. I did have a cheque account relic from my YTS days, and I had a bank loan for a car. I used to have to pay the money in to b/a from wages so there was enough to cover the one dd (for the car) that came out of it.

Once your cash ran out that was it.

In 91 I got a job where my salary was paid monthly into b/a, and got a cheque book and cash card. IIRC debit cards came about soon after. Didn't have a cc until late 90s and have never had much on one. Mr Spendless however is total different kettle of fish!!!!

Hey

Im 31 in 2 weeks :eek: and about 11 years ago we got ourselves into alot of debt and had to sell our house etc. We came away clear and abit in the bank but due to being black listed we couldnt get any credit/debit cards etc..only a cashcard. Initially I found it very difficult but after a while it was easy...didnt have the cash...didnt get it...or save for it. I did enjoy living living like this-owed nothing at all.

Then stupidly about 5 years ago when we able to get credit again, we started using cards and loans (not excessively though) but then hubby and I were bringing in a very healthy wage between us and we could have gone really stupid-but cards were always under £5000 and loans were never more than 2 years (cars etc). We had access to over £80000 of credit-just on cards.

Anyway, over the past 2 years my health has got worse, have had to stop working the past few months and OH is my FT carer. We have taken a drastic cut in income and now depend solely on benefits (which I hate). Over the past 6 months this website has made me realise how enjoyable it is to go back to basics and I have cut back in loads of places. I am saving £700 a month from a year ago just on cutting back. We still have some debt on an %0 credit card which runs out in April 2006 and this will be cleared by then. We have no other debts..just the credit card :j

With the money being saved from my weekly food and petrol allowance we are saving for a conservatory and I have £600 in the so far. Think its costing £1800 so a third there already

Penny-Pincher!!
xxx

A lot of people can use credit and debit cards and overdrafts and not get into debt. I have both, and currently don't owe a penny. I use them from time to time (especially for online shopping) but I never spend more than I have.

So I agree, it's the individual that is responsible for the debt, not the method of payment. But spending on plastic has got a lot of people used to not knowing how much money they have or have spent, because they don't see it, then much of their spending ends up on credit, and it takes some organisation to always be on top of repayments etc... It hasn't taken long for this to seep into peoples' consciousness, because just a few decades ago the idea of paying on credit was still a little frowned on, from what I'm told, and people were embarrased by it (we should probably blame Kays catalogue and the like!!)

My budget gives me an amount to live on each week after bills have been paid etc. I "live" on £50 cash per week for food and entertainment etc, but you'd need to find the right level for you. I draw the month's worth out on pay day, and give myself a week's worth every Saturday. I don't feel disciplined, because it just doesn't occur to me to take more from the drawer, as I'd be left with less the following week. I suppose some people may find this harder than others (I was never someone who spent all their wages on payday).

Then, I simply don't draw more cash out. I don't pay by Switch in shops, and haven't memorised my chip'n'PIN thing, and I don't pay on credit cards because I don't need to - I have the cash. When it's gone it's gone! My budgeting allows for money to be leftover from my salary, so if I'm going somewhere or having a heavy spending month, there IS more money to be drawn out, but I try to draw it out in cash.

All my expenses through the year are budgeted for, so I don't get caught out, and though I have two credit cards (and one from the bank, all with no annual fee), they're usually empty, used only for larger unexpected purchases, and then only used to spread the cost over a few months. And I have a £500 overdraft for which I'm only charged a little interest on the amount by which I go overdrawn. The last time I went into this (and then only by a few quid) was last December, a long month.

So I think the shift that is most helpful is working out what is YOUR money, what do you really have? And don't include credit and overdrafts in that equation, try to think of that as not being spendable. Think of it as emergency funds. I like to know that I could raise enough on my credit cards for quite a number of emergencies, and that's what I have them for.

I'm not rigid with my spending, I have money left over after everything is accounted for each month, and though I try and save as much of that as I can, I don't go without. I let myself have most things I want, but I keep my wants within my means - I can "want" to go trekking in Japan all I like, it's not going to happen in the forseeable future! However, if I "want" a new TFT monitor, I can have one...

Maybe keep a cash book for a few weeks, as suggested above, to see where you're spending the money each month, and how much of it is spent on plastic. The good news is you have quite a high level of disposable income after your outgoings, so you should be able to knock the overdraft down quickly, with some discipline, and get started on the credit cards.

TRY the cash system for a while, set yourself a weekly figure that you think is realistic for you, and DON'T spend what is left - leave it there to shrink your overdraft! Surely you'd get a kick from seeing that figure reduce each month?

It baffles me that teenagers in schools aren't taught how to live within their means, and about the logistics of credit, before they actually GET credit. It's so frustrating that we are a nation os people now who think we have the right to everything we want...it takes the value away from things. I really get pleasure out of a new book, CD or item of clothing, but wouldn't if I went and bought a great stack of the stuff every weekend...

I live really well, I'm no scrooge, but I live well because I keep track of my money. If I was spending money I didn't have, I'd be SO miserable, and couldn't enjoy anything I was buying.

(Sorry so lengthy - first post of the morning, and typing fingers just getting warmed up)

How did you pay and live before credit & debit cards.

Haven't got a clue - I'm too young!!!!

I take home £2k/mth and after monthly bills (£1100) and credit card min payments (£200), I have £700/mth to spend on food, petrol, going out, clothes, holidays, etc, etc - in fact any thing else (incl. emergencies).

Wish I had your spare money - I could pay my debts off in no time.

If you don't have the discipline to stick to your budgets then you're fighting a loosing battle. Cut up your cards so you can't make it any worse and go back to living on cash.

Do you know every day how much of the money in your current account is actually available for spending? If not, I'll bet that's why you overspend every month. I have a page in my budget spreadsheet that shows me the total in my current account, minus the total of my credit card (which is paid off in full every month), minus any transactions that are still due to go out of my account. So my broadband, my phone bill, my food money, any cc transactions that are due to go out, any cheques that haven't been cashed yet... and the total AFTER all these have gone out is the total I have available to spend. If I go over for whatever reason I cut back whereever possible to ensure that I never go overdrawn. I think you need to do something similar to stop yourself going over budget again.

Of course, the other question is, are your budgets realistic? Do you break down your £700 into what is for food, what is for holidays, what is for petrol, or do you just think £700 is plenty and that you don't need to do that? If so, that might be the other part of the problem. Break it down, and stick to the limits. And reward yourself for sticking to it! Otherwise, what's the point?

Debit and Credit cards are not the direct cause of debt. It is how the person uses them.

Oh, definitely, but if people don't have debit or credit cards, they'll find it harder to get themselves into a mess. Not impossible but more difficult.

Good luck - it can be done, you just need to cultivate some more willpower. There are many people on here that thought that could never be done who have found out they COULD do it, after all