What did you do to get into debt?

whattodo1967 · 6 December 2018 at 3:35PM

I got in the cycle of consolidation then spending on the cards again, lost count if I am honest. Till I could borrow no more. But really best thing that happened to us. Am proud that we have had no credit since 2012, and I have 3 more payments on my DMP, and I will then be overpaying on my mortgage and saving the rest

Gettingtherequickly · 6 December 2018 at 6:06PM

Like a lot of people, spent more than I was earning, redundancy and having to use the dreaded cards.

One day I decided I had had enough & started to get a grip on getting rid of the debt so that I could actually have a life. I don't think I really know how much I owed, but probably in the region of £30k between cards, overdraft, utilities. The only debt I didn't have was council tax.

I have been debt free for a number of years now and it is so nice to be able to buy something I want without wondering how to afford it. My proudest moment was changing my car, bought a demo, all singing, all dancing, brand new would have been £28k, thanks to MSE wisdom, I bought it 6 months old for £14k & paid cash. Putting my pin in the machine scared the bejasus out of me, but it served the point of forcing me to think twice about whether I needed or not.

Makeachange · 6 December 2018 at 6:11PM

Gambling addiction.

261 days clean right now, and paying things back.
Mentally in the right place to do so now.

Willing2Learn · 6 December 2018 at 7:20PM

Makeachange wrote: »

Gambling addiction.

261 days clean right now, and paying things back.
Mentally in the right place to do so now.

:j :j :j

Well done on reaching the 261-day milestone

I got into debt after I tendered my resignation at work due to deteriorating (mental) health... I would have been unable to honour my contract...

Debt-free for about a decade now..

flutterby29 · 12 December 2018 at 9:43PM

I wanted to share how i got into debt! Spending more that I earn. Using a credit card to fill the gaps but then being broke trying to clear the balance. It has not been more than £1,000 at any one time.
but Proud to say I've been following MSE forums for the past couple of months and already getting a good grip on my finances. still a way to go. Have been following the no spend days and that has cut extra spending.
Decided my first step was to set up an emergency fund. This will be used in future for 'emergency' spends that I've been relying on CC for. no more!
- now i'm logging every thing I'm spending and trying to budget for things I want to spend on. Credit card will be paid off by Feb 2019 .

Onebrokelady · 14 December 2018 at 10:53PM

Mine was a combination of things,it started when my ex left me after he talked me into giving up my council house to buy the house I'm still living in,I was working part time and managed for a while with benefit top ups
When the benefit top ups stopped my job also stopped us doing nights so although I had a full time job by this point I was relying on the unsocial hours to get by so losing my nights made a dent in my wages,a few household emergencies and several eyewatering vet bills didn't help,I had no savings so anything unexpected was paid for with my CC

I then developed a chronic pain condition swiftly followed by depression and spending mad me feel better,I've worked through a lot of issues in my head and realised this year that although the beginning of my slide into debt was not all my fault the fact it carried on and got so out of hand is totally my fault
I had the mentality of I work hard so why shouldn't I buy things when I want to and why should my children go without ,we never went on any holidays or bought a car or anything like that it was just lots of small items that very soon add up to a debt that's unmanageable,the saying" look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves"is soooo true

I'm now in a DMP with SC and will be paying off this debt for a loooong time but over the first year I have learned a lot about myself and what makes me spend and how to avoid that happening,I've learned how to budget and stick to it, I'm saving an emergency fund andnivd saved for Xmas, this year I have done Xmas on a budget with cash and come January there won't be any credit card bills falling on my mat,I don't spend much at all now and despite suffering from intermittent depressive episodes I am mostly the happiest I've been in a long time

Mulberrygirl1234 · 15 December 2018 at 12:34AM

The bank literally put a credit card through my door when I was 20 with a 7k limit

burnleylad1882 · 15 December 2018 at 7:35AM

Gambling. Been attending GA meetings since St, Georges day and not had a bet since. 33k of debt which I am now paying off with the help of my mrs who holds all my cards and gives me spending money. My debt is now 28k and without getting carried away I am in a really good place at the minute, mentally if not financially. but that is only going in one direction if I don't gamble. Even now though my cards are sending me credit limit increases even though I maxed them all out gambling.

Sharon87 · 15 December 2018 at 10:10PM

Started at uni:
£1500 student overdraft
Then I graduated in 2008 - recession time! That means no job, living on benefits for a bit, used my credit card to buy things I couldn't afford.
Finally got a job, not enough money, still used credit card for nice things like going out/days out.etc

Then I got a better job, spent more money on things I couldn't afford. then had to replace items I didn't save for - laptops, TVs.etc I never budgeted properly, I always forgot annual expenses.

Now I'm earning a decent amount of money and my debt is slowly coming down, it's reduced for the first time in years. I've learnt to budget properly using YNAB and now it's finally starting to be paid off

Farmer_Johnson · 17 December 2018 at 9:12PM

I’ve only been in debt a few times. I left my first degree with a debt of a few thousand pounds, and paid it down over about six months. I then borrowed some money for transport for my first job, at about 40% APR, and paid that off over a year.

Since then I’ve only had mortgage debt. I’ve gone cold and hungry rather than borrowing money, as when there was no prospect of a pay rise or a windfall I understood that I was only delaying the day of reckoning by borrowing and making it far, far worse.

When I realised that I’d be living on the breadline for the foreseeable future I resigned, did a doctorate, and came out he other end into a much better career.

I’ve a mortgage now far bigger than I am comfortable with, so am working to pay it down as fast as I can.

What did you do to get into debt?

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