Your Personal Debt.

[JonB]

Now I have my own place, a job and responsibilities of actually controlling finances outside of studentdom, I have been very careful trying to balance the books. Trying to pay off overdrafts accrued from being a student.

I've been browsing the moneysavingexpert forums a bit briefly and went into the bankrupcy section and I see so many stories that absolutely shock me to the ground. The other day there was a woman who was about to retire and had £128,000 in credit card debt. Absolutely shocking.

To be honest reading some of the stories about consumer debt has made me even more aware and determined to not go down any slippery slopes.

Was just wondering what debts people here have excluding mortgages and student loans (not really an unmanageable debt - I pay off about £15 a month ).

I currently have: -
£1,300 overdrawn at 0% in a HSBC Graduate Account.
£220 on a credit card which will be paid off at the end of the month, I try to pay back in full most months.

So excluding my student loan I am £1500 in debt at the moment. Want to clear the HSBC OD before the end of 0% which will be July 2011.

Currently saving £600/month for a wedding at the moment, so hopefully shouldn't need to get a loan at the end of the year!
____________________
Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it?s worth.

[Jayy]

I owe about a grand, not much really.

[Clanger]

I have no debt. None whatsoever. No, that's not quite true. I owe Tonka a couple of tank re-fuels (and that's it).
____________________
Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter won't mind - Dr. Seuss

[KevTM]

Zero debt.

Life's never been better Fuck having to worry about paying stuff at the end of the month.

"Own what you own on your own or what you own will own you." - Kevkwak.


don't be nicking ma patter, yo.

[Itchy]

£0 and two favours, fairly small ones.
____________________
Spain 2008France 2007Big one 2009 We all die. The goal isn't to live forever, the goal is to create something that will. In the end, your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it is worth watching.

[cagiva gezzer]

None, apart from student loan.
____________________
"because one stroke isnt enough and four strokes waste two"

[Pete.]

'bout £46 on a credit card, and 3 months on a 4 year bank loan.

Less than £500.
____________________
a.k.a 'Geri'

132.9mph off and walked away. Gear is good, gear is good, gear is very very good

[crazymotorbik...]

Hey,

I owe absolutely nothing besides my student loan. I've always been very very good with money and know what i have down to the last penny!! (I kid you not)

I'm sure all that will change when my Son is born sometime around September!

Cheers,
Shaun R.

[the grim reaper]

Hah, I win. I'm not going into figures but divorces don't come cheap. It's not even in the same league as £128k but it's not insignificant either.

Cheers

Grim
____________________
Adverts don't always work: Remember that advert, where the army are running across the desert and they have a wounded man on a stretcher. They get to a ravine, the bridge is down and a caption pops up that says, 'What are you thinking?'. I don't know about you but I was thinking, 'Christ, I'm glad I'm not in the f***ing army'.

[GhostRider]

£600 overdrawn, but i'm pretty much always overdrawn to around that figure, I get charged £5 a month for using my overdraft which has a £2k limit so it's peanuts really, as long as I'm below £1000 overdrawn I'm happy,I could out myself in the black if I transferred money from my savings account, but don't really see the point.

Other than that about £1300 on a loan that I'd like to pay off sooner but can't think of any legitimate ways to make cash.

GhostRider
____________________
I have all the characteristics of a human being: blood, flesh, skin, hair; but not a single, clear, identifiable emotion, except for greed and disgust. Something horrible is happening inside of me and I don't know why. My nightly bloodlust has overflown into my days. I feel lethal, on the verge of frenzy. I think my mask of sanity is about to slip.

[JonB]

[Villers]

Its a strange thing debt. It seems the more you get into the easier it gets. 2 examples of this come from the weirdos at work. For reference both were on 25-28k a year at this point. Mr A had debts of about 30k, mostly the usual stuff like credit cards, loans and catalogues. He liked to buy computers and robots and all sorts of rubbish. In the end up work got involved and assigned him to a debt management thingymabob. He had the majority of the interest frozen but has paid off the balance religeously since. He will be debt free by the end of the summer and although he's been an idiot I say good on him.

Mr B ran up 45k's worth. Same sort of stuff as Mr A really. Difference here is that under Tony Blairs cushy little legislation he has had a huge amount of it written off and the rest has the interest frozen. I dont know what his current situation is apart from he has a car and a house and recently he bought a £1500 rolex from ebay which he later sold because he didnt like and he has also bought a gibson guitar in the last 3 months.

Im pretty sure they wouldnt help someone who was getting charged £25 for going into their overdraft for the first time!

Anyway, personally I have approx 400 notes on 0% cards and thats the lot. I have a lot of savings and I own what ive got. 3 years ago I had bank loans, 3k on cards (admittedly 0%) and no savings. I prefer it the way it is now!!
____________________
RS125 > CBR6 > SV650S > ZX636R > GSX1300RZ Hayabusa > 06 RSVR Mille > SV1000S > Street Triple 765 RS

[GhostRider]

Yeh it's 0%, save for the £5 a month, I don't really care about interest earned on savings as unless there's 10k in there is pennies anyway so I won't miss it.

GhostRider
____________________
I have all the characteristics of a human being: blood, flesh, skin, hair; but not a single, clear, identifiable emotion, except for greed and disgust. Something horrible is happening inside of me and I don't know why. My nightly bloodlust has overflown into my days. I feel lethal, on the verge of frenzy. I think my mask of sanity is about to slip.

[JonB]

[WildGoose]

Debt has no massive consequences these days, you just declare bankruptcy when it becomes unmanageable and get off scot free as far as I can see. Much as it boils my piss.

I have a few hundred on the cc every few months

We have 150k on the house, stands to be paid off by the time i'm around 45.

Crunched some numbers and it can probably be sustained up to an interest rate of about 12% (albeit painfully). I'm sure Itchy will be along to tell me that interest rates will skyrocket to 35% in next few years, yadda yadda. Current rate on the mortgage is 4.5%.

I have a not unsubstantial amount in savings (though rates are crap atm, and am having to reshuffle yet again), and do not buy into money saving expert's advice that it is pointless having savings when you have a mortgage. In savings, that money can be used to help me out when I need it. You cannot extract money from a house.

A house can be got shot of fairly rapidly should the situation tank. I'd rather have some money elsewhere.

Money saving expert has taught me nothing new, everytime i've been on there, it seems it is aimed at the muppet sector of the financial market. The basic guides are good for a basic overview at the beginning of any research.

Mate there is no slippery slope. If you aren't running your own business, or playing high risk investment games. You have to be either a muppet or just not give a shit to get yourself into a financial mess, I know plenty of both.

Just to add, does anyone else find it mildly irritating that "managing your finances" is bandied about as if its some kind of spectacular event? For any normal person, it's just part of life and is done without any great thought process.
____________________
So in other words, he stopped you for being flagrantly in posession of a motorcycle in direct contravention of the Hippies, Darkies and People Whose Face I Don't Like The Look of (Police Powers) Act. 1976

[Pie-Roe]

About 200 quid into a -600 interest free overdraft.

I used to have loads of money, then I moved out of parents house and didn't work much for a while, so I was like 3 months behind. I've got about 10k in an isa though from the last 4 years.

Pyro
____________________
Previous: GSF600, FZR600 x2, ZXR750, XT600 Tenere, CB125, CZ125, ETZ 250, ER5, CCM R30, DRZ400, RF600x4, RF900x2, GS500, VTR1000F, 640 SMC, CB250 NIGHTHAWK, GT550x3, GPX750 TE610, CB500, X11x2, SV650, ZING 125, TL1000R,CB250 Superdream, CBR1100XX

[The Shaggy D.A.]

My business owes my accountant about £1.2k but there's only about £600 left in the bank for that. Personally, I think I'm about £9k in the clear at the mo. Everything is paid for, and whilst I've been unemployed the wife's salary has been pretty much taking care of the monthly bills.

April to June is always expensive, both of the cars and the bike need tax, MOT and insurance in that period. This one's been pricey as the Alhambra's just had a new cambelt and service, and the Golf's due one soon.

Not too shabby, really. Quite a different story to 15 years ago
____________________
Chances are quite high you are not in my Monkeysphere, and I don't care about you. Don't take it personally.
Currently : Royal Enfield 350 Meteor
Previously : CB100N > CB250RS > XJ900F > GT550 > GPZ750R/1000RX > AJS M16 > R100RT > Bullet 500 > CB500 > LS650P > Bullet Electra X & YBR125 > Bullet 350 "Superstar" & YBR125 Custom > Royal Enfield Classic 500 Despatch Limited Edition (28 of 200) & CB Two-Fifty Nighthawk > ER5

[tatters]

No debt, always had savings to fall back on.
____________________
Past:NRG50,AF1125(x2),NSR125RR,ZZR250,CX500,VFR400,KR1S,ZZR600(x2),CB400N,YZF1000(x2),KH125,Z200,FX400R,CBR954RR(x2)GPZ500S,GT550,VFR750F(x2),RD350N,XR650R,CBR600F,CB250,KDX250,YZF750R,CRM250,400EXC,KLR650,TTR600RE,DR350S,R100GSPD,RGV250,VMAX1200,DL650,KZ750 Present:G650XC,C12,CRF450X,1190ADV

[The Shaggy D.A.]

[Robby]

Probably about £6k left on a couple of loans. One is a 0% credit card one that I'll pay back by Jan (took out to clear the overdraft) and the other was a car loan. The car was sold to pay a chunk of the deposit on my flat.
Probably £75k on the mortgage, with another 24 years to go until I have it all paid off. I think I'll be clearing a big chunk of that a lot sooner and shorten the term come renewal, but renewal is 4 years away. This is if I can avoid the property trap of trading up, but given the huge profit I'd make on this place if I sell tomorrow, I can afford to trade up for another £50k if I really want to.

Its true that you borrow more as you earn more. £6k of unsecured debt is noticable, but if I wanted to I could clear it in a year. I'm crap at saving, but quite good at repaying debt. Much easier for me to use loans to buy assets that will either appreciate or not depreciate much, than have cash savings and end up spending it on tat.

[hellkat]

People owe me more money than I owe out.

If I include my mum and her little fuck-up, I think I'm owed about £32,000.

I haven't included Anita in that equation, although she's kept a little black book of how much she's borrowed off me over the years, I think its about another five grand, but that's different, its ya kids, innit, you don't expect them to pay ya back. Be nice if she did, but hey ho, other people owe me money as well, she's my baby, she doesn't REALLY have to.

Although I ain't "calling it in" ... I don't need to right now: I have enough to live on. The people I have money out to, know that I trust them to (eventually) pay me back.

I pretty much manage to live within my means these days, anyway.

Eventually (when I stop giving my money away) I'll manage to save a bit back up, enough for an airfare to NZ now and then: that's fine with me, that's all I need for now.

Right now, I don't have huge amounts of spare cash, but I certainly am pleased to no longer have huge amounts of debt.
____________________
Not nearly as interesting in real life.

[Wafer_Thin_Ham]

I don't owe anything. My card gets paid off every month. Although I have a student loan I'm not paying it off at the moment.
____________________
My Flickr

[SlimRick]

[Wafer_Thin_Ham]

[T0MMY]

I've got no debt and quite a lot of savings because I'm a scabby fucker who won't buy any vehicle made in this millenium

Then again, I don't own a house yet so my savings will disappear into a deposit when/if I finally settle down.
____________________
ZX6R + CBR600RR