Truthfully - How much debt do you have?

meghatronic said:
The whole buy up to save thing is flawed. And it isn't the way our economy. What about a mortgage? You going to save up £250,000 for a house and buy it cash? Or is a mortgage "good" debt and a credit card "bad debt"?
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The difference is credit cards are used to fund things like trips to expensive restaurants, LCD TVs etc. Someone on the minimum wage could easily save up for and afford a 32"" HD TV. They could not save up for a £250,000 house. We also all need a home, we do not all need expensive luxuries which credit cards enable you to cheat your way to owning. Even with cars, credit allows your average joe to buy something like a Nissan GTR/ BMW M3 without much hassle.

I don't see how it's flawed. Wouldn't it be great if we could all start off in life driving SLRs and drinking Cristal, only to pay it back later when we've moved up and on in life onto better wages. That's not exactly how it works, well the same concept should apply to credit. It also results in consumption cycles in the economy as you can't indefinitely maintain the high spending associated with freely available credit, that is partly why we are in the economic crisis - because consumption has plummeted and mr "I don't but my 20 years wages OWN my M3" can't afford to pay back the debts.
 
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£64 on my Barclaycard because I left my debit card at home the other day :)

I was brought up with a strict "Neither a lender, nor a borrower be" mantra. I save stacks :)
 
£12k student loan
£5k loan
£400 course fees
£420 credit card
£220 overdraft

and currently unemployed, if i never get employed again i wont have to pay back my student loan.

MW
 
scott212 said:
The difference is credit cards are used to fund things like trips to expensive restaurants, LCD TVs etc. Someone on the minimum wage could easily save up for and afford a 32"" HD TV. They could not save up for a £250,000 house. We also all need a home, we do not all need expensive luxuries which credit cards enable you to cheat your way to owning. Even with cars, credit allows your average joe to buy something like a Nissan GTR/ BMW M3 without much hassle.

I don't see how it's flawed. Wouldn't it be great if we could all start off in life driving SLRs and drinking Cristal, only to pay it back later when we've moved up and on in life onto better wages. That's not exactly how it works, well the same concept should apply to credit. It also results in consumption cycles in the economy as you can't indefinitely maintain the high spending associated with freely available credit, that is partly why we are in the economic crisis - because consumption has plummeted and mr "I don't but my 20 years wages OWN my M3" can't afford to pay back the debts.
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Who said anything about need It's about WANT. You don't need to have almost anything in this life, including a tv, car, computer etc... They want, they get, they pay for it... I don't see the problem here? It's not about cheating your way to owning, as they end up paying more than you... !

What it comes down to is sensible borrowing/lending. In your world, with apparently no debt what so ever, the economy would be stagnant as ****.
 
Gilly said:
That isn't proof, it is conjecture. Proof would be hard facts, you aren't giving any facts.

In the same way that phishing scams and those annoying 'call our hot girls, they're round the corner from you and gagging for it' adverts work, the majority don't need to fall into their trap for it to be profitable.
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Majority a strong word perhaps. You know what I mean. If a large number of people did not fall into the trap then they wouldn't offer 0% APR. It wouldn't be profitable. Credit card companies will not go out of their way do offer you 0% APR unless someone is paying the price.
 
scott212 said:
Majority a strong word perhaps. You know what I mean. If a large number of people did not fall into the trap then they wouldn't offer 0% APR. It wouldn't be profitable. Credit card companies will not go out of their way do offer you 0% APR unless someone is paying the price.
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Well you've shot yourself in the foot there. The minority **** up, making it better for the majority (0%). Or, it's still fine if it's the other way round (hell it's capitalism baby...)... as long as you're on the 0%.
 
meghatronic said:
What it comes down to is sensible borrowing/lending. In your world, with apparently no debt what so ever, the economy would be stagnant as ****.
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In my world, we wouldn't all be losing our jobs right now and struggling to pay the bills.

I didn't say limit debt all together, I just said it's far too prevalent in society.
 
scott212 said:
In my world, we wouldn't all be losing our jobs right now and struggling to pay the bills.

I didn't say limit debt all together, I just said it's far too prevalent in society.
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There wouldn't be as many jobs for a start as there wouldn't be all this money to throw around.

Debt is prevalent in society due to post WW2 economic policy. Economies function on a deficit/debt in both the micro and macrocosm.
 
meghatronic said:
Well you've shot yourself in the foot there. The minority **** up, making it better for the majority (0%). Or, it's still fine if it's the other way round (hell it's capitalism baby...)... as long as you're on the 0%.
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Total UK personal debt at the end of November 2008 stood at £1,456bn. This has slowed further to 4.1% in the last 12 months which equates to an increase of ~ £56bn.

Personal debt has forged ahead of UK GDP which, according to latest available data, currently stands at £1,410bn having increased by 5.1% over the past year.

Total secured lending on dwellings at the end of November 2008 stood at £1,222bn. This has slowed further to 3.9% in the last 12 months.

Total consumer credit lending to individuals at the end of November 2008 was £234bn. This has continued to slow to 5.2% in the last 12 months.

Total lending in November 2008 grew by £1.5bn; secured lending grew by £0.7bn in the month; consumer credit lending grew by £0.8bn.

Average household debt in the UK is ~ £9,600 (excluding mortgages). This figure increases to £21,875 if the average is based on the number of households who actually have some form of unsecured loan.
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I'm sorry but I find your views ridiculous. £1,456bn is simply far too much debt.

Seems to me the majority ****** up and the minority are benefiting. My family are about to order our second new car in the last 6 months and the discounts flying around at the moment are incredible. All because we do not have thousands of pounds of debt on credit cards. I'm honestly not trying to sound pretentious in saying that, I just find it an example of how people who don't survive on debt are now benefiting.
 
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tisonlyme said:
Interest, interest and a little bit more interest :(

2 and a half years and I've not even started paying off the actual amount I borrowed.
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I've never actually taken out a loan but I always assumed you pay back the interest + a little off the total until the balance is cleared
 
scott212 said:
Seems to me the majority ****** up and the minority are benefiting. My family are about to order our second new car in the last 6 months and the discounts flying around at the moment are incredible. All because we do not have thousands of pounds of debt on credit cards.
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Read my post (the one you quoted) again. It doesn't matter who in the maj/min wins, as long as you're on the winning side. Which you are.

You wouldn't get a discount if it wasn't for other peoples debt. So..... !
 
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