Debt in the uk!!

[Lisa]

what we owe!!

 

Why do we owe so much in debt & why do we live on credit?? Is it because it is so readily available or what?? disscuss if you want

[Guest Kether]

Low interest rates and the thought that we can always pay it back later.

[Alex]

I don't have any debts or credit cards.

[LiquidEyes]

Unfortunately there are no meaningful figures on that site. I have heard that the 'average' debt per person is in 4 figures, but even that is slightly misleading because presumably people with mortgages account for the greater part of that.

 

I would be more interested to know how much debt (on average) people have on their credit cards etc, because we definitely have a culture these days where people are encouraged to buy goods they can't afford, and people don't think twice about getting unnecessary stuff on credit.

 

I think of mortgages as a "special case"; i.e. it can be more economical in the long run to buy rather than rent, and because of our stupid house prices in this country, very few people can buy a house outright. Plus some other types of debt seem forgivable - e.g. student debt is pretty inevitable these days.

 

But getting a "new kitchen" that you don't actually need, when you're already up to your eyeballs in debt, as people are encouraged to do so by countless "consolidate your debts" TV ads, seems a different matter altogether.

 

Are you in debt? Why not consolidate all your debts into one simple monthly payment [that you will be paying for the next 25 years, thereby paying out twice as much in the long run]. And while you're at it, why not get that new car you've always wanted!

 

Truly shocking. Still, you can't blaim the loans companies for exploiting all the stupid people out there!

[Guest Kether]

Mortgage debt is totally managable.

 

If you have a mortage at say £400 a month, it stays at that rate for 25 years whereas rents will (hypothetically) increase with inflation. You also have the collaterol in your house so if you decided to sell you're likely to recoup your money.

[Lisa]

but that depends on what type of mortgage you have tho doesn't it??

[Guest Kether]

Variable rate mortgages are only affected by interest rates aren't they so unless there's a massive change in interest rates it won't make *that* much of a difference.