How much in debt are you

McGaggs

McGaggs wrote: »

I was responding directly to the person who said they liked buying things. Owning things that you enjoy using, or even just having, is a good use of money (even though not everyone can understand the appeal of owning certain items that other people love). Enjoying buying things seems nuts.

You have to buy them to own them, it’s obviously the owning/having them that the enjoyment is from not the actual buying.

twignme

I own my house mortgage free, built up over years of renovating and selling my other homes along the way and living off cheese and onion crisps for Sunday lunch, walking to work and two jobs occasionally. So, no mortgage.
I also consider myself debt free because I pay my house insurance, car insurance etc etc when the bills arrive, rather than on monthly direct debit. Whether that is financial sense, I don't care. I know it's paid until next year no matter what happens. No credit card bills either. I have a small amount of 'rainy day roof repair' savings in the bank that allows me to sleep at night. My life choices have meant that I haven't had the opportunity to build up a big pension pot, so who knows, when the time comes I may need to borrow at that stage and die with all the unpaid bills in the world and a couple of euros in the bank. That to me makes all the sense in the world.

Anyone wondering why/why not to overpay a mortgage put your figures into a calculator like this: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/mortgages/mortgage-overpayment-calculator/
The £/€ sign doesn't matter.

Yes if you have a tracker mortgage or money is tight it might not make sense but if you wouldn't really notice it overpaying can knock years off a mortgage.

Ms2011

McGaggs wrote: »

This would seem to run contrary to the 'traditional' approach to debt, but I think you're winning at debt here. Higher rates of interest, but much shorter terms are likely to be less expensive than a mortgage. I'm going to be nosey and ask: what kind of car is it?

KIA CEED GTline

Riesen_Meal

I owe a grand out, which isn't bad!

markc1184

Around €4k of a credit union loan.

andekwarhola

kippy wrote: »

A car is a car, gets you from A to B.

I tend to agree generally but each to their own. If you spend a lot of time in a car, it can be nice to do it in some comfort and lessen the possibility of frequent repairs.

Ginger83

0

silent_spark

I’m pretty debt adverse. I’ve had a credit card since college, but never used it for credit in the traditional sense.

I borrowed from the credit union about ten year’s ago (against shares) to replace a car I needed for work which had died prematurely, but only needed a couple of grand as I had already decently funded car savings. I could have bought it outright but I would have left myself without an emergency fund and I didn’t like the idea of that. Since then I’ve made sure not to leave myself that tight again, and could now pay cash for a car without dipping into emergency savings.

Plan to have the (very modest) mortgage cleared in five years. I know many people think it’s ridiculous to do that when you can earn more than the interest rate in investments, but I prefer the secure, low-risk option.

I think once you’re financially secure (somewhere to live, with an emergency fund and pension provision) or on the way to that and living within your means, spend your money on whatever makes you happy. I’d personally hate to buy a brand new car that depreciates massively once you drive it off the lot, but likewise a lot of people would be disgusted at the overpriced coffees I regularly buy. To each their own.

GoneHome

SusanC10 wrote: »

Apart from the Mortgage - zero. Both have Credit Cards but cleared every month automatically. Also have overdraft facility on Joint Account for emergencies but rarely used.

Same as that and mortgage is very small thankfully, average income between both of us and an not extravagant spenders so we get by fine.

facehugger99

HappyAsLarE wrote: »

Why would anyone sign a mortgage contract they don’t understand?

I have saved €150k by paying mine off early.

I'm pretty sure he does understand - ironically, you seem the one who's confused.

If I'm reading his post correctly, he seems to be saying that he can make a better return by investing potential mortgage overpayment money into other avenues to make a better return, e.g. his pension.

Given he's on a cheap tracker and the tax breaks from pension investment, he could well be correct.


Personally, at present, I'm overpaying my mortgage by around 40% because I'm not convinced I'm going to get a much better return on alternative investments at the moment. I'm not on a cheap tracker and the advantage of the mortgage overpayment is that the return is guaranteed.

If you're on a 0.5% tracker, I would argue that you could be getting a far better return elsewhere than by overpaying on your mortgage.

It's great that you've saved €150k but if you had taken the overpayment money and invested in an alternative and made €200k in the same period - you've actually lost €50k.

HappyAsLarE

facehugger99 wrote: »

I'm pretty sure he does understand - ironically, you seem the one who's confused.

If I'm reading his post correctly, he seems to be saying that he can make a better return by investing potential mortgage overpayment money into other avenues to make a better return, e.g. his pension.

Given he's on a cheap tracker and the tax breaks from pension investment, he could well be correct.


Personally, at present, I'm overpaying my mortgage by around 40% because I'm not convinced I'm going to get a much better return on alternative investments at the moment. I'm not on a cheap tracker and the advantage of the mortgage overpayment is that the return is guaranteed.

If you're on a 0.5% tracker, I would argue that you could be getting a far better return elsewhere than by overpaying on your mortgage.

It's great that you've saved €150k but if you had taken the overpayment money and invested in an alternative and made €200k in the same period - you've actually lost €50k.

Hard luck chief, he/she said they can’t understand why anyone would overpay. They clearly don’t understand the fundamentals of compound interest.

Plus name me an investment opportunity that guarantee my €150k return. I’m on a 2.95 variable.

Ps where do you see that they are on a cheap tracker?

joejoggs

Currently 10K in debt due to a car. Plan on going for a mortgage in the next two-three years so in no major rush to have it paid off. Paying 1200 a month on rent in Dublin which is not ideal at the minute.

M Plan is:
*Pay off car and never spend 18K on a car again. Something for 5k and a new NCT will do me fine.
* Recently was promoted in my current job so want to stick at that for at least another two years. I plan on then moving out of Dublin and getting a job in Waterford, Carlow, Kilkenny, Kildare area and getting a 10 year morgage for 150K and will have a 30K deposit and 30K leftover to furnish and save.

fryup

joejoggs wrote: »

Currently 10K in debt due to a car. Plan on going for a mortgage in the next two-three years so in no major rush to have it paid off.

sorry but not financially savvy...are banks more willing to give mortgages to people they're lending to?

Don Joe

fryup wrote: »

sorry but not financially savvy...are banks more willing to give mortgages to people they're lending to?

I had a car loan when I got a mortgage, and owed a thousand on a credit card, and was a contractor. This was 2017.

bear1

When the recession hit I was 7k in debt on a loan and 3k debt on the credit card.
That was hard, I pretty much defaulted on it.
But after years of pain I managed to get myself out and get a mortgage which was about 70k.
Got divorced and lost the apartment essentially so my debts total about 10k now.
But it's cleared every month and what's left is put into savings.
Not a great success story but I'm not hungry, have a roof over my head, a car and the love of a good woman
I don't need anything else.
Well.. maybe 10k so I can be debt free

bear1

fryup wrote: »

sorry but not financially savvy...are banks more willing to give mortgages to people they're lending to?

Banks are more likely to offer these services to people with a track record provided your track record is good.

Hector Savage

This is it wrote: »

Never miss a chance, do you.

He's old, let him ....

Hector Savage

Apart from my mortgage nothing, but every month I spend too close to the limit for my liking.
I'd like to save €400/500 a month but lately have been maybe saving €200 - some months less..

It's annoying me, and I am becoming a stingey miser over it ... we got our mortgage last year and had SFA left over, and now I have 3k in personal savings plus we put some away for holidays and the kids, but I want more and feel poor!!!

MetzgerMeister

Got rid of my credit cards when I got my mortgage. So I'm not in debt at all since you're not taking mortgages into account.

NSAman

Hector Savage wrote: »

Apart from my mortgage nothing, but every month I spend too close to the limit for my liking.
I'd like to save €400/500 a month but lately have been maybe saving €200 - some months less..

It's annoying me, and I am becoming a stingey miser over it ... we got our mortgage last year and had SFA left over, and now I have 3k in personal savings plus we put some away for holidays and the kids, but I want more and feel poor!!!

Don't worry Hector, it gets better. Happens to all of us at some stage in life. New Mortgage Kids and general expenses sap the hell out of being able to save.

Give it a few years and it seems to settle down and life becomes a little easier.. hang in there. You will get there!

Wildly Boaring

35k loan on house at 0% from dad, I gave him a similar loan 10 years ago for a car.

5k loan on 1 car at 0%
30k PCP on car no 2 at 1.9%

Practically 0 savings, just bought house after selling last one.

Sin é


In 2.5 years will be just the balloon on the PCP to finance. Wont have much if anything saved

Then again never know what's around the corner.

sparksfly

No mortgage since March. 9k CU balance from 13k loan for 2 cars, paying it off at 25% extra per month. Just put daughter through university to Masters stage. 80k gross income. 50k in savings bonds, maturing in 2 years.

Potential-Monke

Guess I'm not like most on here then...

- Just over €20k left on the Credit Union loan
- Had a €3k 'overdraft' (it started at 600, balooned to 3k over 3 years as I couldn't afford to pay anything at the time), but that seems to have disappeared from the bank...
- Just under €9k on a car loan

To explain, I got into debt when I was 18 so I could go to college. A combination of not applying for enough courses, not getting the required points, and not knowing what I wanted to do with life led to the private loan for a private college. My mother seems to think the 2 year cert course got me certain jobs, I'm not so sure. Anyway, I carried that debt for a few years, and ended up clearing it with another loan, at a cheaper rate, from the Garda Credit Union when I joined in my mid-20's. And then it all started to go downhill. See, the Garda CU is quite generous. So generous that they willingly gave me more than I could afford to pay back.

I partly blame myself, but I also partly blame some terrible lending practices. When the money got good after 18 months of less than dole income (during training, got an extra €80pw for the 6 months outside of the college, but ~€170 otherwise). I know some of ye will say that I shouldn't have asked for it, but the GCU literally throws money at you. Looking back, seems deliberate, like a trap, but hindsight is great. They continued to give me loan after loan when I looked for it, and suddenly I was paying €350pw on loans. Couldn't last. This was on top of a €172k mortgage, which the GCU gave me a €10k deposit for, even though I was struggling to pay back what I had at that stage.

Again, I'm sure people will say it's my own fault, but I'm just not good with money. I've no problem admitting that. And it's why I put some of the blame on the GCU as they should have said no. If they had, my life could be very different now, but no point in thinking about that. Roll on to 3 years ago and I couldn't afford the mortgage and loans, so I did the adult thing and sold the house, took the hit, left the Guards and have been trying to sort myself out since.

The car loan, as some have noted, is specific to the person. For the last 3 years, I've gone through 6 'cheap' cars, or cars for €1k or thereabouts, and I've had horrendous luck with them. All but 1 (a 02 S40 I got off a mate for €300) left me down very soon after getting them. Each required a personal loan of €1k from the loan man, who happens to be a family friend. Still had to pay that back, and my other debts, and still find money for a car/repairs. I was stuck in a debt increasing rut, and with my mental health having taken a knock (sometimes crippling anxiety), I couldn't get out of it.

So this leads me to today, with the aforementioned debt. I got a large car loan (or, should I say, my mother did and I'm paying it back, because my credit history is screwed for at least 10 more years) with the hope that a newer car will actually last me the 5 years the loan is for. So far, so good. And, I could have got a cheap car, but I did my research and got the most reliable car I could find, and unlike the small loans, I got this properly checked by a mechanic to ensure there was no hidden issues. It's still only a 2010, but all going well it will last me years, and it's a pleasure to drive as i'm in the car quite often, and it's one of the little luxuries I would like to have.

I'm living at home (at 36) now, which is working for me and the parents as I have no dependents and all the siblings have their own families. So I help out and they provide me with shelter, win/win. I won't be able to own my own place again, save a lotto win, it's just not going to happen. I'll be lucky to be able to rent, and I certainly will never be able to live by myself again. Sucks, but such is life. It's a hole I dug and I'm sitting in the bottom of it while it fills with water, but somehow still have the head above the water, and hoping to be able to float up and out at some stage!

The J Stands for Jay

You would think the GCU would be more careful than this. Having gardaí in serious debt puts them in risk of corruption.

Hector Savage

NSAman wrote: »

Don't worry Hector, it gets better. Happens to all of us at some stage in life. New Mortgage Kids and general expenses sap the hell out of being able to save.

Give it a few years and it seems to settle down and life becomes a little easier.. hang in there. You will get there!

Cheers buddy ! Really appreciate it, im heading for a good month now though .... keeping it frugal.

Ill suffer a little next month for Christmas, but ****it ... I wanna enjoy it!

ldy4mxonucwsq6

Potential-Monke wrote: »

Guess I'm not like most on here then...

- Just over €20k left on the Credit Union loan
- Had a €3k 'overdraft' (it started at 600, balooned to 3k over 3 years as I couldn't afford to pay anything at the time), but that seems to have disappeared from the bank...
- Just under €9k on a car loan

To explain, I got into debt when I was 18 so I could go to college. A combination of not applying for enough courses, not getting the required points, and not knowing what I wanted to do with life led to the private loan for a private college. My mother seems to think the 2 year cert course got me certain jobs, I'm not so sure. Anyway, I carried that debt for a few years, and ended up clearing it with another loan, at a cheaper rate, from the Garda Credit Union when I joined in my mid-20's. And then it all started to go downhill. See, the Garda CU is quite generous. So generous that they willingly gave me more than I could afford to pay back.

I partly blame myself, but I also partly blame some terrible lending practices. When the money got good after 18 months of less than dole income (during training, got an extra €80pw for the 6 months outside of the college, but ~€170 otherwise). I know some of ye will say that I shouldn't have asked for it, but the GCU literally throws money at you. Looking back, seems deliberate, like a trap, but hindsight is great. They continued to give me loan after loan when I looked for it, and suddenly I was paying €350pw on loans. Couldn't last. This was on top of a €172k mortgage, which the GCU gave me a €10k deposit for, even though I was struggling to pay back what I had at that stage.

Again, I'm sure people will say it's my own fault, but I'm just not good with money. I've no problem admitting that. And it's why I put some of the blame on the GCU as they should have said no. If they had, my life could be very different now, but no point in thinking about that. Roll on to 3 years ago and I couldn't afford the mortgage and loans, so I did the adult thing and sold the house, took the hit, left the Guards and have been trying to sort myself out since.

The car loan, as some have noted, is specific to the person. For the last 3 years, I've gone through 6 'cheap' cars, or cars for €1k or thereabouts, and I've had horrendous luck with them. All but 1 (a 02 S40 I got off a mate for €300) left me down very soon after getting them. Each required a personal loan of €1k from the loan man, who happens to be a family friend. Still had to pay that back, and my other debts, and still find money for a car/repairs. I was stuck in a debt increasing rut, and with my mental health having taken a knock (sometimes crippling anxiety), I couldn't get out of it.

So this leads me to today, with the aforementioned debt. I got a large car loan (or, should I say, my mother did and I'm paying it back, because my credit history is screwed for at least 10 more years) with the hope that a newer car will actually last me the 5 years the loan is for. So far, so good. And, I could have got a cheap car, but I did my research and got the most reliable car I could find, and unlike the small loans, I got this properly checked by a mechanic to ensure there was no hidden issues. It's still only a 2010, but all going well it will last me years, and it's a pleasure to drive as i'm in the car quite often, and it's one of the little luxuries I would like to have.

I'm living at home (at 36) now, which is working for me and the parents as I have no dependents and all the siblings have their own families. So I help out and they provide me with shelter, win/win. I won't be able to own my own place again, save a lotto win, it's just not going to happen. I'll be lucky to be able to rent, and I certainly will never be able to live by myself again. Sucks, but such is life. It's a hole I dug and I'm sitting in the bottom of it while it fills with water, but somehow still have the head above the water, and hoping to be able to float up and out at some stage!

I just find myself asking why on earth would you leave a decent pensionable more or less guaranteed job for life? Especially when you have debt to clear.

Details of your loans etc only stay on the ICB for 5 years so unless you've come to some other type of debt settlement then it won't be on your credit history for 10 or more years.

anewme

The reality, harsh and all as it is, is no one forced anyone to take loans, extra money etc.

The onus is on ourselves to assume some personal responsibility and ownership.

The last recession was full of people complaining that it was The Banks/ Credit Union etc fault for giving them money. I understand illness etc changing people’s circumstances, but you really need to factor in risks such as job loss when taking the money and what happens s if you are out of work for a time, etc.

It’s your own fault. No one else’s. It’s easy to blame others when you really need to look closer to home.

Lefty Bicek

anewme wrote: »

The reality, harsh and all as it is, is no forced anyone to take loans, extra money etc.

The onus is on ourselves to assume some personal responsibility and ownership.

The last recession was full of people complaining that it was The Banks/ Credit Union etc fault for giving them money. I understand illness etc changing people’s circumstances, but you really need to factor in risks such as job loss when taking the money and what happens s if you are out of work for a time, etc.

It’s your own fault. No one else’s. It’s easy to blame others when you really need to look closer to home.

Partly disagree.

Lending institutions have a duty of care too.

But ultimately, yes, personal responsibility.

sbsquarepants

I think it's gone too far the other way. I had to borrow on the QT because numerous banks point blank refused to give me enough of a mortgage to buy the house i was after, even though i was putting down over 50% as a deposit. As a result I've been paying back an extra grand a month for the past couple of years whereas the extra on the mortgage might have been 200.

No doubt it will have saved me a fortune in the long run, but i could have done with out the 5 years of pain!

Potential-Monke

Potential-Monke wrote: »

.......

I partly blame myself, but I also partly blame some terrible lending practices..................

You are indeed correct to blame the lending practises, they landed you in a position that you weren't able to land yourself into really.

anewme wrote: »

The reality, harsh and all as it is, is no forced anyone to take loans, extra money etc.

The onus is on ourselves to assume some personal responsibility and ownership.......................
It’s your own fault. No one else’s. It’s easy to blame others when you really need to look closer to home.

Takes two to tango, the financial services industry was firmly out of control.

Minimum competency codes etc etc all came about after the crash ........... with good reason, they apply to the provider, to protect the consumer and ultimately the financial services system.

anewme

Augeo wrote: »

You are indeed correct to blame the lending practises, they landed you in a position that you weren't able to land yourself into really.




Takes two to tango, the financial services industry was firmly out of control.

Minimum competency codes etc etc all came about after the crash ........... with good reason, they apply to the provider, to protect the consumer and ultimately the financial services system.

Yep the financial services industry was gone mad.

But even here, now in posts above we see people borrowing money on the QT to get the loan and get the house. Some of those will repay, some will crash and burn as previously.

I personally dont believe in blaming someone else for what I signed on the dotted line and undertook to repay.

Homelander

No debt thankfully. Currently on a pretty weak salary (about 32k) too and kinda stuck in it and have to think about going back to college or something, have about 15k in savings. It could be worse. I'm not unhappy.

anewme

anewme wrote: »

Yep the financial services industry was gone mad.

But even here, now in posts above we see people borrowing money on the QT to get the loan and get the house. Some of those will repay, some will crash and burn as previously.

I personally dont believe in blaming someone else for what I signed on the dotted line and undertook to repay.

That's grand but lots of folk are financially as th1ck as sh1t, couple that with folks in the financial game who effectively had sales targets to meet and it was a recipe for disaster. There's less scope for that now.

The loans on the QT etc are indeed less then ideal. Can't blame anyone there but the folk themselves if/when that goes pearshaped.

ELM327

Mortgage: Approx 96k remaining at 390 per month
Car loan: 47k remaining
Credit card: 3.5k outstanding, will be cleared Q1 when shares vest.

HappyAsLarE

The size of some people’s car loans staggers me.

decky1

have a credit card but keep it paid up, hate owing anything or being in dept, poeople put themselves under a lot of pressure these days buying what they can't afford.

ldy4mxonucwsq6

HappyAsLarE wrote: »

The size of some people’s car loans staggers me.

I know sometimes it's a difficult option if you need a car but don't have the cash there to buy. Borrowing for a car would not be for me.

Buying an older affordable model or maintaining a car for a longer period is much more preferable if you can do without hefty car finance. PCP is another thing I would avoid too.

A 30k car loan will cost close to 6k in interest alone over the term.

I had a very small car loan when much younger and just starting out but have saved up and bought my last couple of cars (new) for cash (held on to them and looked after them well for 10+ years each time).

It would just be madness to me to have a huge debt for a vehicle. If its functional and reliable then I'm happy, better still I own it outright from day one.

Trigger Happy

I get why people borrow for a car even though I never would.
What is madness is borrowing for a wedding.

Don Joe

Channing Poor Sailboat wrote: »

A 30k car loan will cost close to 6k..

Thoughts of a 30K car loan gives me heartburn!! I borrowed 7K for one, once, still not paid off, but nearly there.

anewme

People will borrow for what floats their boat.

What floats your boat may not float my boat, but that's ok.

What matters is that you can repay what you borrowed.

If you can, well, that's your choice, if you cant, well, its your problem.

NSAman

Don Joe wrote: »

Thoughts of a 30K car loan gives me heartburn!! I borrowed 7K for one, once, still not paid off, but nearly there.

Everyone has their tolerances and abilities. As long as you feel comfortable with the amount and know you can pay it, what is the problem?

for you it is 7K for me it may be much higher, the one thing that remains is that you can afford it all.

The one thing I have learned in life, money is only a means to an end. If you have loads, it doesn't make you happy. If you have little you think that lots more will solve the issues.... it doesn't always work like that.

I am in the lucky position that I earn enough to afford what I have, I can pay my way. I was never one to spend on silly things, yes I could probably afford the Patek Phillippe watch but do I really need it? Could I justify that purchase....NO!

Has it always been this way for me? Absolutely not. I know the value of money and save accordingly!

Millionaire only not

anewme wrote: »

Yep the financial services industry was gone mad.

But even here, now in posts above we see people borrowing money on the QT to get the loan and get the house. Some of those will repay, some will crash and burn as previously.

I personally dont believe in blaming someone else for what I signed on the dotted line and undertook to repay.

Do u have to repay it back - F... sake what they expect next interest as well !

Wildly Boaring

Car is gonna cost you between 2 and 3k in depreciation or repairs annually. If you do any kind of mileage.

Depends how you want to pay for it.

Then you have people like myself who get mileage. I put it aside to keep the car fairly nice as I often spent 5 or 6 hours in it a day.

Also if vw or someone want to give me 0% finance. Then I'll use that rather than my savings.

ninebeanrows

People paying off mortgage early....fair play if you have a war chest but if not its dangerous...

Put that cash In a reasonably easily accessible fund in case of emergencies

Unless you've 100k saved up I wouldn't risk paying my mortgage ahead, who knows what might happen

Motivator

ELM327 wrote: »

Mortgage: Approx 96k remaining at 390 per month
Car loan: 47k remaining
Credit card: 3.5k outstanding, will be cleared Q1 when shares vest.

So your car is costing you a lot more than your mortgage every month? Looks like it’s probably double your mortgage repayments.

Why would you do that?

Bishop of hope

Motivator wrote: »

So your car is costing you a lot more than your mortgage every month? Looks like it’s probably double your mortgage repayments.

Why would you do that?

Status symbol is usual reason.
I see earlier this poster couldn't justify an expensive watch, that's reasonable, but it sounds funny then to have a 47k loan left on a car and try to justify that.
Sounds like it would be a case of a car is easier to show off than a watch, I mean you'd have to roll up your sleeves and wave a lot before you'd notice a watch.

bigpink

Legacy Tasty Spit wrote: »

No debt whatsoever. Income? €80k+

What about yourself OP?

No debt at all??

ldy4mxonucwsq6

Motivator wrote: »

So your car is costing you a lot more than your mortgage every month? Looks like it’s probably double your mortgage repayments.

Why would you do that?

It's actually probably nearer to triple the monthly mortgage payment (typical bank car loan of 50k over 5 years for example would be a €980 month).

I am debt averse and that would probably keep me awake at night!!

Assetbacked

bear1 wrote: »

When the recession hit I was 7k in debt on a loan and 3k debt on the credit card.
That was hard, I pretty much defaulted on it.
But after years of pain I managed to get myself out and get a mortgage which was about 70k.
Got divorced and lost the apartment essentially so my debts total about 10k now.
But it's cleared every month and what's left is put into savings.
Not a great success story but I'm not hungry, have a roof over my head, a car and the love of a good woman
I don't need anything else.
Well.. maybe 10k so I can be debt free

You're getting there, that is really not a lot in the grand scheme of things and particularly from where you've come from. Keep up the good work!