Your net worth...

Originally Posted by the_lone_wolf

Supposedly £8,761 per household,

I wish it was

I'm on -£100k, I'm 24, and I don't even have a house to show for it. Well you can't take money with you to the other side so you might as well spend it all while you can.

Originally Posted by Sid Squid

I think it probably is, some people I know have debts that just the thought of is enough to keep me awake at night. They however consider this to be entirely normal and that I don't have significant debt to be unusual. I have credit cards though not for borrowing as such, just for convenience.
I find some people's level of debt simply scary - it seems those like you and I are the odd ones out nowadays.

<puts hand up>
Me! I don't buy what I can't afford = no debts, money in the bank, cards which get paid off each month, and my commitments (ie mortgage) are well within the realms of affordability. And I work hard for my income - I do not expect my employer to owe me a living.

I do get more than a little bit hacked off with people who moan about not being able to afford the deposit for a property, and yet build up frightening debts so they can have all the lastest gadgets (which get replaced long before they've worn out), plenty of holidays, nights out, new clobber etc. Do they think they'll never have to pay it back?
Questioned, said same folk do not see the connection between their borrowing habits and the national debt. It's someone else's fault/problem.

And me. I hate debt. I pay my credit card bill off each month. I don't borrow money for vehicles, holidays or anything else. The only debt I have is my mortgage and I hate having one of those too. Having said that, the only reason I took out the mortgage was to buy a second home once I'd paid off the mortgage on the first.

[G]

Ha that's good. If I don't have cold hard cash i don't spend it.

There's a chap at my work who lives in his £2500 overdraft not including all his credit cards. He's up to his eyeballs, fully admits it too. He just gone away for a fortnight as 'he has not been away this year yet'

[Red Herring]

I think it's hard when you're young to get on the ladder without incurring some debt, but it should be kept in perspective. i think the issue today is the reasons people are prepared to get into debt seem more fickle than they used to be, ie: they want a holiday, a new TV etc etc. My wife and i started out together when we were both 19 and we had to have a mortgage to buy our first house, and I remember having a bank loan to buy my first car, but other than that we borrowed very rarely. The other issue of course these days is the readiness with which people start over again. A colleague of mine at work is due to retire in a couple of years (aged 52) but three years ago he remarried, took out a 25 year mortgage and they've now got two kids together. Sooner him than me!

I own my car and my bike outright, I rent my house. I dont have any credit cards. I hate being in my £100 overdraft with a passion.

If I cant afford it I cant have it. Simple. Yes that means I miss out on holidays, and my car is 9 year old and not new, my bike even older, but so what. They are mine. No one is about to knock on my door and take them away.

Just the mortgage here for me and hoping that will be paid off shortly (if all goes well) too

Perhaps as Timbo says,It was growing up in a time when if you didn't have money you didn't have it. Many things have changed since then and credit is so very accessible some people tend to get carried away in the good times.
One comment I slightly disagree with is the cheap housing,in relation to earnings things haven't changed that much,my first house was four times my salary in 1969 and that is comparable to the same house/salary today.Life can mean being a bit prudent with your finances and prioritising purchases to get what you want,instead of squandering your money on new luxury items,but making do with what you have.

[embee]

A few years ago I applied for a credit card and was declined, I was a bit concerned something was amiss so checked with Experian.

When the report came back, there was the problem: - no rating, no debt, no credit history. Sorry, if you can't show you know what debt is all about you're not having a credit card from us.