Do you know anyone who doesn’t have/ hasn’t ever had any debt?

My parents bought cars on hire purchase and were constantly in debt, so I went to the other extreme, but that doesn't mean I have never been in debt.

For years I had a student's loan that I was paying off, but I have never used credit cards, so anything we want is paid for when we buy it. We do have a mortgage on our house, though.

We have never been in debt unless a mortgage is counted. A handful of times we have taken up an interest free offer but only when we could pay it off if needs be. Apparently it helps give you a decent credit rating. Not sure why we are worried about having a decent credit rating but there you go. Things seem to be different these days . I read yesterday that £5000 is not considered a big debt nowadays. Blimey, it would be to me.

My brother retired 3 years ago after working hard in heavy jobs all his life. He was settled in a nice bungalow with his wife of 22 years, looking forward to a happy retirement. Until there was a knock on the door from the baillifs. Unknown to him his wife had been gambling online, borrowing money, running up massive debt on not only his but her best friends bank cards. To cut a long story short, they finished up in tiny one-bed social housing, desperately short of money whilst he continued to try to pay off the debts. If he had reported her to the police she would have been prosecuted for fraud. He tried to hold things together but threw in the towel six months ago and moved out, due to her refusing to give up bingo etc. whilst he was still trying to exist from week to week. He is now settled in a nice place, but sad, lonely, in ill health and on anti-depressants - still paying off her debts. I'm incredibly sad for him, he never imagined being in this position at his time of life.

Well we do have a mortgage but that's all- we have credit cards but pay them off in full every month.
I lease my car for 3 year periods & then change it for another one on a similar deal so I suppose that is sort of debt.

I've never been in debt, never been given any money, and always worked in low paid jobs.
I'm sure that may surprise all the people giving me advice about frugal living last week.
I also own my flat.

I just had a mortgage which has been paid off for about 10 years otherwise I ve never have any debts I only pay for things when I ve got the money
I saved for my phone for over a year

A mortgage is a debt so there will be plenty of people who are technically 'in debt' on that basis alone.
I have been and am in 'debt' in the broadest sense of the word as, until my DDs become due, I'm in debt to the companies who provide me with services.
My credit cards are paid in full 55/6 days after the statement is generated.
I have 4 bank accounts, 3 savings accounts a share dealing account and 3 credit cards plus 2 store cards and a PayPal credit account with a ceiling of £6k and my credit rating is excellent.
I rarely, if ever, pay in cash and do all my banking online through apps.
Making my money work hard for me is something I try to achieve and I will negotiate vigorously to get the best deals.

I'm not afraid of debt, I'm determined that I will never end up having to pay more out than I need to.

I have a similar approach, GG54*. It's about sensibly managing your money, surely.

The only debt we had was a mortgage. We only ever bought things we could pay for. Simple really!

Likewise the only debt we ever had was a mortgage, what we couldn't afford we went without. Never owned a credit card either.

To my mind, not having a credit card is not a good thing: I have used mine to save money by buying items cheaper when in a sale or on special offer, but always made sure I knew I could pay it off in full when payment was due.

All of you proudly being without a credit card may like to think again, if you make a purchase on one, anything over £100, could be a fridge or a holiday, then you have added protection if something goes wrong with said item. As long as you pay it off before interest is added, this is a good value consumer protection scheme. I keep one for online shopping only, that way my bank account is kept safe.

some inspiring stories on here, this year i have decided my aim is to get debt free within the next 3-4 years, i love the feeling of being able to pay for things up front and i want that again

I wonder if anyone who is struggling financially is reading this because some posts are sounding just a teeny bit smug.

You’re probably right Lazigirl. They could always check another of my posts on the hell of an estranged daughter and feel quite smug themselves if they hadn’t suffered it.

Indeed, GillT57. It's also a good idea to link a credit card (or debit card) to a Paypal account. If an item doesn't arrive or is significantly not as described, Paypal will help buyers get a full refund. It's an added layer of consumer protection.

The kind of (short-term) debt I would always advise against are storecards. I've fallen for them in the past - the offer of 10% or 20% of today's large purchase. I've taken the card, paid off what I owe in the first month just as if I had put it on my credit card and never used the storecard again.

Fast forward to a time when you see a better offer for a credit card, a provider who might be offering, for example, generous cashback on purchases. You have always paid off your credit card each month and think the switch will be a formality only to find those storecards have seriously affected your credit rating and your are denied the more advantageous card. Protestations that you don't owe any money fall on deaf ears. All the credit ratings agencies see is that at some point in the past you possessed several cards with the potential to spend money and acquire debt to the sum of the credit limits on all the cards.

Even if you close down the storecard account it can take a long time for the initial acquisition of the card to stop having an adverse affect your credit rating. Beware.

I agree with you Lazigirl there are an awful lot of people at the moment struggling financially or else there would be no need for food banks. Some people are having to go into debt just to keep their head above water and it can be for all sorts of reasons.

Yes we have had debt, and after retiring 8 years ago, I got us into a real pickle(in 2013 my fault entirely, I deal with all the finances, always have!). We were advised to go to a debt charity ( StepChange), they have been marvelous, the first phone call was nerve wracking having to talk to a stranger about the mess we were in, but the lovely lady just didn't judge and we arranged an amount to pay by Direct Debit each month to them and they divided it up and paid the bills for us. We are still paying some of the debts off, but some have been repayed, and that means that the money we still pay each month goes that bit further to the other debts, hopefully within the next 18 months we will be debt free....it was frightening at the start but now I just keep thinking soon we may have a little bit of money to spend on us and not on paying bills off.

Storecards can be good in certain circs. When dh was still working I went with him to M&S for two good quality business suits and a few other things. Total was around £500. We were told that taking a storecard would instantly knock 10% off the bill.
'We would only cut it up straight afterwards,' said dh.
'That's entirely up to you,' they said.
So we took it, knocked £50 off the bill, and cut it up as soon as it arrived.

M&S card isn't a store card. It's a credit card for their bank.

M&S have a chargecard and a Budgetcard, as well as a credit card. I’ve paid £20 a month by standing order to a Budgetcard for years, and used to use it to buy Christmas goodies. Now I just have a wee spree at New Year.

Gosh Ive never heard of their charge card or Budget card. Do they still do them?

The only debt i ever had was my mortgage paid this off when I was 42 and have never had any other debt since everything I pay for is in cash

I had a mortgage but I only buy what I can afford now. I mostly take cash out shopping, having set myself a budget before I go out. I use debit cards but I tore up the marital credit cards when I divorced.

I save and pay for my holidays up front.