If anyone wants access to their credit report/score, Polarising Person Martin Lewis offers a free to access service in partnership with Experian: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/creditclub
Was a couple of grand into my overdraft at the start of last year when I moved back to London, cos I’d been working part time for the previous six months waiting to start this job.
Had just about paid it all off at the start of this year when I have to pay a fresh deposit + fees on my flat (for various reasons I didn’t put a deposit on my previous place, which was helpful at the time, but less so then…) which was like a grand.
Paid it all down as of this month though 
It never felt too bad or insurmountable though, at least since I moved back here. I’ve been pretty disciplined with a weekly budget etc and not having a social life really helps. Looking forward to getting out of London though, it’s a financial sink pit.
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I’m in a bit of a mess at the minute from one thing or another tbh - but it’s manageable. And I’m still a massive big shot.
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Over about the last five years thanks to very poor life choices I had about ten grand’s worth of debt that I had to move from credit card to credit card every 12 to 18 months. On top of that I was always pretty much continually overdrawn about a week after getting paid each month. Stressful.
Thankfully an endowment matured last year which enabled me to clear the debt with money left over.
I feel very lucky.
No because (I’m assuming) the credit agreement/contract is in your name.
I think Experian offer a free 30 day trial if you wanted a detailed look at your report. It tells you which factors are positively and negatively affecting your score. (Sorry if I sound like I’m plugging Experian! 
I’ve just personally found it really helpful over the last few years and it’s helped me to get my credit ‘score’ to near perfect.)
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My evenings are mostly filled with playing in bands.
I’ve just signed up for the medical trials thing (looks like there’s a big centre in Nottingham) so hopefully something will come of that.
I’m rubbish at swallowing pills, is my only worry. Presumably they can force it down me. For two grand I’ll swallow anything.
Wasn’t far from clearing years of accumulated credit card grot…and then a foreign lorry cleaned me out on a roundabout a couple of months back and wrote off my car.
Not the ideal time to be buying a new car mid mat leave, but needed one - so have lumped it all on a long term interest free purchases card. Bit depressing to have that debt back again, but just need to be disciplined and pay off a set amount each month as if it were a loan or car finance commitment. In practical terms it’s no different, just without the exorbitant interest charges.
The other debt I managed by paying off gradually - bouncing between interest free balance transfer cards and closing the old account each time the free period expired. The balance transfer fee for a couple of years 0% usually works out about the same as one months interest on the standard rate, so has always proved worth it. Just have to suffer the tedious phone call to the credit card co each time I want to close an account.
The bands don’t pay but not going to rehearsals isn’t an option if I want to stay at this level. My involvement with my old band finishes in a week and a half anyway so I’ll get some time back to myself.
Ideally I’d get some freelance design work, which would pay a lot more per hour than bar work, would mean I wouldn’t have to talk to the general public, but would mean I’d need the empty evenings to get it done.
Dinner?
Although just to be upfront, we’re going dutch…
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Coping OK, every now and then it becomes really quite stressful, then there’s a few months of it being fine before it gets too much again.
Have just over £7k spread across three credit cards, and constantly dip into two overdrafts by a few hundred pounds a week before pay day to get by. Overdrafts get cleared straight away each, CC I’m making slightly above minimum payments. 2 of these are 0% interest still, the other isn’t and I recently failed to be accepted for a balance transfer card to shift it on to which is a bit shit.
Sometimes struggle to understand how I’ve gone from having £5k in savings ten years ago to the current situation. Apart from dipping into them to help support myself through university when needed, I’m mostly convinced it’s down to moving house every 6-12 months since the age of 18.
Money for deposits and agency fees, not getting full deposits back etc soon adds up. My biggest problem has been failing to pay returned deposit money back into savings, and using it to treat myself instead. Didn’t seem like much of a problem when there was a safety net, but once the savings disappeared and I had to rely on credit cards instead, it looks pretty foolish.
Useful, thanks.
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I got into problems with having enough money to pay my income tax when I was freelance and wasn’t getting enough work. I should have signed on the dole perhaps instead. Eventually I got a proper job.
The tax office is now taking extra money from my PAYE to cover what I owe them. I just have to economise a bit - and make extra cash DJing and dealing in vinyl records - to make up for the couple of hundred a month that they’re taking on top of my regular income tax.
I blame the government and the DWP for pretty much forcing people to be freelance instead of signing on. But there’s fuck all I can do but hand over money to them, of course. My problem is in being too honest and declaring everything meticulously.
Fuck Experian - go with Clearscore or CreditWise instead. Both free, both tell you your score and what’s affecting it.
Experian made a sackload of money for many years by effectivey putting a paywall on your credit score. So fuck them. 
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I didn’t want to like your post because it would look like I was taking pleasure in your indebtedness, but I do want to say that I very much enjoyed this reference.
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just the mortgage to pay off for me 
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Did a lot of jugling overdrafts, credit cards and loans when the kids were small and money was tight
Just the mortgage these days - although it feels big for 1 person to be solely responsible for (remortgaged recently to pay for work on the flat) so I do worry about that .
All fine as long as a stay employed I guess
Got no debt but had leave my job due to poor health. Not had a penny go in my bank since the start of March. Used my savings since then but down to my last grand. Flatmate moved out which basically doubled my bills, and became overun with mice just as a new person was moving in so that cost a fortune as well. Can’t claim housing benefit because technically i sublet, claimed Universal Credit but they basically have a six week evaluation period, so basically selling records, DVDs, books, clothes, bits of furniture, etc, to cover my weekly costs. Too ill to work even part-time, so what do you do? In a way it’s worse than being heavily in debt because once the money runs out there’s no more.
Still, i had savings, lots of people don’t. I’ve got nice things to sell, lots of people don’t. There are people i can ask for money. Someone’s supposed to be moving in soon. The job centre will get there arses in gear at some point. It could be a lot worse, lots of people have literally got nothing, but it’s a proper headfuck worrying about what happens weeks from now. Can totally see how people end up owing tens of thousands of pounds even without uni loans or mortgages.
Just the mortgage here too. There was a point about two years ago when we were technically debt free, having sold my other half’s flat and put her equity into my offset mortgage account. That lasted about a fortnight until we bought where we are.
I have £700 on my credit card and that’s bothering me.
I’ve never had any serious debt and i’m terrified of it. I thank my parents so much for no letting me get a credit card til a year ago.