What are you general views on debt in the UK right now? It seems that more and more people are getting in trouble. Is it out of control? Are People declaring themselves as Bankrupt to get out of paying back the debt? Is the general Public doing much to eliminate the debt? Or is it too easy to get in debt? If so whose fault is it?

Personally (Milgod not Aks) I have a lot of debt right now. I got into difficulty and its not easy to get out. We have a plan and are sticking to it so can see the light at the end of the tunnel, but I can imagine for some its not always the way. Many people really don't understand enough about money/credit/interest rates etc they get into trouble very easily.

I am like most people in debt but not too bad off really as i can make noth me mortgages, svae some cash, contribute to me pension and stil have a good bit of spare cash but i do recognise that this is not the case for most people.

I think that a lot of people borrow money when they should wait until they have saved a sufficent amount to buy something first, obviously not houses or cars but say the likes of holidays, xmass gifts, etc.

In my view I do think the Debt generally in UK has gone out of Control and there are many factors.
There are people out there who have fallen to the circumstances and now as Millie said are trying to clear their Debts. And these I feel are very few who are making an effort. Yet there are people out there are spending money they do not have like it is going to go out of fashion. The other factor is that now days it is so easy to get a New Credit card or a Loan. Not enough checks are made by the banks or financial institutes to see if the person is able to pay for the Credit or Loan. My daughter is 25 and full time student with a Part time job, she already has a Students Loan out standing and yet is bombarded weekly by various companies offering her a Credit Card or a Loan. Same applies for Department Store Cards. They really try to push to get you to have the card without asking if you can manage it.
As Mugsey pointed out and also how I have been brought up is that if you do not have the money you cannot have it so will get it when we have the money. I would like to say I do not have any debt, but having a mortgage would not allow me to say that. My main target is to pay off the Mortgage as soon as possible and then I would have a big burden off my shoulders. I cannot remember the last time I paid interest on my Credit card, yet we are the ones who Card companies do not like because we do not make any money for them at all.
As Millie pointed out younger people of this day an age and may be some older ones as well need to be educated in Money matters and explain to them how Credit Cards and Loans work and the interest rates. Because they think by paying The Min amount every month is OK, yet have no concept as to how much deeper they getting in to.

If the debt situation amongst the younger generation is not addressed we could have one of the biggest Bankrupt Young Population in the world.

Debt is one of my bug bears. I am pretty sensible when it comes to money, infact probably over cautious.

It is far too easy for people to get into debt here. Cards are thrown at you with no bearing on if you are financially capable of repaying anything you put on them. Banks constantly ply you with loan offers, and now as we are fully beginning to use the full capabilities of the internet its even worse....click of a button and more debts.

My stance on debt is this. If you don't have the money you go without. Its not your money. The major reason for debt in the UK is people living above their means (and I say major cos I know their are other reasons like student loans etc). They want the holidays, the latest games console, a new car, some all singing and dancing new mobile, clothes, the bigger house etc.....but to me you can't have everything in life.

Excluding the mortgage I wouldnt take out any loan higher than what I have covered in savings or bonds etc.

Instead of having all the fancy things, plough your money into paying off any debts, including the mortgage, go without for a little while, you'll be better off in the long run. Then live comfortably within your means.

I've never really been in debt as I've never had a credit card. Consequently it's nigh on impossible to get any kind of store credit or whatever when I need it, as I have no real credit history. It pisses me off that people who spend, spend, spend have credit thrown at them regardless of whether they can afford it any more, but someone who has avoided debt altogether cannot use it in an emergency.

Aks hit it on the head when he said there's not enough education about managing money. When I left school I didn't have a clue about setting up a bank account let alone what things like APR meant.

I went through my first ten years at work renting and not buying as I had no idea what a mortgage was, how to get one, what it meant etc etc. I paid over £37,000 rent in that period and that during a period when house prices boomed.

Now I'm no Einstein but I'm not stupid either - i'm sure I'm pretty representative of Joe Public. Lessons in money management in schools would be a starting point - people nowadays don't have their support system at home like they used to.

Finally, you may have seen how people who take out a 'loan to consolidate their loans' are 66% more likely to end up with more debt. The scum that advertise these services and the Government that blatantly allows it are parasites, preying on the needy and the naive. These companies should be closed down and the Government should step up funding to support those who have fallen into the debt trap.

just to balance the argument, i also think as a society we tag negative feelings to the word debt, when in fact there is such a thing as good debt..hear me out.....

I receive a lump sum from work every year to use for car payments. I get a 3 year loan as the lump sum more than covers the payments. So rather than getting a company car, I have an asset every 3 years. This is good debt.

Another issue is people being lazy to debt. You can get off your arse and look for better deals. M&S credit card are offering 3% for the life of the debt that you transfer. All this consolidation bollox winds me up as well. Its okay if your payments reduce, but if you look around you can construct your own debt a lot cheaper than 8/9% these consolidation companies charge.

www.moneysavingexpert.com is the future......

Debt is choice! Some is positive debt i.e Students wanting to do better for themselves, but the worst case scenario is those people who are reckless, have no regard for their actions and the knock on effect whilst ducking and diving, moving houses, renting alternative places and not giving a shit!

When my wife and I split up in 1999 I took all the debts with me so she and the kids didnt have to stuggle. then payed her £600 a month for just over a year. During this time I lived on £30 a week, watched a 14" portable TV, had no phone in the house, no Sky, nothing. My debts were just over £10k.
So, from the end of 1999 to 2003 I was living in poverty with this young lass. I was/on a good salary and she was/is too.
Fast forward to the end of 2003 and all my debts were payed off. I can still remember writing out that last check to the credit card company - who by the way were superb. I called them up at the start and negotiated a fixed rate for my debts of 6%.
I now have my own house again (after living in rented for 16 months), have every gadget going and to top it all off, will finish paying my mortgage later this year.

So, the moral of the story is, even if you do fuck up really bad (and I know £10K aint that bad), you can still get on your feet if you put EVERYTHING on hold for a few years while paying off everything.

Oh, and www.moneysavingexpert.com helped enormously and I still use this site now. Good advice GB.

Good work White Paul - definitely some good (monetary) advice in there.

A lot of people seem to think the best way to get out of debt is to borrow more. Credit card companies are usually open to discussions around large, ongoing debts - they ultimately want what's theirs.