Oooh that's a difficult one

 

There have been times when my payments servicing my debts have been larger than income, it's all about managing it. What you don't seem to get is that not all debt bad, its about leveraging that debt that will bring more benefits that will give you gains in improving quality of life as well as allowing you to invest to bring greater returns. Sure you can live debt free all your life, but it would be long and arduous and progress would be slow. How long would it take you to save for your first house without a mortgage, how long will you have to save and wait before paying for education/professional course/exams? There are huge number of businesses that have run at a loss, but because the debt was used to invested for progression and expansion, it works out better for the business in the long run. Of course there is bad debt or good debt turning bad, but if you don't take risks, there would be no progression. If you can balance and manage it, I don't see a problem with debt.

I believe that the debt I took on over the years has allowed me to progress a lot quicker in improving my and my family's quality of life, otherwise I'd quite possibly still be living at home with my parents.

 

Those programmes would naturally pick the most sensational examples. Who wants to boring people on TV?

 

Oh, I get all that.

what I cannot get my head round is how you make payments which are more than your income, yet remain solvent?

Doesn't make sense. Unless you were fairly certain your income would rise steadily? Or something?

 

You just have to be good with your budgeting and frequently review your finances. It's not something I would contemplate doing without careful and thorough planning as you're juggling a combination of defering some payments, which is effectively increasing borrowing, timing of investments for when they become liquid, receiving other payments on time that are owed to you and making cuts and calculating for future reductions in expenditure and increase in income and having enough capital to tie you over that period.

 

Sounds like someone has been reading "Gordon Brown...how to ru(i)n a country's finances..." LOL

 

Kinda like it, except I forgot to mention you also need to factor in common sense, and as a result my household hasn't been left in rack and ruin.

 

I read some stats around this, those families that have 10 kids, all on benefits,

There are about 15 in the whole country, yet as you say, they all seem to make it on to TV

The truth is mundane and makes sh11t TV