Stardust!

"Perhaps I hold traditional old fashioned ideas but not having debt is a very good feeling. You have to ask the question Do I need it or Do I want it: there is a big difference. Then when you have the funds available go out and buy it without giving banks and loan companies ridiculous rates of interest."

At last, somebody else on the same page as me!

Personally this is the way I think about this:

1) If I see something on offer and have to think about whether I can afford it or not then the answer is easy - I can't afford it

Simple answer - don't buy it!

2) When you do not have enough money but want to buy the item using an overdraft, taking out a loan etc.

Simple answer - don't buy it!

Perhaps I hold traditional old fashioned ideas but not having debt is a very good feeling. You have to ask the question Do I need it or Do I want it: there is a big difference. Then when you have the funds available go out and buy it without giving banks and loan companies ridiculous rates of interest.

How many times do you see something on offer in a shop or in an advert and think about if you can afford it? When you do not have enough money but want to buy the item you think of a bank overdraft, using a credit card or taking out a loan with the seller or with a different lender. If there is time, you could ask for a personal illustration when they are available and have the details of all the costs before committing to increasing the amount of debt you may have already. Here is a simple way you can estimate the costs yourself before taking the plunge. Estimating a month interest charge on an amount is given here in good faith and a typical rate is used. An estimate of 1 month interest is £1.48 added to a £70 transaction and all to be paid to the lender with any charges and the interest rate chosen is 24.9% or p.c a year as it could appear on account documents. Step 1 is to multiply 0.0833 by the interest rate applying as a fraction, 0.249 in this example, Step 2 is to multiply that result by the transaction amount and Step 3 is to apply 0.03 to the new result by adding or subtracting as preferred and this estimate to 2 decimal places is the interest charge for a month at the rate. A month can be 30 or 31 days, 28 or 29 days for February and the estimate uses a twelfth of a year, 30 and 5/12 days, however account statements are produced every 30 or 31 days or 4-weekly. The true rate used by the lender could be 24.9384 or 24.94 or 24.97% but only one decimal place of the rate may be notified to the account holder. This facility is brought to you by the personal authority of Her Majesty the Queen who in recent years has recommended that I publish these details at about this time for the general wellbeing of all in this Britain.