tonyh29 Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 Car went away for a minor repair In the middle glove compartment I keep an assortment of coins chewing gum , aspirin the usual boring stuff Got my car back last night all the coins have been stolen ... Probably about a tenners worth so no biggie but they took the lot the 10p's the 20p pieces the lot.... Surely it would have been more subtle to steal £7.20 or something and at least left an element of doubt ( I've no idea exactly how much was in there it's just a stack of coins for parking meters ) Least they left me the chewing gum and the pen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xela Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 Ok just before I sign off for the night I want to check if I am right to be a little pissed off with this (no rant just a genuine question) My mate is 30 in September and is looking at going to Prague for it, I have already chatted briefly with him and said that I doubt if I can afford any shit like that because I just can't pull together the money required. I get a text from his brother today saying it would cost £650 in total and I reply saying. There is no chance I can save that money plus the money I would need to get a passport because I barely break even at the end of a month and I am doing everything I can at the moment to clear my credit card debt. He replies saying "we want you to come so I will pay for your passport and you can just pay me back when you can" Now I understand that he didn't intend to piss me off but he earns a lot more money than me and it feels like he is trivialising the debt that I am already in, plus the £80 passport is pretty much a drop in the ocean when I still need to pull together £650 I just didn't reply to the last text because I didn't feel the need to justify the fact that £650 is a **** load of money to me especially when at the moment approximately £150/200 a month is going on my credit card. He knows how hard I am working to clear some of my debts but then makes a throw away comment like that as if it's nothing, I don't give a **** if it's my mates birthday, I haven't spent the last 12 months sorting myself out financially to go and put another £700 on my credit card. While paying off your debts is admirable, I wouldn't let life pass you by for a few hundred quid on the CC. If you don't want to go then fine, but if you really want to go then stick it on the card. When you're older you won't think about the weekends you stayed at home paying debt off, you'll be thinking about the great time you had in Prague, which is a wonderful city. Ultimately it is a balance. Don't spend recklessly on the card but don't be afraid to use it for something you want and can afford to pay back in time without it being a monkey on your back. I had a bit of a reckless attitude to money when i was younger, managed to accumulate about a years salary of debt on credit cards. All paid off now, mainly due to knuckling down, selling stuff i didn't need and quite substantial increases in salary which made it easy to clear. However, I still have credit cards and do use them if I want something I don't have the cash for straight away. You just need to be disciplined with them, 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xela Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 That some bald ugly scouse word removed is getting paid £14.4million a year for playing kick and chase while I get £19k to help vulnerable people with mental health issues re-adjust to life in our society while dealing with my own mental health. **** hate the way the world works, its just not fair at all. This is what has caused me to dislike the modern game. Its just not realistic anymore. The thing is, the players don't even look like they enjoy doing what they do, despite earning millions a year. They should be thanking their lucky stars every day for how good there life is. That is very true, most of them actually don't enjoy it. My pastor at church used to be a football agent in the West Midlands area, and he said the people in society with the biggest issues are footballers. We think they have perfect lives but they don't. I didn't mean my comment to be a glib John Gregory style 'depressed footballers should pull themselves together' statement. It just seems that footballers don't seem to play with a smile on their face anymore and enjoy what they do. Take actors, they get paid loads when they have made it to the top. Tom Cruise for example, I know he's not well liked on here but you can see the enthusiasm he has for his job when he does interviews and talks to reporters. He knows he has a good life and is appreciative of it. Rooney looks like he's licking piss of a thistle. Maybe i'm rambling! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darrenm Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 Ok just before I sign off for the night I want to check if I am right to be a little pissed off with this (no rant just a genuine question) My mate is 30 in September and is looking at going to Prague for it, I have already chatted briefly with him and said that I doubt if I can afford any shit like that because I just can't pull together the money required. I get a text from his brother today saying it would cost £650 in total and I reply saying. There is no chance I can save that money plus the money I would need to get a passport because I barely break even at the end of a month and I am doing everything I can at the moment to clear my credit card debt. He replies saying "we want you to come so I will pay for your passport and you can just pay me back when you can" Now I understand that he didn't intend to piss me off but he earns a lot more money than me and it feels like he is trivialising the debt that I am already in, plus the £80 passport is pretty much a drop in the ocean when I still need to pull together £650 I just didn't reply to the last text because I didn't feel the need to justify the fact that £650 is a **** load of money to me especially when at the moment approximately £150/200 a month is going on my credit card. He knows how hard I am working to clear some of my debts but then makes a throw away comment like that as if it's nothing, I don't give a **** if it's my mates birthday, I haven't spent the last 12 months sorting myself out financially to go and put another £700 on my credit card. While paying off your debts is admirable, I wouldn't let life pass you by for a few hundred quid on the CC. If you don't want to go then fine, but if you really want to go then stick it on the card. When you're older you won't think about the weekends you stayed at home paying debt off, you'll be thinking about the great time you had in Prague, which is a wonderful city. Ultimately it is a balance. Don't spend recklessly on the card but don't be afraid to use it for something you want and can afford to pay back in time without it being a monkey on your back. I had a bit of a reckless attitude to money when i was younger, managed to accumulate about a years salary of debt on credit cards. All paid off now, mainly due to knuckling down, selling stuff i didn't need and quite substantial increases in salary which made it easy to clear. However, I still have credit cards and do use them if I want something I don't have the cash for straight away. You just need to be disciplined with them, But when that weekend is gone, it's gone. The memories are worth a lot, but just going further in debt isn't worth it because it stops you doing other stuff you'll have great memories of. It seems that Lee's at the same point as when you say you knuckled down and paid it off, by not doing stuff like what he's saying. Yet you're advising him to do the opposite? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xela Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 Yeah I see what you say, but my situation was that my debt got out of control (£20k plus) and i had to remedy that or I was going under. Obviously I don't know the level of leemond's debt but if it isn't too bad and he really wants to go to Prague then i'd do it. If his debt was out of control like mine was, then yes, staying at home would be preferable! He mentioned he's paying £150-200 per month off and its £650 or so to go away, so about 3-4 months extra debt. Apologies I should have caveated that in my original comment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darrenm Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 Yeah I see what you say, but my situation was that my debt got out of control (£20k plus) and i had to remedy that or I was going under. Obviously I don't know the level of leemond's debt but if it isn't too bad and he really wants to go to Prague then i'd do it. If his debt was out of control like mine was, then yes, staying at home would be preferable! He mentioned he's paying £150-200 per month off and its £650 or so to go away, so about 3-4 months extra debt. Apologies I should have caveated that in my original comment. Nah that's fair enough and I agree with you mostly. Too many times I've spent a lot of money on something because it was a life event and then regretted it afterwards. Being out of debt is a lovely place to be because it then opens up the opportunity to do what you want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trekka Posted February 22, 2014 VT Supporter Share Posted February 22, 2014 Yeah I see what you say, but my situation was that my debt got out of control (£20k plus) and i had to remedy that or I was going under. Obviously I don't know the level of leemond's debt but if it isn't too bad and he really wants to go to Prague then i'd do it. If his debt was out of control like mine was, then yes, staying at home would be preferable! He mentioned he's paying £150-200 per month off and its £650 or so to go away, so about 3-4 months extra debt. Apologies I should have caveated that in my original comment. Yeah I was about to say the same thing. If your debt is manageable and you're paying it down then an extra £500 on a credit card really won't make that much difference for a trip with mates that won't happen very often (i.e. at all). It's all about balances. I was stupid in my younger days - I whacked a whole load of debt onto cc's for a once in a lifetime trip around the USA. I don't regret a single day of it but it is true that I've struggled since to balance up the finances as I got into a situation of using other credit for daily stuff whilst struggling when moving to a new city and new job etc. The key is to be disciplined, pay it off gradually and don't be tempted to keep on spending. If you are struggling as it is then it's a no brainer to try to clear as much debt as possible. Just don't do what I did by pretending the crocodile approaching the canoe is not there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xela Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 This: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/woman/real_life/5461107/23st-mum-blames-junk-food-addiction-on-benefits-handouts.html Not the story itself but the fact that the Sun has led with this on the front page today purely to get a reaction from the public. (I didn't buy the paper, I saw it at the barbers this morning) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leemond2008 Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 Ok then to clear up the little debate about my financial position. I don't owe much money on my credit cards (£220 on one and £800 on the other) but I am constantly making £50 a month minimum payments a month between the two of them, I don't have much money to play around with so if I can get then paid off then I will just be in a better place financially and if something does come up that I want to do I can go for it without worrying about the debts mounting up. I did not long ago owe quite a bit on them and have managed to pull it right back, I didn't use it for stupid things it was for things I wanted to do and opportunities I didn't want to miss but I wasn't pro active enough in paying it off so I just need a clean slate so I can start again but more sensibly 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dont_do_it_doug. Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 Ok then to clear up the little debate about my financial position. I don't owe much money on my credit cards (£220 on one and £800 on the other) but I am constantly making £50 a month minimum payments a month between the two of them, I don't have much money to play around with so if I can get then paid off then I will just be in a better place financially and if something does come up that I want to do I can go for it without worrying about the debts mounting up. I did not long ago owe quite a bit on them and have managed to pull it right back, I didn't use it for stupid things it was for things I wanted to do and opportunities I didn't want to miss but I wasn't pro active enough in paying it off so I just need a clean slate so I can start again but more sensibly I kind of agree with you, but £1000 worth of debt? In the grand scheme of life you could be £1000 in debt for all of it and it wouldn't make a blind bit of difference. You could still own a house, a car, 2.4 children. You're not really living life on the edge. Like I said, I do know what you mean. Once you set your mind to something you don't want to feel "pressured" to divert. Maybe if they'd just left you to it at some point you'd have said **** it and gone anyway. I've got £200 on a credit card but £1400 in savings. Weirdly I'd rather pay the minimum on my credit card and keep my savings for something I actually want. The couple of quid interest ever month isn't crippling me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimzk5 Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 (edited) At its worst my debt was 13k, I was only 24 at the time too, started by using credit cards to live on between jobs, that went up to £1300, then passed my driving test so took out a £4k loan, £1000 on a car, £1300 on the credit card and £1700 on car insurance. That car broke down a few months later so I had finance on a new car, then got made redundant in 2009, used credit cards to pay the car finance and my loan every month, so ended up owing £6k on a car, £3k on my loan and another £1400 on credit cards again. What i did next was stupid, i took out a consolidation loan, paid off the car, the credit card and my loan, then sold my car to buy a van I'm down to £4k on that loan now, should have it paid off by Christmas Edited February 22, 2014 by Jimzk5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donnie Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 Ok then to clear up the little debate about my financial position. I don't owe much money on my credit cards (£220 on one and £800 on the other) but I am constantly making £50 a month minimum payments a month between the two of them, I don't have much money to play around with so if I can get then paid off then I will just be in a better place financially and if something does come up that I want to do I can go for it without worrying about the debts mounting up. I did not long ago owe quite a bit on them and have managed to pull it right back, I didn't use it for stupid things it was for things I wanted to do and opportunities I didn't want to miss but I wasn't pro active enough in paying it off so I just need a clean slate so I can start again but more sensibly That is a really tiny amount of debt to have on a credit card. An extra £600 debt isnt gonna be noticeable if your paying the minimum each month. £600 for prague seems a lot tho?! Flights are like £60-£70 return and hotels in prague are dead cheap. Get a hostel for £10 a night and the beer is dead cheap. No way can I see it costing £600 even after spending. £300-£400 max I would have thought. Spending money on materialistic things like an expensive car is a waste imo if you havent got much cash, but spending on holidays and trips abroad giving you memories that will last a life time is far from a waste of money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dont_do_it_doug. Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 I think Lee is saying he doesn't mind doing it for something he really wants, but this isn't it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leemond2008 Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 Put it this way, clear credit card=no debt No debt=an extra £75 a month If there is something in the future I want to indulge in then I can do it and pay it off over a few months and be debt free again, as it is at the moment I am making payments I could do without every month for things I did 3 years ago Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darrenm Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 Yeah a grand isn't a lot of debt. Outside of the mortgage I've got about £3k on a CC and £1-2k OD and me and the wife earn a decent amount between us. But it's all down to the potential to recover debt. 2 or 3 very stringent months and I could probably pay back the whole debt. A £1k debt might be quite sizeable if you're not able to pay much off a month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donnie Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 You can transfer debt from one credit card to another and as long as you pay the minimum each month most credit cards offer interest free for up to a year. Once the year is up, rinse and repeat by going to another credit card company. Barclaycard are offering new customers 18 months interest free at the moment. My CC debt is £1300, which is the cost of my holiday for may and my minimum payments are really really low. Cant remember exact figure but it is certainly much lower then £50 a month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Voinjama Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 I went to uni in September 2007, and for a year and a half before that, I was wishing my life away waiting to go because I had a lot of major issues with people in the area I lived. Now I find myself wishing away the time from now until September 2015 because it is the same time period as March 2006 to September 2007. It's a weird concept. Does anyone understand what I mean, and can anyone help? Thank you in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StefanAVFC Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 Not a sausage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Voinjama Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 Yeah I had feeling people wouldn't understand what I meant. Maybe I did not explain it well enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowychap Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 Yeah I had feeling people wouldn't understand what I meant. Maybe I did not explain it well enough. Are you not going to have another go? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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