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"Dammit - money and bills"

The younger among you may not know of these problems yet, but the older ones most certainly will...

Why is it that whenever you think you've gone quite some way to paying off debts, that something else happens to land you right back in the crap?

I have owed about three grand on various credit cards for the last eight or nine months. I've been paying off bits here and there, and have got it down to about half that now.

At the beginning of the week, I was able to pay off a large chunk - £500 - from one of the cards, halving what I owe on it - which made me feel pretty good.

Now, for the last week I've been on leave from work, and as I cycle to and from work (I don't drive), I put my bike in for a service. The bike was ten years old, and without going into detail, it's basically knackered.

So I've had to buy a new bike. As it gets a lot of use, there's no point me buying something cheap and cheerful which will break in a few months - so I got one for the equivalent price of my old bike. Just under £600, which - you've guessed it - has had to go straight back on my credit card.

So I'm back where I started. :-(

How depressing is that?

Or†ega wrote:
> Thats a point. But they have gone down a bit in the last 6 months or so. With an
> economical engine you can still get 60 Miles to the Gallon.


I only really
> spend about £10-£15 a week on Petrol. That gets me to work and
> College.

Yeah but thats like 500 per year, thats still a lot of money. Plus tax and MOT, they are hardly cheap to run.

Thats a point. But they have gone down a bit in the last 6 months or so. With an economical engine you can still get 60 Miles to the Gallon.


I only really spend about £10-£15 a week on Petrol. That gets me to work and College.

Never had any interest in it. My parents never had a car while I was growing up, so I'm used to public transport. Might have been different otherwise, but you don't miss what you never had.

Plus I have friends who are always whining about being skint because of running their cars, so it just doesn't seem worth it to me. I wouldn't have been able to afford most of the stuff I have if I had one.

Plus - people change when they get behind the wheel of a car; I don't want to become an a******e!

Or†ega wrote:
> Why exactly dont you drive?

Probably becuase fuel prices are spiralling out of control.

Why exactly dont you drive?

A 'good' bike won't cut it - it has to be top quality. I wanted one similar to the one I had.

So I got a Trek 4500 with front suspension and disc brakes. Nice colours, too - gold, red and black!

You can get a real good bike for £350, did you shop around?

Or†ega wrote:
> All necessary stuff you say? Didnt you just buy an X-box?!

Not on the cards. though!

I don't want to encourage crime, but...for £600 you could probably get tickets to Amsterdam, buy a top-notch stolen bike, and come home with enough change for a nice pair of bicycle clips. Just a thought.

God damn...Thats a hella lot of cash.

One of the reasons I have made my mind never to get a credit card. I'm just gonna stick with my Debit card. Works exactly the same as a credit card...just that I cant spend what I aint got...

All necessary stuff you say? Didnt you just buy an X-box?!