Not me, but Ian
Ian was my housemate at uni.

Ian loved going out on the razzle. So much so, he regularly spent up before grant/loan cheques could come through.

So, it's a Wednesday night, and Ian's finally ran out of money after spending about 3 days eating supernoodles on toast (both Tesco value - meal price about 15p).

He's desperate. The cupboard is empty. So, despite me and my friends being similarly poor, we decided to have a whip round for him on the proviso that "you MUST buy PROPER food".

We managed to scrape together a fiver in loose change, and gave it to him.

Off he trots down to the Tesco on Ecclesall Road (Sheffield Student Haven) and promptly returns with...

1 loaf of bread (good start)
1 bottle of tomato sauce (erm...)
1 tub of Tesco value marg (ok)
1 a bar of chocolate (hang on...)
1 four-pack of CARLSBERG LAGER (git).

That had to last him the week until loan money came through. So to punish him for his idiocy, my mate H nicked his chocolate and me and housemate Kev nicked his beer - so somehow, he survived, for a week, on a loaf of bread.

Legend.
(scentless_apprentice takes two bottles into the shower!, Fri 24 Nov 2006, 20:36, Reply)

When I was a student...
... The fascists at Nat-bastard-West offered me as much cash as I wanted. Then I flunked and they wanted it all back, about three grand of it. This was back in the late 80s before student loans and the like. They were fairly okay to let me pay it back when I had job but as soon as I got a job I moved house and found other things to spend the money on.
Cue a few years later, perhaps a couple of months before they officially had to write the debt off, and I gets a phone call from a Scottish woman.
Bird: Are you Mr Ghostlight?
Me: Erm, maybe? Why, who's asking?
Bird: This is the Royal Mail, we have some undelivered post. Can you confirm that your old address is xxx?
Me (thinking I was getting a present delivered in the post): Yes, it is!
Bird: And your current address is xxx?
Me (wanting present): Yes!
Bird: Thank you (snigger), we'll get it out to you shortly.
A few days later, same Scottish woman rings up: "Hello, this is Equifax. You owe NatWest three and a half grand!"
Arses, rumbled.
I paid it all back though, even though they did want £150 a month out of my then pittance of a salary.
I have credit cards and a loan now but I don't owe five figure sums so not as screwed as some people.

Do not, under any circumstances, trust NatWest; they are nazi fascist bastards. I won't even use their cash points to take money out...
(Ghostlight, Fri 24 Nov 2006, 20:22, Reply)

Student Loans
Weeeeell.....
It all started when I got a reasonably well paid job and decided that I'd stop deferring it and pay some off. Little did I know that the job (manager for Tesco) was so shitty that it would ruin my health and I'd have to quit and haven't worked 'officially' since. Had the idiots at Student Loans actually taken any money? No. So they sent me a letter. I ignored it, and then moved house. Did I tell them? No, fuck em. A year or two passed, and their debt collectors tracked me down, making me pay them what little I had. I was sent no direct debit agreement for this (which they should by law as it's a contract), contact details for the debt collectors, no official paperwork at all. So I cancelled the direct debit. Another two years later, have they noticed?
NO!!!
HAHAHAHA!!!!
(Elizabeth Duke at Argos, Fri 24 Nov 2006, 20:16, Reply)

I work for the insolvency service...
One of my bankrupts has a debt of 5000 to Ann Summers. 'Nuff said.
( hoifbjifbef, Fri 24 Nov 2006, 20:12, Reply)

I married someone who thought that, as his parents had always been 'poor but happy',
you have to BE poor to BE happy.

NO matter how much money he and I earned, he would waste it as fast as possible on rubbish, in the hope of re-creating his debt-ridden childhood.

He even used to say to me, with a big smile, 'We could never get divorced - we owe too much!'

I didn't understand quite how potty he was until our entire combined monthly wages didn't cover the overdraft and we had to take out a bank loan.

That happened not once but several times - we were always in debt to the bank. No matter how frugal I was, we were always up to our feckin' eyes.

I was brought up to despise debt and was always sick with worry over it, but he found it entirely normal.

(Funnily enough though, he always had new clothes and gadgets, while I wore car boot sale togs and the family had an ancient TV.)

When I realised the extent of his obsession with debt, it also dawned on me that it was HIS debt - all in his name - and not mine, so I took steps to sack him off.

In the meantime I stopped worrying about paying off his storecards and credit cards (he even took out a Toy'R'Us one, ffs, when our youngest kid was 14) and let HIM deal with the flak.

When I finally kicked myself free, he took to visiting my parents to brag about how well off he was now he no longer had me like an albatross round his neck.

So, if someone close to you is crap with money, ask yourself - are they doing it to manipulate you?
Stranger things have happened.
(Juan Quar is clinging to her front teeth on, Fri 24 Nov 2006, 20:11, Reply)

Default default default
At the tender age of 18 (12 years ago and before a single reality tv show and debt is evil headline) I acquired a store card (soon to become four), credit card and overdraft. The store cards started at £300 and ended up at £1,500 a piece, the credit card was £2k and the overdraft £500. Add to that the car loan to buy a car for an ex boyfriend that is best left unmentioned my debt suddenly soared to around £15,000. I was earning £9k, living in a flat that cost £500 a month with a boyfriend that was out of work, needed money for fags, petrol and 'going out'.

I think we can see where this is going. After hanging on by the skin of my teeth paying no household bills and a food budget of £15 a week, I politely asked my ex to pay my wage cheque into my account for me (this is how long ago this was!). Two weeks later I was flummoxed as to why it still had not cleared after several reassurances that 'yes, I paid it in the day you asked' so I visited the bank to find out why. Cue the appearance of the manager, who swiftly swept me into a private room, took my card and cheque book away from me, arranged a consolidation loan to pay off the charges I had incurred and informed me that if I wanted to get money out of my account I was to make an appointment with him personally so that he could okay it.

So.....Two months late on the rent I did a moonlight flit to stay with my sister, started using an old and very empty savings account (without even so much as a cash card), wrote 'gone away' on the front of every letter I received, declined to answer the phone, declined to register on the electoral roll and told my parents that in no way should they ever tell anyone that called for me at their house where I was.

I never paid a penny of it back.

However....I still do not own a cheque book, switch card or credit card (with the exception of the card kindly given to me by my husband). I am not on our mortgage and I still jump every time a letter that looks like a bill pops through the letter box. On the plus side, after I married I did go back on the electoral roll so I do get to vote like a real person now.

Would I have done anything differently? Fuck yeah, I'd have spent that £5k loan on me instead of my fuckwit ex boyfriend.

No apologies for length, I didn't even mention the court summonses for non payment of council tax and the fact that the car was written off six months after it was bought.
(Mooma, Fri 24 Nov 2006, 19:54, Reply)

I live in Latvia
Average salary here is £5k. Houses cost £100k-300k. People still buy them. HOW???
I earn £14000 and I live in a £33000 worth flat. To buy it I had to borrow from my company, from my parents and spend my savings and now I pay £2.4k each year (and mortage % are rising). To buy a house it would cost me £12k/year!
I have no idea how people afford real estate in Latvia. I believe there is a parallel world right here and I don't see it.
( Mr. Bell Division, Fri 24 Nov 2006, 19:45, Reply)

Yesterday
I dropped 2 fucking quid and the bastard thing ROLLED allong the pavement and into a crack and i couldnt get it out
(abignumber, Fri 24 Nov 2006, 19:44, Reply)

it were the gear wot done it...
Happily engaged, in love, all is wonderful. Apply for Credit Card, get it approved 2 weeks after the lovely Michelle and I part company. Have dealer in bar, have PDQ machine in bar, work in bar. Rack up £6k across 3 cards in 4 months. 8 years later and my septum still gives me gyp. Worth it though...
(jameslib, Fri 24 Nov 2006, 19:21, Reply)

hm not an actual story
more of a future prediction..well fact
i'm off to uni next year
that is all
( m-a-t-t -- formerly mini hasn't been on here for EVER!, Fri 24 Nov 2006, 19:11, Reply)

well well
I can't be bothered to worry about credit card debt. Got about 8k on the cards but I've defaulted and pay 30quid a month. got a 9 odd grand student loan and have probably paid about 30 quid in two years. When the debt agencies send me letters saying I owe them I just ignore them, send some more ten quid cheques off and just deal with it. There are much worse things in life to worry about. Luckily i live with my parents so don't have rent to pay (yet).

So I say go to Uni and have a great time. Spend money, enjoy yourself but don't get crazy stupid. Go to a good uni where degrees mean something.I did fuck all work for three years, went out eating, drinking, smoking and certainly indulged in a fair bit of breakfast with Pablo if you know what i mean. All my money was spent on those things. Just do it and enjoy it. I got in a lot of trouble at Cambridge but had a fucking great time. If only I could remember some of it.

Biggest expenses for students? If you like living, then beer, drugs and fags will cost you dearly. but do it, because I guarantee once you get out you'll regret not having a great time whilst you could have. and claim your bank charges back!
(thejazzassassin, Fri 24 Nov 2006, 18:58, Reply)

Not really anything to do with debt,
But ASDA just asked me to name my credit card so I can shop online easier.

I named it "Master Card".
( __, Fri 24 Nov 2006, 18:35, Reply)

Message from David Cameron, Conservative Party
How much of a tosser are you?
www.sort-it.co.uk/issue01/watch_the_movie.aspx

I need to see the girlie version, as I know too many!!!!!
(sir_beats_alot, Fri 24 Nov 2006, 17:59, Reply)

Taken to the cleaners
Due to the way I was brought up i'm fairly wary of getting into debt, overdraft, credit cards, taking out loans etc. but since i'm now in Uni i've had to bite the bullet and get a loan from the SLC.

My girlfriend has a £700 overdraft and a £300 store card with Dorothy Perkins (I know, tiny compared to the amounts some people on this QOTW are talking about). All of this has been spent on nowt more that drink, clothes and nights out, yet she called me stupid for getting the SLC loan!

Anyway, as pay back for her cheek i've refused to marry her/move in etc. until she gets rid of her debts. Now, rather than upping her overdraft which she knows I don't want her to do, she asks to lend money off me. I now answer the phone as 'the Bank of Sutcliffe' when she rings.

Length? Not today thanks.
(Peter Sutcliffe's Right Bollock, Fri 24 Nov 2006, 17:39, Reply)

Cash back
I used to drink in a bar that gave cash back on Credit Cards (not legal) as the owner was a good friend. Four years I worked out I drank in that bar... it bankrupted me and about 4 of my friends.
(simpson, Fri 24 Nov 2006, 16:50, Reply)

I'm skint...
...so I've just remade my Cafepress account to sell "Do It Woman" stuff , at www.cafepress.com/jeccy :)

Every purchase made gives me more money to get drunk this Christmas, plus more importantly to pay ze bills.

PS Doubt I'll sell fuck all lol
( Jeccius Steam Borderlands 2 junkie, Fri 24 Nov 2006, 16:46, Reply)

When I went to Uni
back in '99 I went to open a student account which promised untold wealth (well, £1k interest free overdraft). They asked me if I had any other student accounts (to which I said 'no' because I hadn't, then they told me my account would take a few days to open.

I had a moment of GENIUS. My student account wasn't open yet, so if I went along the highstreet and opened other student accounts I wouldn't actually be lying when they asked if I had any other student accounts.

I also realised that after hours Switch doesn't tend to do a proper authorisation unless you get cash-back. That meant that when I was in the pub of an eve I could stick pretty much whatever I liked on the card and as long as I wasn't asking for cashback it'd work. The overdrafts grew. And grew. And I got another account.

I dropped out after first year (I didn't bother paying the uni any rent and they chucked me out) and was left with blistering debts. I ended up changing rented house and not telling my mum the address because she was getting regular visits from bailiffs looking for me.

Two years ago I went on the electoral register in the knowledge that my debts would start to find me, and they did. I'm still paying them off, it'll be a few more years yet.

I'm praying my largest debtor has written me off because I really really don't want them to turn around and say "by the way cowjam, about that £7k you owe us..."
( CowJam, Fri 24 Nov 2006, 16:28, Reply)

egg
egg are evil. they promised me £6,000 interest free for a set period.

so i took it. gleefully. and spent it. not sure how, except that i have a very full wardrobe and makeup box.

2 years later i somehow still owe them £6,000 despite paying them half my salary every month. how does this work? how??

oh and my bank sent the bailiffs to my dad's house the other night looking for my debit card and chequebook.

my dad used to be a director there.

he was UNIMPRESSED.
( rachelswipe with a fork, Fri 24 Nov 2006, 16:25, Reply)

Despite being three years into a four-year degree,
despite not having a rich mummy or daddy to lend me £200 if I'm in dire straits,
and despite living in a culture which promotes needless spending beyond your means,
the furthest my bank account's gone into the red is about £1.50.

It helps that my rent is relatively low, I don't have a credit card, I don't spend beyond my means, I can't afford driving lessons (never mind a car and the attendant insurance), I don't have to pay fees, and that I'm pikey enough to get a £1000 grant from my LEA every year on top of that.

Of course, I'll still have to spend the next decade or so in crappy jobs paying off three years' worth of living expenses....
( The Mock TurtIe ™ --- Thinks you are a cunt, on, Fri 24 Nov 2006, 16:09, Reply)

So I've nearly finished my first term at Uni,
and have been considering the financial side of things. If my spending continues as it has been for the past 9 weeks, I probably won't need an overdraft this year, which can only be a good thing. Even so, I wasn't sure if coming to Uni is financially worthwhile, so I did a bit of calculation. Consider:

£3000 a year fees. Mine is a 4 year course.
£3200 accommodation this year . Thankfully my parents are happy to lend me the money for this, meaning I don't need a loan from a bank.
£3100 student loan.

So that comes to £9300 a year, assuming I don't get myself into any more debt. Now, let's further assume that all goes well, and after 4 years I have a first class masters degree (with honours) in a proper subject (Maths) from a half-decent Uni (Leeds). All for the bargain price of about £37k.

According to this website, graduates in 2005 were earning 45% more an hour than non-graduates (down from 51% in 2001). This is people with degrees overall, not those just out of Uni, who typically are actually earning less than people of the same age who've had a job for the past 3 or 4 years instead. It doesn't consider what kind of degree it is, either.

The average salary in the UK is currently £15500. This means that £37000 is just over two years pay (the 6k or so discrepancy I'm going to ignore on the basis that students get all kinds of discounts and don't pay tax). Add to this the time I could have spent working rather than being at Uni, and I've missed out on 6 years pay.

So, if I work from 22 until I'm 65 (although I suspect that by then the retirement age might be considerably higher), that is 43 years, I will have earned the equivalent of (43*1.45-6) = 56.35 years for a non-graduate.

Obviously I've made a whole host of tenuous assumptions and projections, like current figures staying the same in the future, or that I (and everyone else) make a strictly average salary, which are almost certainly wrong. I'm not even going to try to work out what a difference of 13 earning-years means in terms of actual money, because I know nothing about enconomics. But what I'm trying to say is basically this:

Students, don't moan about your debt, poorly paid part-time job or peers with shiny new cars and mortgages when you're just getting your first permanent placement. Statistically, you will earn considerably more (almost a quarter, in fact) than if you hadn't gone to Uni, and what's more, you will hopefully have learned some interesting things you otherwise wouldn't have.

Everyone should of course feel free to tear this post apart as a load of complete bollocks, giving countless personal anecdotes or well-researched citations on why I'm wrong. It's all irrelevant anyway, as I'm going to pay my way through Uni playing online poker, win the World Series by the time I'm 23 and retire from professional gambling aged 30, a millionaire.
( MooCow_Byter, Fri 24 Nov 2006, 16:09, Reply)

2 bits of money advice

1. Don't owe money to self employed workers in the construction industry. They will sell your debt to some rough bastards. It is not nice to be woken up at 3am by someone with a shotgun.
2. Don't allow your wife to sort out a roof repair, especially when she says that she has found a couple of chaps who were working close by and could do the job the same day for £2000 (cash). The job they do will be shite, and you will be told that they have left the country when you phone up to complain.
(skyblue1987, Fri 24 Nov 2006, 16:08, Reply)

I borrowed £20 off a mate last year
and I've only just paid them back.
( MONO!, Fri 24 Nov 2006, 15:59, Reply)

I've had money problems but nothing too exciting...
however... I had a friend who was looking at being barclaycard's bitch for a long time and was skint a lot of the time...

we had some great fun with him...

"Matty... I'll give you a tenner if you DRINK this ashtray!"

"Matty... I'll five you a tenner to get up and sing Bohemian Rhapsody"

"Matty... I'll give you a tenner to lick the tip of my cock!"
( likeajackhammer, Fri 24 Nov 2006, 15:58, Reply)

Debt!
First of all a rant: all those debt consolidation loan adverts should be banned, espcially the one with Carol fucking Vorderman! They just encourage people into more debt and they make vast profits. "we even had enough left over for a holiday..." no you havent - that money is for paying your DEBTS! You numpties! Rant over :D

I can't admit to being great with money, I have a student loan and a credit card, a large mortgage with extra money borrowed on top to pay for our wedding. Between us we owe roughtly £125000 inc mortage. I don't have plasma HD TVs or Xbox 360s and a flash car, just a normal TV, Renault Clio etc. here are my debt tips, not to magically render yourself debt free, just how to manage your funds a bit better.

1) Stop Renting - if you are renting a place, switch to a mortgage as soon as you can - why should you be paying someone elses money so that they can live the high life? in fact greedy buy to let BASTARDS should be taxed at 90% to bring property back so that first time buyers can get a foot on the ladder. I bought my first house with my partner back in June. Although the mortage payments are slightly higher we own the property so its all investment.

2) Don't get stuff on HP, credit or personal loans - save up for it. Never take Payment Protection Insurance - its crazily expensive!

3) Sort your current debts; make sure you are paying the LEAST possible. If your credit card is charging lots of interest, switch! We changed the gas and electricity using Uswitch and we're saving lots of money. We'll be doing the same with the mortgage.

5) Pay off your most expensive debt first.

4) Read into so called "deals". My partner goes to the supermarket and falls for the "2 for £2" deals - work out how much you actually save by buying 2 - usually it is a few pence. Is it worth it?

5) Ebay your old stuff!!!

6) Switch bank accounts to online ones like Smile or Cahoot, earn some proper interest on your cash, not 0.1% like high street banks.

Good luck everyone - remember debt isn't a bad thing if you can afford it.
( h3donist tryin' to play me out as if my name is Sega.., Fri 24 Nov 2006, 15:48, Reply)

Mortgages.
some people will accept you even if you have a poor credit rating, arreas, CCJs...

got an erection yet?
( Willwillwritehiswill An arse like a slapped face., Fri 24 Nov 2006, 15:38, Reply)

I haven't ever really had a massive debt problem.
I spend a bit on credit cards now and again, and that's about it.

A couple of years ago though, I spent a month or so "seeing" a girl who was at University in Sunderland, and spent a long time on the phone to her at all hours of the day and night.

My (usually £30 or £40) mobile bill for that month was £732.

Oops.
(Professor Kenny Martin Hmm? What?, Fri 24 Nov 2006, 15:34, Reply)

i used to work as a volunteer for the Citizens Advice Bureau
Back in the day when i was more of a youth than i am now i got a volunteer post with the CAB. these for those of you who dont know are mostly kind and nice folk who give up their time to help folks in need for free (except maybe occaisionally a card at christmas). one day i was working a little old man came in with a bill for something or other. it was red. never a good sign. it had unpleasant things written on it. i talked to this man about how we could help; dealing with his creditors, organising a payment plan, helping him budget etc. he was very relieved. this seemed good. i though well done bert you have made an old man happy and lifted a weight off his mind. i had. once that weight had been lifted he felt able to lift the carrier bag he had with him onto the table and empty out the bag. this contained some more letters, most of them very very red and agry looking.

i was somewhat taken a back by this turn of events. i had been await to scoot off, write up the case sheet, make a cup of tea and feel good about myself. instead i went to get help. and a calculator.

some time later, much later we finished doing our sums. for a man in his 80s living on state pension in a rented house with no assets he had accumulated £140,000 of debt. i passed him on to the debt department.

they got all of the debt written off.

moral of the story go see the CAB. they are nice but overworked.
( bertisfantastic bert is a sleepy bear, Fri 24 Nov 2006, 15:33, Reply)