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Money, meh.
Nov. 24th, 2008 11:27 amToday my loan application was approved - the money should be in my bank account tomorrow. I thought I should post something to mark the end of the only debt-free period of my adult life... it lasted almost 14 months.
I've had a lot of debt over most of the last fifteen or so years... I tend to burn through money in a rather irresponsible fashion, and sort out the mess when I'm forced to. This system lends itself to large overdrafts, larger credit card bills, and, inevitably, extremely large consolidation loans. I was rescued from this downward spiral last year by the arrival of the settlement money from my bike crash - I paid off all my debts (over £50,000 at that time), paid the deposit to buy my flat, and had a few thousand left to enjoy life for a bit (hey, I got that money because I got hurt - it seems fair that at least a part of it should have been used to make me smile).
Anyway, the leftover money has all been suitably enjoyed, and then the bill arrived for the repair work on the building my flat is in. I did know this was coming, but I knew I couldn't afford it from the money I had left over even if I didn't 'waste' it on having fun, so... I chose to worry about it when it happened. And now it's happened.
My share of the final repair bill for the flats is estimated at just over £17,000. Right now they're asking for an interim payment of 75% of that amount. Last month they sent me a bill that had the wrong estimate on it, but last week they managed to send me the correct bill - I am cordially invited to pay just over £12,000. By Friday. The bill for the remaining £5000 or so will be along shortly, I assume.
Normally one would re-mortgage to cover this kind of thing, but of course that's not an option with the economy busy jumping out of a window just now. Fortunately, I've managed to get an unsecured loan to cover it instead. Unfortunately, the interest rate is not entirely favourable, given the aforementioned current state of the economy. So, after a brief period of having no debt weighing down my shoulders, I'm back to having to pay almost £400 a month to service a loan. For the next five years. This turns out to be more depressing than I realised it would be... I guess I'd got used to being in control of my finances for once.
Maybe it's just that this time, I didn't even have fun spending the money. At least all my debt in my twenties was because I bought shiny things (mostly fast cars and motorbikes) that I couldn't afford. This time, the roof of my building (six floors up from my flat) has been repaired, and the exterior brickwork has been retouched. It's hard to get excited about that, and it's hard to accept being back in debt because of it.
However, as Grace has pointed out, sometimes crippling financial burdens are just part of the fun of being a grown-up.
Meh.
I've had a lot of debt over most of the last fifteen or so years... I tend to burn through money in a rather irresponsible fashion, and sort out the mess when I'm forced to. This system lends itself to large overdrafts, larger credit card bills, and, inevitably, extremely large consolidation loans. I was rescued from this downward spiral last year by the arrival of the settlement money from my bike crash - I paid off all my debts (over £50,000 at that time), paid the deposit to buy my flat, and had a few thousand left to enjoy life for a bit (hey, I got that money because I got hurt - it seems fair that at least a part of it should have been used to make me smile).
Anyway, the leftover money has all been suitably enjoyed, and then the bill arrived for the repair work on the building my flat is in. I did know this was coming, but I knew I couldn't afford it from the money I had left over even if I didn't 'waste' it on having fun, so... I chose to worry about it when it happened. And now it's happened.
My share of the final repair bill for the flats is estimated at just over £17,000. Right now they're asking for an interim payment of 75% of that amount. Last month they sent me a bill that had the wrong estimate on it, but last week they managed to send me the correct bill - I am cordially invited to pay just over £12,000. By Friday. The bill for the remaining £5000 or so will be along shortly, I assume.
Normally one would re-mortgage to cover this kind of thing, but of course that's not an option with the economy busy jumping out of a window just now. Fortunately, I've managed to get an unsecured loan to cover it instead. Unfortunately, the interest rate is not entirely favourable, given the aforementioned current state of the economy. So, after a brief period of having no debt weighing down my shoulders, I'm back to having to pay almost £400 a month to service a loan. For the next five years. This turns out to be more depressing than I realised it would be... I guess I'd got used to being in control of my finances for once.
Maybe it's just that this time, I didn't even have fun spending the money. At least all my debt in my twenties was because I bought shiny things (mostly fast cars and motorbikes) that I couldn't afford. This time, the roof of my building (six floors up from my flat) has been repaired, and the exterior brickwork has been retouched. It's hard to get excited about that, and it's hard to accept being back in debt because of it.
However, as Grace has pointed out, sometimes crippling financial burdens are just part of the fun of being a grown-up.
Meh.
