How my debt accumulated....

Assalammu'alaikum family and friends! I posted on my fb of two hot topics and because they are both just as hot and that we are kiasu by default, both will be blogged about.

As the title suggest, this entry will share about how I accumulated debts that amounted to over $10k over a short span of 2years.

Being young and naive

We were all young and naive at one point of time, and so I was. I had an awesome job, pays pretty well, and it is stable as can be.

What could go wrong?

My salary increased year by year and soon I was eligible to apply for a credit card. Oh come on... I had to flaunt to my poly mates, don't I? I was young and naive, I needed to show people I was 'well to do'.

Besides, what could go wrong? It is not like I will swipe for everything, besides my salary is big enough to clear what I swipe. I'd be careful.

Let's swipe!

Why apply for credit card if you ain't gonna swipe?

My first swipe was probably because it wasn't pay day yet and I just had to get some shopping done.

Study loan

I wanted to get myself a degree. I had initially wanted to do 'Construction Management' but changed my mind and did 'Engineering Business Management' instead. The loan was to be paid over 2-3years. Ah.. easy peasy.. Surely I can put another $200/mth for this.

Installment plans

I had my eyes on a netbook because my laptop was down and out. Courts offer great installments plan, don't they? I mean who can't afford under $100/mth. And so I thought.

Swipe for that bike!

I told you I was young and naive, ok fine.. i was stupid too. I swiped to pay the deposit for my bike. Awesome!

Retrenched

Who expected this to happen to them? After almost 3yrs, I was retrenched for redundancy of my position due to projects being at halt alongside with the recession.

I was given compensation for my service, along with the worries that I brought to myself.

Rest first, job later

A mistake I probably regretted. I decided to take a break and just find a job later.
Instead of clearing my debts to zero with the compensation cheque, I spent it unnecessarily. Today, I cant even remember what I did with any portion of that money.

How much?

Credit cards I had and the amt I snowballed after failing to secure a job are as follows:
Diners Card: $2000 (over a max withdrawal of $500)
HSBC: $6500 (thanks to the bike!)
Study loan via Citibank: $5000 (lucky i was paying this pretty promptly)
Courts : $2000 (interest snowballed due to payment default)

That is $15000 already isnt it? There's more:
Car loan : $304/month
Bike loan : $292/month
Bills : $50-100/month

Crazy? Yes!

I will share with you how I managed to get out of this mess in the next entry.

Good night!

Wassalam,
Jun