How did we get here?

“Well Lauren, that is all great and good but how can we believe you?”

I guess I better start my character arch and tell you how and why I got to the point and place of my debt.

My family have always been, for the most part, pretty good with money. My dad worked hard to provide for the family and protect himself, he invested and saved so we could feel comfortable. My mum worked hard, and when the divorce happened tried her best to keep the unit above water. My brother worked hard, made reckless decisions, but still made it into a job that paid well and has also started to invest. But then there is me… I worked hard but also had a mentality that the money would be there, experiences over material items, living above means and providing myself a lifestyle that I could not maintain or afford.

I needed the new thing, the best thing, the thing that made me fit in. I think that’s where it all started… but even more so the Nokia N97 was where it started.

High school. Grade 11. New you, new school vibes. Apple had introduced the iPhone 3G but man, young Lauren had to get the slide phone with the qwerty keyboard because Hiptops were not an item readily available in Australia and young Lauren was on her way of being the ultimate Scene Queen, coloured hair and all. But along with needing this fancy N97 came the next thought of “I don’t have the money to buy this outright, lets just put it on a plan!”

Let me guess, you at any point in your life have also done this? You may even doing it right now on your iPhone 11 Pro.

That was my first dabble in the debt game. I may not have had the money then but every month I definitely had $100+ to pay off this item. I did pay off that phone, after having to pay $1000 to replace the device after a really messy night out, but it was paid off. I was 18 at the time.

My second dabble in the debt game came a few years later. On another phone. After using my N97 for a number of years, qwerty keyboards became extinct. You were either an Android or a iPhone player, and boy did Apple pull me in by my shoestrings. I brought myself back to the debt game in 2012 with a brand new shiny iPhone 4s, through my phone company again. Every month I paid my bill on time paying premium to have this phone. From last memory my phone bill was $150+ per month. I also had to pay this phone off early (shock horror) as I needed an unlocked phone for my hardest working job so far in another country. We did it… with a little struggle.

But this was only the catalyst of what was to come.

See working in the big US of A I felt there was more of a need to have physical possessions to prove that you are who you are as a person. Kate Spade bags, Ray Ban sunglasses, Adidas sneakers, Nike sport wear. Like I really needed that new item because it proved that I had money, that I was a worthy human being. But now typing this out, I guess this has bled to the rest of the western world. (I must note here, if you enjoy your items then that’s okay. I’m not here to rain on your parade, you go buy that new Harveys handbag… treat yo self)

I came back a new and new materialistic person, ready for those name brands and hell yeah I’m going to buy that brand new iPhone, who’s going to stop me? and that’s what exactly I did – bad idea number 1.

What do you get when you put a person who is on government pension after working abroad for year and the newest iPhone together? Answer: “Only 24 months Interest Free”

Yep. I got a Latitude Credit Card.

This little doozy of a bad idea comes in many names, colours and interest free periods. You have Go Mastercard, Latitude, Gem Visa, plus many more smaller ones. Dependant on where you buy, who you buy from and when you buy, you can get a range of months interest free… as long as you pay the $4-$5 per month account fee and pay you monthly balance before your due date. I’m pretty sure they approve anybody willing to come to the table.

All experiences to date have not been horrible past the needing to pay off a $1.5K phone over 12 months. But I think I’ve been a lucky one (more on that to come).

This credit card was my last dabble into debt before I hit hard. I paid off not one, but two iPhones with this card along with the Mac Pro (with Touch Bar, of course) laptop I am bringing this post to you from. I have in the last year reduced my limit on this card and am strongly contemplating cancelling this service as it no longer provides the crippling feeling of giving away my money like it used to.

Now we hit the big leagues.

Another riddle; what do you get when you put a poor uni student living out of home in another state and a reliable automobiles gear box breaking? Answer: “Dad, I don’t know what to do. My cars broken, it’s at the mechanics but they’re saying that it’s going to cost $3k to repair, that’s more then what it cost. Help, I have no money.”

I wonder how many of you have been in this similar position.

See this whole scenario wouldn’t have been so bad if it didn’t take me 2 hours by public transport to get to and from my place of work that was paying my bills, I would have happily not replaced or fix my car. But I loved my job, and I really goddamn loved that car. But in flew Daddy K with “we’ll solve this”.

I want to stress this so badly. I have never had anything handed to me on a silver plate. As previously stated; I have worked hard for everything I have, including all stupid mistakes and impulse buys.

This whole ordeal caused me so much stress, anxiety, and “what the f&*$ am I doing” that I almost didn’t go through with it. I put myself into a car debt. Not your ordinary car debt, but a car debt none the less.

For the last 3 and a bit years I have been paying off a 2017 Hyundai Accent.

The debt was large in my eyes and the “loan” I was in was soul crushing. See my loan was a “family” loan, as in my father paid for my vehicle – up front, in cash (via bank transfer cause we are located in two different states) – and I paid my father in regular instalments. It was good that I didn’t have to pay interest and if anything happened job wise I didn’t have somebody knocking on my door for money, but it also meant I was in the hands of my dad. What he said went. He probably never saw it that way because he is a good egg and was just helping out, but man I saw it all the way to my last payment (which was only last week).

2018 found me back a life of devil worship, and now trying to think about it, I don’t know how I started.

Mid way through 2018 I applied for and was approved for my first actual credit card (outside of Latitude). And this was all good in the hood for the first year. I paid my very small balances off in time and I was mentally telling myself that “I am building a credit score!” (jokes on me, cause the amount of things that I pay on a monthly basis already gives me a pretty good score, but I digress).

2019 came around and I was sent on an All Expenses Paid Holiday!… I joke, my mother brought me along on a round the world trip because “the flights were so cheap we are stupid not to do it!”. This brought me my second credit card.

Keeping track so far?

But we also can’t forget the kicker of 2019… Afterpay!

See… 2019 also brought turmoil for myself and a lot of necessary travel to hopefully get another job (which came eventually), and Jetstar offered afterpay, so did a small holiday I went on, oh and I also needed two pair of shoes for work, and that makeup cause of the industry… oh look, Christmas!

Yeah, you catch the drift.

As I entered 2020, not only was I broke as hell but I had a large (and growing) debt only caused by myself and my throw away mind set.

But here’s the thing… 2020 is good eyesight, and this eyesight is focused on the end of the tunnel.

See, I might be in a really shitty situation now, but I am working on it to get out of it. And really, that’s all you can do.

But if you are in a similar – better or worse – situation than know I am here for you. I’m not judging you, I am sitting next to you virtually while we drink our $6 lattes talking about this and working on this together.

Next time we meet, I’ll break down the lovely debt on mine so you might feel a little better about yourself.

I’ll talk to you soon.
Lauren