I desperately wanted my own wheels after varsity, but my dad said a car is not going to fall out of the sky and I’d have to save to put down a decent deposit. I definitely didn’t feel like scrimping and saving for months and wanted a stylin’ pair of wheels now! I was tired of always using unreliable and unsafe taxis while my friends were cruising around in their cool wheels.

I decided to make a plan – which turned out to be a very big mistake… While sitting in the taxi to work one day, grumbling and annoyed about not having a car, I noticed a poster for micro-loans. It promised quick, easy money and I scribbled down the number, excited about this new possibility. As soon as I got to the office, I phoned them and organised a loan so I could pay the deposit on a car. I didn’t do proper sums to see if I could afford the repayments, but just signed the forms they faxed me. Lunch hour was spent at a second-hand car dealer and with the loan money in my account the next day, I was ready to roll!

My dad, however, was not impressed. He almost hit the roof when he heard I got a micro-loan. He made me do the sums so I could see how much I was being ripped off and I realised there was no way I could pay off both a car and a micro-loan, so I had to take the car back. What a mission! Luckily my dad went with me to help sort out everything, but not without a massive lecture. I’ve learnt my lesson – if you want something big, you have to save for it.

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