When I paid back my debts in March 2011, I thought I’ve seen the last of money struggles.
Those debts came from a 2500€ business loan and one small personal overdraft I had for 250€ (2009). I was planning on paying back the big loan from the revenue the business would generate; however, the business started slow and we couldn’t wait out long enough for it to pick up. There was some cash-flow (more like a trickle) but it wasn’t even enough to cover the monthly expences, let alone pay back the initial investment.
A debt of alsmost 3000€ was crippling to a 24-year old who made 350€ a month; and when you factor in living costs, I could only afford 150€ towards the loan. At that rate, it would take me about 18 months to pay it all back – provided that I didn’t buy shoes or clothes in that time, provided that my rent didn’t go up in that time, and provided that no emergencies happened in that time.