Everyone seems to be bailing out someone or something. It's become the phrase of the moment - bailout. First the banks were bailed out, an act required to prevent an economic crisis here in the UK. Northern Rock was the first and our memories are of customers queueing for hours on end to withdraw their savings fearing they would be lost. Then of course it was the bigger banks, Lloyds and famously RBS which, questionably, form part of the country's foundations.
In Europe, we hear about Greece being bailed-out by the European Central Bank and being lent obscene amounts of money in the mistaken hope that it will all one day be paid back. A similar fate awaits Spain and Portugal.
Nearer to home and I hear from my friends that they have had to bailout their son who has been served a huge solicitor's bill for a short consultation and a handful of letters. This is money he simply doesn't have and once again his parents come to his aid, bailing him out and putting pay to any prospect of a threatened 8% interest charge.
And then there's myself and I've forgotten how many times over the last year or so when I've had to be bailed out. The latest bailout was courtesy of my in-laws who lent us the money for a new car.
It seems that wherever we look, people and companies are being bailed out. I suppose you could argue that it is in fact rescue, saving people, organisations and even countries from a fate worse than debt. But surely any bailout is simply delaying the inevitable. Or is the alternative so bad to contemplate that to not bail out would itself be deemed wreckless?
My own doctor's opinion is to simply accept that there are people all around us prepared to help, to bail us out. This was his response to my recent plight, to simply accept the fact that I couldn't do anything about it and accept charity from whatever source possible. The fact that it made me feel bad to have to go cap in hand to people wasn't important. It was help and it simply had to be accepted.
I fear that recent events both nationally and internationally will eventually give rise to a feeling generally that no matter the problem, there is always the option of a bailout. Will this make people less responsible as a result and are our children to learn that debt needn't be such a problem? I learnt things the hard way. I had a very good salary and became complacent, not having to worry about bills and direct debits. They just got paid each and every month. I also borrowed and thought nothing about paying it all back or the consequences of paying just a little each month. But I was lucky, I chose to insure everything and little did I know back then just how important that monthly premium payment would be. But although I fell ill, I don't absolve myself of my errors. I made huge mistakes and had a childlike attitude towards money. I knew very little about how credit actually worked and chose to live for too long beyond my means. But it can't go on forever and when your income stops, not only do you have to worry about the day to day things, there's the money you've borrowed also.
If anything, I regret not learning more about money at school. The reality was that this was never taught to us. The closest we came to understanding money was by selling jacket potatoes during break times and using our profits to buy more potatoes.
At least now I have the opportunity to ensure that my own son doesn't grow up with a similar lack of appreciation for money, credit and debt. I know what it's like when it all goes wrong. Of course he's oblivious to it all at the moment, and that's the way it should be. He's too young to understand. But before he's able to borrow and manage money of his own, there are lessons I will definitely share with him. I just hope that greater awareness can help him avoid similar mistakes.
