Writing | Money
Don’t Create a Monster Debt
You don’t have to be rich, you have to be punctual.
When I was in my twenties, I had a theory about paying outstanding tickets, especially ones for minor offenses. I figured they couldn’t collect if I didn’t have the money.
I moved a lot, didn’t have a driver's license and I decided a ticket for not wearing my bike helmet wasn’t enforceable anyhow. What were they going to do? Take my bike away?
No wonder I got into financial trouble.
How did I get into this mess anyhow?
It’s easy to ignore a bill or notice in the mail, especially if you’ve lost your job or your hours have been cut.
When the cost is unexpected, like a parking fine, we go into denial and think if we ignore it, it might go away.
It’s better to just pay it
It’s so frustrating when you get fined for something minor like riding without a helmet or forgetting your transit pass. Most of us have done that at least once and getting a ticket is just one more thing in an already mixed-up day.
Life can feel pretty unfair, especially when you see others doing the same thing and getting away with it.
I know, you’re pretty broke, and getting a ticket is the last straw.
You can tell yourself if you ignore it maybe it won’t come up again. You hope it will go away.
No such luck. In this day and age of interconnectivity, it all comes around again.
Not only that, a ticket can bite you for two or three times the cost of the original fine.
Recently, a friend of mine went to insure a new (to them) car and discovered that they couldn’t buy insurance until they had paid off their outstanding fines. Both fines were for minor infractions and they were around 6 months old.
They had avoided paying the fines when they got them, the city added late penalties and assessments so the final amount owing was three times the original tickets. A total of over $400 was due.
When you are in that situation, realize there is no other way out. You have to Just Pay the Ticket.
My advice is to pay any bills you receive as quickly as possible.
- You get it over with.
- The first amount is the lowest possible amount you can pay to clear the fine.
- You avoid costly penalties that can double or triple your fine.
- You won’t be delayed or embarrassed later when you insure your vehicle.
- You will avoid the frustration of dealing with bureaucrats and red tape.
- The fine won’t go away.
- It will go into a bureaucrat’s office and multiply with other fines until it becomes a monster fine. Which you will have to pay eventually!
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