By Teo Cheng Wee

Too much, too soon.

If money had not been so easily earned for Joyce (not her real name), 27, she feels she would not have chalked up her $200,000 debt over four years of wild spending.

But it all seemed so rosy when the business graduate started promoting credit cards fresh out of university in 2003.

The job, which also pays her commission, allowed her to take home $20,000 to $30,000 a month.

'There I was, not even 25 and drawing a salary that not many people earned. I thought making money was so easy,' she says.

She spent her money lavishly. When she went clubbing with friends, she would pay for the drinks.

She also chalked up some $8,000 worth of monthly spending on luxury goods. Bags were her weakness.

She remembers strutting into Louis Vuitton or Gucci outlets every month to buy a new bag costing a few thousand dollars.

Spurred on by colleagues with similar spending habits, Joyce felt that image was of utmost importance.

'People who shop at boutiques will know how much those bags cost. I wanted people to know how much I earned,' she recalls.

Her problems started when she switched jobs in 2005, jumping ship to another bank to sell investment products.

She thought she could continue her stellar sales record, but she found the going much tougher.

Joyce never did well enough to earn commission, even till today.

Her monthly salary dipped drastically to $2,500.

But she continued her wild spending habits, applying for more credit cards when she maxed out her current ones.

Her lack of income stressed her out - and ironically resulted in her shopping more to relieve the stress.

She also borrowed $50,000 from her parents on the pretext of investment but used it to fund her shopping instead.

More expenses piled up when she got married and bought a flat that same year.

Her financial troubles peaked early last year when she realised she could not even pay her credit cards' minimum payments.

She had to sell her 60 luxury bags online - many at huge discounts.

But the interest on the outstanding sums was so high by then that she would 'pay and pay, but the money owed never came down'.

'But I told myself: 'Can't pay, can't pay lor. At the most, I have to declare myself bankrupt',' she recalls.

It was only when a close friend explained to her the consequences of bankruptcy - that it would not discharge her from her financial liabilities - that reality finally hit home.

At that point, Joyce also realised how much her work suffered because she was fretting over her bills and trying to hide her financial troubles from colleagues.

Her relationship with her husband soured as they quarrelled frequently about work.

Her family shunned her too. She realised that she was often the last to know about any news at home.

Till this day, only Joyce's family and a few close friends know of her troubled past.

With the help of Credit Counselling Singapore, she is slowly but surely paying back her debts - about half of her $3,000 salary goes to this.

The new Joyce is a much happier person who still has credit cards but has little wish to use them.

Asked if she has any advice for other young people, however, and she is skeptical.

She says a friend - who does not know about her financial past - appears to be falling into similar problems but ignored her advice to watch her spending.

'I feel that if someone has a 'heck-care' attitude towards spending, no amount of advice will stop them,' she says.

'My mother used to tell me: 'With young people, you can tell them there is a wall ahead and not to walk into it. But they won't listen until they actually hit the wall.'

'By then, it's too late. You will already have a bruise.'

This article was first published in The Straits Times on 22 June 2008.