Still from Broke, by The Paper Birds. Credit: Richard Davenport.
“KYLIE: It starts when I turn 18 and go off to university; I’m finally an adult and I’ve got a triple A credit rating! I get my first overdraft with the bank – I study, I buy CD’s, clothes, library fines and train fares home. And then three years later, I graduate. Yes, I’m leaving home for good now and I’m a prime target for more credit. I get my first credit card. I buy my first car, I start paying council tax, full price at the dentist; I get another credit card. By 2005, I’m 23 years old, working full time on minimum wage, and I’m £5,000 in debt, not even counting my student loan. I apply for credit card number 3, as its interest free for 12 months, and my mum says it will be a good idea cos it will help me clear my debts.”
I remember the letters through the door. Application forms for a credit card, already filled in with my details. All I needed to do was sign on the dotted line and pop it back in the post. Instinctively, I threw them away the first, second and maybe third times.
