No-stop spenders told to seek help

(學習重點：加了黃色螢光標記的詞組)

A young woman seeking help for uncontrollable spending urges bought a HK$3,000 scarf on her way to see her debt counselor.

A car aficionado (車迷) bought a sports car and is now HK$ 200,000 in debt after he was forced to accept a lower-paying job.

These are just two of the cases the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals Healthy Budgeting Family Debt Counselling Center deals with daily.

"The young lady [with the scarf] has more than 10 credit cards," said Vivian Lai Siu-han, a social worker at the center. "She is more than HK$1 million in debt." Her monthly salary is about HK$50,000 and her family is well off, Lai said.

"But in cases like these, we don't encourage full family support," Lai said, adding it would only give a sense of false security and not resolve the underlying issue of overspending.

In another case, a housewife with a monthly allowance of HK$6,000 needed to pay HK$ 2,000 a month for storage space to keep items she bought. She has racked up HK$ 130,000 in debt.

Then there was a young male flight attendant who loved to bar hop (蒲酒吧) and treat friends to drinks. He owed HK$300,000 and tried to use new credit cards to pay off existing credit card bills.

Compulsive spending might be a symptom – and not result – of more serious issues such as depression or bipolar disorder, Lai said.

People who overspend are encouraged to reach out for help. The center has set up a free hotline for those in need: 2548 0803, and a website for reference: http://fdcc.tungwahcsd.org.

Adele Wong
The Standard, 11 August, 2008