Parking tickets are an evil punishment for convenient living. We've all been there, grumbling as we slip them off our windshields, but little do we realise the slippery slope they can become if left to accumulate thousands of dollars worth of debt.
That's what happened to a friend of The Edge, Todd Fisher. When Todd was working at Edge HQ he racked up a whopping $17k worth of parking fines.
It all started back in 2017 when Todd claimed he "just got a bit busy" leaving his car in a spot where he would receive daily fines of up to $85.
Within just six months Todd was up to his knees in parking fines - literally - and had to be sat down by our very own Sharyn Casey and told to "sort it out".
It got to the point where The Ministry of Justice got involved to set up a payment system for him to chip away at the gigantic debt.
Fast forward to this week and Todd has a new sense of financial freedom, announcing on Insta: "$17k worth of parking fines PAID!!!!!!! It has literally taken bloody years, but I've finally paid them off and I'm over the moon about it! This little red car and I were not great mates in the end. šš."
Talking to The Edge Afternoons, Todd said paying off his fines "felt like winning the Lotto" now that he'd be getting a little extra money in the paycheck rather than paying off debts.
On learning from his mistakes Todd now has what we've dubbed 'Toddanoia' - parking his car in spots where a ticket may loom.
Though he still gets the odd ticket here and there - we can't all be perfect - he assures us that he's paying them off straight away.
His advice to you if you've got a hefty debt burning a hole in your pocket is: "Just eat the frog and get in there, get it done and won't become a bigger problem. If you don't deal with it, it will just snowball."
So take it from Todd's experience and PAY YOUR PARKING TICKETS!!
