MONEY MORAL DILEMMA. Would you sell a treasured trinket?

Former_MSE_Wendy
Former_MSE_Wendy Posts: 929
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edited 3 June 2009 at 8:02AM in MoneySaving polls
Here's this week's hypothetical situation for you to cogitate on:

Your ‘red letter’ phone bill is due in a few days time and you don’t have the cash available to pay it off. You’ve missed a few payments in the past, and the provider has suggested you may be cut off if you miss any more, so you’re considering selling off a gold watch tucked away in your jewellery box. The watch was given by your aunty/uncle for your 21st birthday but you know it’d clear the debt.
Would you sell a treasured trinket?
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Comments

  • scotsbob
    scotsbob Posts: 4,632 Forumite
    Yes I'd sell it, pay off the debt and get a PAYG mobile down the market.
  • Oldernotwiser
    Oldernotwiser Posts: 37,425 Forumite
    Definitely yes; I pawned my engagement ring when I was 18 and short of money so I know that I would do it perfectly happily!
  • Kerilinann
    Kerilinann Posts: 436
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    Yes. If needs must.
  • babs605
    babs605 Posts: 8
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    Yes, definitely! If I lost my phone line I'd lose internet access and all your money saving tips!!
  • Stampede_2
    Stampede_2 Posts: 49 Forumite
    edited 3 June 2009 at 9:32AM
    Short answer: No.

    Never having been in a situation where I couldn't handle my debts I am probably not qualified to answer.

    However: I think it is really sad when people feel the only answer is to part with some real treasured item, the greatest value is not the hard cash it releases but the sentiment and circumstances in which it was given and received .. but then I'm a hoarder who still has my 21st birthday cards, the childrens ( now married with children themselves ) cotton wool snowmen , etc. etc. My sentiment includes those TV 'flog it' and 'cash in the attic' type progs. when for a few £'s you see some family treasure being sold off and away from the family. Do they regret it later ?

    So back to the question which seems to mix the options, "No I wouldn't sell it" and I hope I never get that desperate but may be, just maybe pawning would be an option. For those faced with such a situation in real life I hope you have a guardian angel, receive some sound debt resolution advice, and your situation improves.

    Edit: I'm sure when I read the Q in the early hours it included and mixed the options of selling with pawning .. this would appear to be confirmed by the other initial A's. The Q seems to have been clarified since to only pose a Q about selling. I mention this only so our A's (hopefully) made/make sense.

    :j totally debt free and with enough in the bank for a rainy day
  • hvd201
    hvd201 Posts: 712
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    My first reaction would be to put the bill on an interest free credit card or something like that, or organise an overdraft with the bank.
    Then I would get a/another job and consider asking family or the person I racked up the massive bill for a loan or help paying it.
    If it was the choice of either pawning (note the question is pawning, not selling) the watch or losing my phone contract, I would pawn it, use the money to pay off the phone bill and change to PAYG as soon as possible to avoid getting in that situation again or just until I am financially stable and sensible enough to deal with my finances properly and cope with a contract phone. I would then work hard, having learnt from my mistake, to get the money to buy the watch back from the pawnbrokers and never be silly enough to get into that situation again.
  • cw18
    cw18 Posts: 8,613
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    Yes, if it was something given to me from new

    No, if it was something that belonged to a previous generation of the family


    The same holds true for me whether this is about selling or pawning - I'd be too worried about not finding the money to reclaim a family heirloom to pawn it,
    Cheryl
  • tallgirld
    tallgirld Posts: 484
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    NAH!!! I would quite happily pawn it though but there is no way I would sell it.

    I used to pawn jewellery back in the day. Used to cost a fortune though!!!
  • robpw2
    robpw2 Posts: 14,044
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    yes if needed i know that most of my family would prefer me to be able to liv without debt rather than keep something for the sake off


    Slimming world start 28/01/2012 starting weight 21st 2.5lb current weight 17st 9-total loss 3st 7.5lb
    Slimmer of the month February , March ,April
  • Phuddles
    Phuddles Posts: 26 Forumite
    No! I have jewellery inherited from my great-aunt and my Mum, some of it valuable, some tat, and still have 99.9% of it. I have given a few small pieces away but don't feel able to sell it. I wear my grandmother's engagement ring most days. I still have my engagement ring, even though I've been divorced for seventeen years, and it doesn't see the light of day. I plan to leave most of it to my baby grand-daughter, or give it to her as she grows up. ;)
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