Yeah, somebody could've died. But I'm sorry, that doesn't make it any better. I don't have that money, I'm already in debt and I had a budget I was working to. I won't be able to do anything other than eat, work and sleep for at least 3 months now. I can't even afford to go out for a drive. I'm on a knife-edge with money. Even if I don't do anything for 3 months, it'll be extremely tight.

Two weeks ago, I lost my USB stick with all my budgeting stuff on it, all my bank details and spreadsheets, and the only up-to-date CV I have. It also had lots of photos of happier times. That was [LIFTED]. This is the last nail in the coffin.

Sorry to hear your woes mate.

I read somewhere you can lose a lot of money chasing women, but you'll never lose women chasing money.

Although it'll change nothing now, I'm also a fan of PAYG. I can't actually remember the last time I topped up - maybe a month ago? It was for about ten quid, but then I'm not a heavy user. I'll use a landline for most calls, and only really text from the phone.

Do you not have a land-line or Internet?

Another PAYG mobile user here. I just checked my credit, and I have £3 left from the £10 I topped up with in February. I just don't make calls with it except in emergencies. It's over 9000 times the price of the other options, so it's illogical.

From my land line, UK calls are free and I pay 0.5p per minute international. VoIP calls are usually about 1p a minute. I never phone people's mobiles because it's just too insanely expensive - that's what text is for, and I get 10 free per day on the Interwebs. By choice I don't text or phone at all, but I'm on MSN all the time. MSN is so much more flexible, convenient and less intrusive than phoning.

I do wonder how many people are on a totally inappropriate mobile tariff. I once had a fairly responsible girlfriend who spent maybe €30 a month on PAYG, and could probably have found a contract that offered better value. She was too worried about running up large bills though, so she didn't. On the other hand, her rather less responsible cousin got a flash phone on a contract and ran up a €3000 bill in the first month just talking drivel 10 hours a day. She was barely 18 at the time, and you have to question how such a thing is even possible.

I think all mobile contracts should be capped to a prearranged amount by law.

I'm waiting on an ongoing battle to tell Southern Electric that we didn't use £800 of electricity in 3 months of mid-summer, so I guess I know how you feel. Saving up for the bad news

As for the new girl, you should really try and appreciate that more. I would hate to think money is more important.

I last toped up ages ago - June or July IIRC. I’m a light user. At home, I use the landline for some calls, and for business and more long distance calls, I use Skype. The phone bill has dropped drastically.

Also remember that some phone companies do good offers for PAYG users. For example, with O2, I can get free minutes from a nominated postcode when I top up. It encourages use, but it’s a great way to help budget the phone at times.

This year has been tight for everyone - I’ve been paring down the outgoings while trying to keep the self-employment side going. It’s been pretty tight at times this year.

I'm another PAYG user, and I mostly text people while I'm sat in work bored - despite this, a £10 top up lasts me months

Well I'm glad everybody is PAYG and never uses their phone. That makes me feel loads better.

I have a contract, because I keep in touch with people using my mobile. I still live with my parents (because of my debt and the [LIFTED] wages down here), so although I have broadband, I don't have access to the landline for calls.

PAYG just isn't viable for me. I went to a monthly contract so that I could cancel at any time, but still have everything I need (or so I thought).

Ok, instead of trying to help I'll approach it from this tact:

Boo frakkin' hoo, me haz been stupid and overspent on my phone bill. Woe is me.

It's your stupid mistake, deal with it.

So, do you prefer that approach or the more helpful one I tried in the first instance where I tried to help you get things in perspective?

If you're on a budget you can put a cap on your phone contract to stop you going too far over

When I was working in Germany, living in England, and had a German girlfriend, my 'phone bill was around 1200 a month! Since then I've kept a good eye on my phone bill.

I currently have a flat-rate on my mobile, I can call as much as I like. For international calls, I use a dial-through service or Skype (you could use Skypout as well, if you need to phone abroad).