Men and motors and the irresponsibility of money lending

We have a new car - the deal was signed yesterday and hopefully we pick it up in a week's time, just in time for Pork Chop's long awaited christening. Incidentally, I am writing this while drinking a cup of tea and simultaneously preparing her breakfast of creamy porridge and lunch for later of homemade fish savoury and leek and potato fromage frais - now that's multi-tasking for you.

As I was saying we have a nice bright, shiny, new BMW on its way to us. It will replace our Ford Focus, which is not nearly so nice but we have only had for ten months. This isn't necessarily a bad thing because a few weeks ago we inadvertently spilt some cream, well actually a whole carton's worth, in one of the back footwells. Long story involving me cooking desserts for a big family gathering at the Mother's. Anyhow, the car now stinks and despite my best efforts with the Bissel I still can't get rid of the smell. It is now something akin to child's vomit or a dead rat.

So we have this lovely new diesel BMW 120 on its way to us - in my name. Yes, despite not a earning a bean at the moment as I sit on my arse doing nothing more creative than blogging while on maternity leave I have managed to get myself in hock to a finance company to the tune of £12,000. The Other Half will pay for it but the fact it is still in my name, while sometimes exciting, is also rather worrying. Morbid I know, but what if he dies? What is the protocol for taking out life insurance in someone else's name just in case?

The reason it is in my name is because he is self employed - credit rating computers don't like that, he has an ex-wife who will literally stop at nothing to ruin his life and take any penny he earns (A BMW is a big give away that he is doing okay for himself) and he also has a shit credit rating because the aforementioned ex wife ran up huge debts on their joint accounts and credit cards after they had separated.

Ironically though, even if I do go back to work full-time The Other Half will still earn six or seven times my salary which is the grand scheme of things is itself above the national average and very respectable yet it is me the banks are happy to throw credit at. Now wonder IVAs are up 53 per cent and bankruptcies are supposed to top 100,000 this year