its good to see you've realised before it's too late
i only ever got finance once, on a digital camera for my mum for her birthday, managed to pay it off within the interest free period, being just £250
i'm extremely careful with money, i dont have many luxuries, but i have what i need to get me by, and i have no debt
i too bought my car outright for £2,400 including its extras (the alloys and spoiler), my brother did the same with his lexus at nearly £7k (i told him he could have had an elite for half that, he wouldnt listen!)
when we were younger we couldnt afford to buy such stuff, I only started driving at 23 and my brother at 25, because i didnt have the money and i refused to let finance be an option when spending so much money
i dont have credit cards at all, of any sort, and i plan to go as long as i can without them until i come to a point where i have no choice, but at 26 i hope i still have a long way to go. I wont buy anything unless I have the cash to buy it, and that cash has to be "spare" cash too!
I had a mate who just spent all his money on garbage, and might I add, this is his dole money, he'd go out and buy a playstation and some games, and leave himself without food for 2 weeks!!