He really enjoyed a chat over a good meal and a bottle of wine in pleasant surroundings.

However, the high price of restaurant eating is very often obscured by the atmosphere of conviviality . . . and the ease with which bills are paid by credit card. So Julian ended up eating out almost on a daily basis.

In fact, Julian wasn't noticing the hefty cost of a lot of things.

Why should he when all you had to do was whip out a bit of plastic to pay for it?

His friends called him Inspector Gadget because he would snap up the very latest gizmos as soon they were released. He splashed out on a newish five-series BMW, which he loved parking outside his favourite restaurants. Life is for living isn't it?

"I'm not really sure where all the money went. I spent many tens of thousands over the last three years: restaurants, flights, shopping. . . A lot went in restaurants, " he recalls.

Ironically, Julian originally thought that paying for everything through his credit card would be a good way to keep track of spending.

"I'm not great with book-keeping and keeping receipts so at least I had a record of all my transactions, " he said.

It proved something of a false economy, however, when his "rst credit card maxed out at ten grand. No problem. He went to a rival bank and asked for another. They offered him a similar deal but with a lower credit limit.

"There was no way I was going to accept that. Apart from the fact that I needed the credit, it seemed like an insult, " he said.

The second bank, MBNA, relented and gave him a second card with a ten grand limit and a favourable 10.9% rate of interest.

It took a while, but Julian eventually maxed that one out too.

Like a growing number of people, he saw 10,000 as a target, not a limit.

Julian was passing through the airport on one of his frequent jaunts abroad when he signed up for a Ryanair credit card, which is also managed by MBNA. They would offer him only a two grand limit but, desperately juggling credit at this point, Julian was in no position to argue.

That too hit the ceiling, as something else hit the fan. The total amount owed in short-term loans was now approaching 50,000.

Julian's debt would have been out of control if credit card repayment schedules were designed to help people clear their debts. They are not. All banks insist on is a tiny monthly repayment so they can keep the debt ticking over, earning colossal interest indefinitely. Even so, Julian's outgoings were onerous at around 120 for each of the main credit cards.

"Just meeting payments alone amounted to 600 a month and I could just about manage that even though it meant eating at home and drastically cutting back on spending."

Julian faced an unending cycle of debt. Something had to give. The first thing to go was the Beamer. Julian sold it for 20,000, leaving 30,000 owed in short-term loans, which he refinanced at 8%.

"The repayments were much the same. But at least I am making progress in clearing the loan. I should have it paid off in five years, " he says.

Enjoying life as a bon vivant, Julian literally ate his way into mortgage-scale debt. For the next half a decade, much of his discretionary income will be garnished to pay for long-forgotten gourmet meals and their unexpectedly bitter sauce of rising interest rates.

"From now on, I'll be cooking at home, " he adds ruefully.