Redemption
Posted on April 22, 2008 - Filed Under Personal |
With my financial life completely in ruins and my life out of control, it was time to take action.
A suggestion lead me to the credit union, inquiring about a Consolidation Loan. Such a loan was completely unknown to me. Completing the application, the realization hit. I was a smart guy, an educated guy. None of that mattered. With my current credit situation I probably couldn’t qualify for a library card.
The credit union offered their protection. Their conditions were steep.
- No collateral meant this would be a personal loan.
- My credit score was negative jillion. My interest rate would be 16.9%.
- Each paycheck would be garnished before it appeared in my checking account.
- Every credit card account must be closed. This would be done in the presence of the Credit Union lender.
My only choice: how much to be deducted from each paycheck. Initially, a paltry amount like $400 per month was proposed. This would take decades. The shortest repayment period: 18 months. That monthly payment would leave me exactly $1200 to live on. With rent at $700, suddenly $500 is suppose to cover car payments, student loan payments, gas, insurance, food . . .
I chose to do the hard-time: 18 months.
Lady Fortune is an odd duck. Sometimes with a sense of impeccable timing.
The same month the consolidation loan was processed, the lease expired on my GM product. Buh-bye. My roommate sold me his college car for $2000. Where did I find $2000? My roommate started a consulting company. For the next three months, I was slave-labor.
My new car, affectionately called the “Grocery Getter“, was clearly designed for people under 5 foot 6 inches, forced my head to constantly bend to the side. At 60 mph, its top speed, the hatchback would fly open flooding the interior with exhaust fumes.
My deferment with student loans had been all used up. They did offer however to charge “interest only” for 12 months. On month 13, my payments would be higher than normal but the loan would be paid off in the same amount of time. I agreed. I waited until 6 months into the loan payback before activating this.
But really these sacrifices were nothing. The hardest thing during those 18 months: forced to be a social recluse. No spending cash was available. Dating life: Gone. Social Life: Gone. My finances were down to the wire BUT bills were being paid.
The only part of me that remained intact: my hope. Creditors could not touch it or take it away. Each month that passed was another month closer to freedom. I kept telling myself: Just hang in there.
The last payment into the loan was numbing. True, it was the last payment. But I couldn’t celebrate. It almost didn’t feel real.
It was actually the next paycheck, when the huge automatic deduction was no longer present. At that moment, my crawl through 18 months of fowl servitude finally ended. I was filled with so much excitement that I could barely sit still or hold a thought in my head.
Hope is a good thing.
It wasn’t long afterwards that I confided in someone my fear that I would once again fall into the debt trap. My only knowledge of money: spend it. With that plan, surely the same fate would be suffered as before.
“Cliff, have you ever heard of Rich Dad, Poor Dad?”
And now you know . . . the rest of the story.
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4 Responses to “Redemption”
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Great post — it is a tough journey, but similar to The Cave from Plato.
Well done on getting out and moving on to bigger and better things.
Alisons last blog post..Just Over Broke
I think I’m missing something what does Paul Harvey have to do with the rest of your story?
And this is why you are wise enough to recognize the alligator property and to cut it loose.
@Tim: I’m not sure how much you know about Paul Harvey. He is a great radio personality, been doing it for decades. Many times his voice has floated over my speakers, telling these true stories about famous people. John Wayne, Colonel Sanders, Walter Cronkite . . . Paul Harvey tells the story which precedes the popularity and reveals the person before the public eye fell on them.
His speciality in story telling includes keeping the audience oblivious as to who the story is about until the very end. Concluding each story the same way Paul always says “And now you know . . . the rest of the story.” This was my silent tribute to Mr. Harvey, wishing he stays broadcasting for decades to come.