Second, I tend to put almost everything on my credit card. That has worked well in the past, but I have only paid the minimum payment, and now I am near my credit limit.
Also, I like buying the new gadgets all of the time. It makes me feel good to have all of the newest and greatest stuff. This way I can be very proud and show my new gadgets to my friends.
I do have a good job I like doing, but I tend to live from paycheck to paycheck. So with the New Year coming up, I have just found out my credit cards are maxed out, and I have very little in the bank. My resolution is to balance my checkbook and to pay down my credit cards.
Everything worked well until the third week in January when a new model of a phone came out. I went to the cellphone store to buy it, and I got a surprise. When I went to pay for it, all three of my credit cards were declined. Next I tried to pay for it with a check, and my check didn’t go thru. The store also had a payment plan, and I filled out an instant application. To my surprise, that was declined too. I guess with my credit cards maxed out, they made my credit rating very low.
Then what did me in, was the next day, I got a notice in the mail from my bank, saying I was overdrawn. Now I was desperate. What was I going to do?
So I called a helpline center, and talked to them about what I could do. Since I had no money and I needed a lot of help, they recommended I talk to a special type of financial planner and bankruptcy attorney. They gave me her phone number and told me I should make an appointment as soon as possible.
When I called her, she had a very soothing calm voice and she told me that she could still work with me, although I had no money. The first appointment would be in two parts. First part, a full evaluation and accountability of my situation, and the second part would be a partial resolution of the problem. So I needed to bring in all of my credit card statements, bank statements, plus a projected spending and savings plan.
The first appointment would last about two hours, and then I needed to make a weekly follow-up appointment that would last about one hour. Since I had little or no money, she would expect me to sign papers stating that I would strictly follow her instructions on how to solve my money problems. All of this sounded very good, so I made an appointment with her. I made the appointment for 7 PM, the next evening.
When I arrived at her office, there was a receptionist who I signed in with. She took all of the information that I brought with me and also gave me some papers to fill out and sign. They needed the usual information that included my name, address, etc.
Then there was a paper that I found unusual to sign. It stated that I would follow all orders given to me by the counselor, or I would be kicked out of the program. It also stated that I would show up on time for my follow-up appointments, and I would strictly follow what I was told to do by my counselor.
I wasn’t sure about signing it, and I asked the receptionist about it. “If you don’t sign it before you see her, you will not be helped by her. So I suggest you sign it,” the receptionist said.
So I reluctantly signed it and gave all of the papers to the receptionist. She carried the papers into the office of the counselor and closed the door. In a few minutes, a smartly dressed young woman came out of her office.
“You must be Jim. Glad to meet you. My name is Mary,” she said.
“I am glad to meet you too. I hope you can help me.”
“Come into my office with me.” Then Mary told the receptionist, “Jim is my last appointment so you can go home now. Be sure and lock the door.”
Mary’s office looked like any other office with a large wooden desk, with a computer, and many papers on it. There also was a door marked “Resolution Room”, which I wondered about.
The first thing Mary did was to ask for my credit cards and my ATM card, and she cut them up. “You won’t be needing these anymore. Now let’s go over your financial situation.”
After reviewing my budget, my expenses, and my income; Mary decided my best way to handle this would be with a bankruptcy. I would need to live on a cash and/or money order basis for the next two to three months. I agreed and then signed some more papers to start the bankruptcy procedures.
Then Mary said, “Now is the time we need to work on the resolution part of your financial problem. Until you have enough money to pay me for my work, and until this problem is resolved by the bankruptcy court, I want you to report here every week to update me on your financial progress and I will administer some corrective measures to make sure you stay on track.”
“What do you mean by corrective measures?” I asked.
“It involves being scolded and spanked to various degrees. You have already signed the papers agreeing to this punishment,” Mary said.
“I didn’t realize that,” I quickly answered.
“Either you accept your weekly punishment or you owe me five hundred dollars right now and more later, or I will file charges and you will go to jail.