If you've ever been in the spot where you have 1) children's needs, 2) a mortgage, and 3) credit card bills - where you only have enough income to pay two of the three, what are you going to do? Most people choose #1 and #2. Unfortunately, that means #3 will raise the interest rate to 35 percent, add a $40 late charge every month, write off the account after 6 months and sell it to a collections company for pennies on the dollar. For the next 2 years, you'll get harassing calls from dozens different types of people from friendly to extremely obnoxious to unintelligibly non-English speaking. Then, FINALLY, the harassment ends and you get a letter from a lawyer saying you owe him three times the original card balance plus $1500 in collection fees AND the 35% compound interest is still ticking.
Meanwhile, you're still trying to sell the house you can't afford and have a mortgage balance higher than the (new, lower) appraised value and your children are getting older and you find out that being in "band" costs $2000+/year per child and "school supplies" cost $400/child/year - and I though public school was free? Who knew pens and paper had become so expensive? Who would have known being in band costs so much? I guess that's why I wasn't in band when I was their age.
Life goes on. Eventually your house sells and you find one that's less expensive, although you have to pay a lot more interest because your credit score is in single digits. A relative dies and leaves you some money and you pay back the family and friends that helped you make it. Then, thankful that the clouds are dissipating - you get a small raise at work and see that your income is a little bit more than your expenses. You save a little and settle one of the smaller #3's from above. You're starting to get back on your feet again. It's been a rough decade of hard work and nothing to show for it, but God is good and you're going to be o.k.
Then "BAM #1" - The IRS informs you that you're in a new tax bracket now and you owe $4000 in additional taxes for last year and although your raise gave you fifty more dollars per pay check, you need to adjust your withholding so you get $200 less per check so you won't owe another additional $4000 next year. And, by the way, you're not allowed to make payments on the $4000 because you can't prove you can't pay (after all, both your kids are in band, right?) and (the big bad IRS voice) "We want our money now." -- "The rich don't pay their fair share of taxes - Adolph Hitler is the only leader in history who told bigger lies. #holocaust"
And "BAM #2" - Your bank of 20 years sends you an email saying your account is overdrawn. Huh? Wait, my gas money for the next week is in that account. You go online and see that you were charged $40 because the loaf of bread you bought on your debit card yesterday bounced. - That’s a very expensive loaf of bread! Scrolling down, car payment cleared - thank you Jesus! next entry, "LEGAL ISSUE FEES $81.00", next entry "WAGE GARNISHMENT CASE #aosdifja" X hundred forty four dollars and 10 cents. - Wait, how can that be a wage garnishment? I didn't get paid this week? You jump on Google and find that the bank sells collections companies a monitoring service so that whenever your balance is high they can steal it. (I use the word steal because they don't care if it's your money or not). Wait a minute - I thought somebody had to tell you when they take you to court; apparently not. And the bank charged me $81 to drain the account for the lawyer. Ouch.
And "BAM #3" - Your car finance company calls and wants your car because you didn't pay this month. Wait a minute, that money clearly showed "cleared" before I closed the account. I guess it wasn't out of the building yet and the bank grabbed it also. That's pretty good customer service - wish I was the customer.
Rough week/month/year/decade? - Nope. Nobody and nothing can take away my joy without my permission, and all I have to say at the moment is "Request denied."
It turns out that there are lawyers listed by NACA.COM (I'm a big fan) who can fight this type of criminal behavior. I think I'll hire one if I ever get out of the hole again. Looks like gas will cost a little more this week, headed for "Expensive Money' now. - No I meant "Easy Money' - 800% API.
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