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jannie_gw

I did it! - and How I did it

jannie
9 years ago

I had posted here long ago about my debt problems. Through a lot of foolishness of my own doing, I found myself in 2005 unemployed, married, with thirty thousand in credit card debt spread over 5 credit card companies. I had kept my debt a secret from my loving husband, it was horrible trying to explain it to him. But he forgave me and still loves me. I began the process of digging out. I first consulted a lawyer who recommended filing bankruptcy, but I didn't want to do it. I just wasn't brought up that way. You owe someone, you pay them. I went online and found a debt advice service, for a small fee they provided calculators showing me how to pay off the CC's. (I don't want to advertise- but the name of the company rhymes with "Meck the fax" debt wise). I had to write each company, ask what's the smallest monthly payment they would accept, then started making regular monthly payments. At one point, I fell behind in payments and even got served with a Lien. But I begged the companies to allow me to continue making the monthly payments. It was hard, but I managed to make every single payment on time after that. It was actually "fun" like a game watching my balances go down. First Discover was paid off, then Macys, and so on. This March I sent in my final check for $571 to the last of the 5 companies. I am now debt free! I am NOT asking for praise. I'm just telling you my story. I got into a real mess , but I was able to climb out of that hell hole. I am now advising my twenty-something daughters not to take out credit cards, unless it's for convenience only and you pay back in full each month, I learned my lesson the hard way.

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