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Part 3: Panicky Budget- Deeper Issues

Amy, you say, I’m in deeper than this- I can’t even afford the pro-rata plan you referenced. Okay- we can go from here- DO NOT PANIC.
Give your budget an honest and thorough going through. Think on what you can honestly pay per month to each creditor. Draft a letter to each creditor explaining that you are under financial distress and need to amend your payments. Clearly state the payment amount you will be making- example, “We can no longer afford to pay the $350/month minimum payment. We have gone over our budget and propose to make monthly payments in the amount of $150.00 until the amount is paid or until our financial situation improves.”
Note: Dave Ramsey’s books have some great example letters for you to pull from for such circumstances. Check out the forms on his website too (www.daveramsey.com).
The key here is to find what you can pay. At this point a creditor might actually want a phone call from you instead of handling it all through the mail. Take a deep breath, make sure you have your pad of paper and pencil for note taking, say a prayer and make the call. Helpful hints- do not provide more info than absolutely necessary (do not share where you work, where you bank, info about your 401k or such nonsense!). Do not attempt to make them feel sorry for you. Be clear, honest and to the point. A creditor might do their best to make you get emotional (especially if you are a woman) do not fall for it. Take deep breaths and send up arrow prayers! Simply state that you need to make different payment arrangements as you are now find yourself unable to pay the current minimum monthly payment. If you are not yet behind on your payments, state that you very much would like the company to work with you , that you want to keep current- paying on time even if you can’t pay the minimum amount. If the creditor should ask why you can’t keep making the monthly payment, simply restate that you find yourself in a financial situation that necessitates you make these arrangements. If they get more personal and push- saying something like, “Did you lose your job? Are you filing for bankruptcy?” Be honest. Hopefully you haven’t lost your job but if you have- be honest and say so- some credit card companies now have plans in place to help you out if this happens. Otherwise say, “No, I have not lost my job and I do not wish to file for bankruptcy that is why I am contacting you about lowering my monthly payments- so I don’t have to do something like that.”
Again- remember that any agreement you make- ask for it in writing.
Lump Sum Repayment- while it has been my experience that this can work for you after you have become delinquent on your payments, you may find that it will work for you without having to become delinquent. Do your very best not to become delinquent on your payments to your creditors. The first time you know you can’t make the payment- contact them- work out an agreement. Don’t sit there and not pay at all! Be proactive for yourself!
Negotiating a lump sum repayment for less than you owe: Example: You owe $3,500. You can offer to pay $2,000 with a payment of $500.00 this month and two more monthly payments of $750.00. Remember to state that you will send in that first payment after you have received confirmation of the agreement. Make sure that the agreement states that the creditor is willing to settle the account for $2,000.00 and after receiving that full amount will consider the debt paid off. Make copies of all the checks and letters you send. Don’t forget to send the payment registered mail.
Don’t have any cash whatsoever for a lump sum payment? Maintain your new lower monthly payments and do your very best to find ways to set aside money for repayment purposes. For example: say you have been able to lower your total monthly debt repayment to your creditors by $500.00. In the past few months the amount you were paying out was $300.00 more than you were bringing in- so this means you are currently saving $200.00 a month ($500-300). Now, the first thing you do is put that $200 aside until you have a $1000 emergency fund in place- if you are starting from scratch this will take 5 months ($200x5= $1000). Next, you can do one of two things: 1. Start sending that $200/month to your debt that you owe the least amount of money on- in the scenario I mentioned in my earlier post that would be the $800 Doctor bill. After paying the Doctor bill you would then roll that entire amount (the negotiated monthly payment + $200) into the amount you are currently paying on your next lowest bill (in the example it would be Visa 2). This is called the Debt Snowball- paying off one bill and rolling that money into the payment for the next lowest bill and so on and so on until all debt is paid off.
OR
You can set that money aside and build it up for a few months and negotiate a lump sum repayment of one of your debts. I must note here that when you settle an account for less than you owed the difference is counted as income and must be reported on your taxes for that year. If you paid $2000 on a $3500 debt, you will need to report the $1500 difference as income.
Why would you want to settle a debt instead of paying it in full? Well, we did this first because the debt counseling agency we were with did it for us and then when we got out from under them we did it in order to save ourselves money that we could then push towards another debt that was knocking at our door thanks to the debt counseling agency’s ineptitude. Debt Settlement looks good because you see yourself getting out of debt faster and using less money to do so. It is not good in the fact that it shreds your credit score and could push you into a higher tax bracket come tax time. This is something you should really pray about before considering.
By far, your best bet is Slow and Steady- the Debt Snowball. Taking your time to pay back your debt in full over a period of time. This can offer you more room to breathe and will not kill your credit score completely.
Of course, this will only work if you DO NOT INCUR MORE DEBT.
My suggestion: Cut up the credit cards and close the accounts. You say you can’t live without the credit cards? I have news for you- you can. If you find yourself in the hole like we were- the phrase goes like this . . . .
When you find yourself in a hole the first thing to do is stop digging.
Stop digging- stop wracking up more credit card debt.
But Amy, you say, I just found out Lil Mo needs a $250 dental procedure and the dentist accepts Visa. It’s only $250.00. Well, I say, if it’s only $250-- pay it in cash! $250 cash look a bit different to you than signing your name to a credit slip? Good. It should. It is cash, people! Whether you’re forking over the Benjamins or signing your John Hancock to a slip of paper- It’s your money! FYI: It doesn’t cost any interest to pay in cash. No cash reserve at all? No emergency fund? Ask your dentist if the procedure is absolutely necessary and if so, then ask if you can set up a payment plan (one that you can afford). 

Okay- Let’s look it over again.
You find that you can no longer make the minimum monthly payments on your credit cards and still provide food and shelter for your family.
So you:
1. Created a reality budget.
You are keeping track of every dollar and cent that comes in and goes out.
2. Lowered your monthly payments by negotiating with your creditors.
You’ve written letters and made those dreaded phone calls (keeping meticulous records in the process) and have been able to just about cut your total monthly payments by 1/3.
3. Saved up $1000 emergency fund.
Allow me to remind you how EXTREMELY IMPORTANT it is that you DO NOT SKIP this step. All kinds of emergencies can happen. Do not neglect to set aside this money. It is imperative that you save up this money before putting extra cash towards debt repayment. If you don’t have an emergency fund, you will, most likely, always be “in the hole” because every time an emergency comes around (washing machine breaks, Mo breaks a permanent tooth, your car sputters it’s last sput’ . . . .) you’ll reach for that horrid credit card instead and begin the whole horrible debt cycle all over again.
Don’t say, “I can’t possibly save up $1000.” You can. Period. We were able to do so when we didn’t think it was at all possible. Make it a matter of prayer- find ways to cut your budget here and there by little amounts that you can squirrel away. Find ways to make it happen. It IS that important because life’s “emergencies” will creep in.
How did we, personally, save up $1000? We had a yard sale. We found a way to pinch $10 from every paycheck. Any extra money from the gas or grocery budget that wasn’t spent went into the e-fund. We started helping my parents with the care-taking needs of a nearby farm (2^nd home for this couple) for a small fee. It took us 10 months to save up $1,000 and then we shelled out over half the fund to fix the car- so we got creative again for another 8 months to get the fund back up to the $1000 mark.
It isn’t easy and it takes time. A lot of time. Which takes patience.
But
It is most definitely worth it.

Check out previous posts in this series:
Part one: What to do- the outgoing is bigger than the incoming
Part two: Keeping Detailed Files and More

Part 2: Detailed Files & More

Keeping Detailed Files and more
Part 2 in a new Financial Bliss series: Part One here.
In my opinion and from my own experience- it is always best to communicate with your creditors in writing, thereby giving yourself a paper trail and a “leg to stand on”. Create a file and start filling it up with papers. Make copies of every piece of paper you send to your creditors. Send letters with confirmation requested; it costs you $$ postage-wise but this is your proof that the creditor actually received your payment/info. You need to be able to prove that you are communicating with your creditors. Explain to your creditors that you will handle all communications by mail. Should they continue to call you, make detailed notes of every conversation and file it.
Example of such detailed notes:
Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2000, 4:13 pm: Rec’d phone call from Ms. D with Credit Card Company A. Ms. D asked why I have not paid the last 3 credit card bills in full. I explained that I am currently unable to make the minimum payment and that I included paperwork supporting this, including a pro rata sheet with each of the last three bills I sent along with my new calculated payment. Ms. D stated that this is not acceptable. I replied that it is currently not possible for me to pay this bill in full. She then asked how much I could pay. I replied that I could pay the amount I have been sending the last three months. She stated she would have to close the account. I stated that this was quite okay with me. She then confirmed payment I am currently sending. I confirmed that this payment was indeed accepted by the company. I again asked for her name and her extention number. Call ended: 4:39 pm.
You want to have the most thorough notes possible- when I’ve had to speak with creditors I have made sure that I am at my computer or had a notepad and pencil in hand to take notes. Ask them their own name and to repeat which creditor they are calling in regards to. It is totally okay to ask the person on the other end of the line to repeat information. Make sure you understand what they are communicating. Should they ask, as I have been asked, if you are keeping notes on the conversation be honest and say yes- they’ll know that you are being proactive in taking care of matters. Be as detailed as you possibly can, just in case, I repeat- just in case, you ever should receive official court documents and find yourself being taken to court. This is your proof that you tried your very best to work with your creditors.
And another thing: If you are able to come to an agreement on the phone with your creditor you must ask them to send the agreement to you in writing. Never EVER believe that speaking an agreement is enough. If the creditor verbally agrees to take a payment of $xxx/month ask them to send it to you in writing. If they refuse and demand that you send payment in immediately- then you must refuse. Do not pay anything on a new “agreement” with a creditor until you have that agreement in writing.
Also know your rights- When you send your letter, stating in writing the payments that you can afford to make and also stating that you be contacted by mail only- your creditors must abide by this- they canNOT contact you by phone when you have presented a written request that they cease doing so. Creditors may try to contact you at work- ask verbally and in writing that they cease doing so, to only contact you by mail- they must abide by this. Creditors can only call between the hours of 9 am and 9 pm. It is illegal for a creditor to threaten you- they cannot state that they can take you to jail, send officers to your home to arrest you, take your home and kick you out on the street by next Tuesday. Note: They can state that if you do not pay they will go forward with their right to sue you- that isn't a threat- that's a truth. Read up on the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, it will help you know the difference.

Part 3 coming: Panicky Budget- Deeper Issues

Just an example- Not me

I wondered if this would come up. I used $5,000 as an arbitrary amount- a very high arbitrary amount which is not even close to our actual net income. We do NOT bring in that much money per month. No where near that much. Not even close. Also the bills I list are not ours either- just “for example”. I am not comfortable with sharing that much of myself out on the worldwide web.
I can tell you this- at one time we owed over $47,000 in credit card debt. The monthly minimum payments that we could no longer pay hovered around $1550/month. Which was roughly $700+ more than we could afford each month. I had continuously “robbed Peter to pay Paul” until there was no money anywhere. It came to the point where I could not make the minimum payments and pay the utilities and feed the family. So- not knowing what I know now- I, while scared silly, did not pay those credit card bills one month. While that helped us make ends meet that month- there still wasn’t enough extra to help pay the bills the next month, especially with the added late fees. The late fees on 3 of the cards took us over our limit so that tacked on even more fees. We were sinking farther and farther.
I do not know how to make a budget for 5 people on $1,000 a month and I applaud anyone who is able to do so. [Plus I bet you probably have some great frugalista tips!] I do know, and I share here, what it took for us to begin crawling our way out of the pit of credit card debt. I can share how we made poor choices in the process that led to being served court documents and being sued and I can do my best to help you not to make the same poor choices we did.
More than that, I can share how God has walked beside us and held us up every step of this journey thus far. How He, time and time and time again, has met our needs and even granted some of our desires.
No matter what your income may be- if you’ve over extended yourself and find the out-go bigger than the incoming—you can stop the cycle. I don’t mean it to sound trite but make it a matter of prayer. We may be in uncertain times where prices go up as our pay goes down (pay cuts, higher insurance premiums, wage freezes) or the car breaks down to the point its only good for $100 in parts . . . . but I know this, we serve a God of certainty- while we do not know where our next step is going to land- He does.

What to do- The outgoing is bigger than the incoming

Recently I received this note from a lovely reader:

Amy,
I was wondering if you would mind sharing how you came to "agreements" with your creditors in your quest to become debt free? I am at that stage now, needing to work out payment plans before we drown in our debt, and I don't really know where to begin. Thanks for any advice you can offer me...

First things first--- Are you behind on your payments? Are your creditors calling you all the time? Have you been handed over to the dreaded “collection agency”?

Not there yet but getting real close? Hang in there.

Alright- here’s what you do- you need to sit down with your budget and calculate every single thing out. You need to figure out your disposable income- that’s what’s left after you set aside the $$ you need to “live” on- living expenses- the honest to goodness Necessities of Life. Living expenses are housing/utilities/food/transportation/clothing/medical-health- Disposable are things like cable, internet, recreation (entertainment), blow money and credit cards—also unfortunately, the world (court system) also sees tithing as disposable.
Let me give you a simple example:

Income: $5,000/month
Housing cost (mortgage, taxes, insurance, home repairs): $1500.00
Utilities (gas, electric, water, phone): $350.00
Food: $600.00
Transportation (car loans, gasoline, upkeep/repairs/insurance/license fees): $600.00
Clothing: $300.00
Medical/Health (life insurance, doctor bills, prescriptions, health & beauty): $400.00
Total Living Expenses: $3750.00
Disposable Income: $1250.00 (tithe, credit card debt, other unsecure debt, trash pick-up, cable, internet service, sports fees, entertainment, etc.)

Keep this number (disposable income) in mind as I proceed to tell you what you need to do with it.

** Are you unable to pay your creditors the minimum due each month? Then you need to figure out your “Pro-rata Budget” (a la Dave Ramsey- check out his book at your local library—Total Money Makeover- I can’t recommend it enough!).
Pro-Rata means proportionately according to someone’s fair share; you organize your payments so that you are giving each creditor their fair share of your total debt.
Add up all your debt (not including your house) and divide that by each individual debt, this will give you that debt’s percentage of the total. Now multiply each debt’s percentage by your disposable income.
Here’s an example:
Debts with amount owed
Doctor $800
Visa $8500
MasterCard $7500
2^nd Visa $2300
2nd Mastercard $4600
Total Debt: $23700.00--- Now divide each debt by the total debt for your percentage. Next, multiply your percentage by your disposable income for your new payment.

Doctor $800                          /23700= 3%              x $1250= $37.50
Visa $8500                            /23700= 36%           x $1250= $450.00
MasterCard $7500              /23700= 32%           x $1250= $400.00
Visa 2 $2300                         /23700= 10%           x $1250= $125.00
Mastercard 2 $4600            /23700= 19%            x $1250= $237.50

These are the new payments that would be paid to creditors until the bill was paid or until you could afford to start paying the monthly minimums again.
Your next step is to get your creditors to agree to the new payment plan. Write to each of your creditors explaining what you are about to do and include a check for the new payment amount along with a copy of your budget and your pro rata sheet. Help them to see on paper, in black and white, that you are financially unable to make the minimum payments required at this time. The creditor might say they will not accept your payment but according to Dave Ramsey you “should do it anyway”. Dave says, “When they see that you are consistently communicating and sending them something, most will leave you alone. I’ve had clients send as little as two dollars to creditors and survive for years on this program.”

Budgeting for the extras- like TP

 I budget $35/month for toiletries/household goods. That’s $420 for an entire year.
So what toiletries/household goods are on my list that this can be so low?

Every Month:
toilet paper (approx. 20 rolls used/month) $10.00 (sale purchases)
feminine products (for 2) ($10)

Every 2 Months:
Kleenex ($3)

Every 3 Months:
Band-Aids ($2)
Toothpaste ($4)
Deodorant ($6)

Every 6 Months:
Shampoo ($3)
Conditioner ($3)
Body Wash ($4)

 Purchase at beginning of Summer:
Bug repellants ($15)
Sun Screen ($13)

Purchase once or twice a year:
Cleaning product Ingredients [to make my own cleaners]
Special Pine Cleaner ($8) [My one cleaning product splurge- great for the bathroom because it smells so wonderful!]
Barkeepers Friend cleaner ($2) [I love this for the stubborn stuff]

Not on my monthly list:
Soap- I purchased wonderful yummy bars of goats milk soap at a $1 a bar at our village Harvest Festival last Fall. We’re still using them up. Hope I can make it last until the next one. Otherwise- I like to purchase goat’s milk soap at around $4-5 a bar. It’s expensive up-front, but bar soap lasts a lot longer than squirt soap and the goat’s milk is better for our skin (Sassafras has Exema).
Kleenex- We purchase 2 boxes every other month for guests and quick necessary wipes. If any of us have a cold or allergies- we get out what we call the Big Grampa hankies- big cotton bandanas.
Cleaning products: A couple of years ago I noticed I had an over abundance of this stuff under my sink. I am still using it all up and what I have used up I’ve taken to making my own version (like Windex) I do have 2 boxes of Mr. Clean Erasers (one I bought and one I “won” at MOPS)—I cut the erasers in half.
Make-up: I don’t wear much make-up and I don’t wear it very often. Mostly I spend money on lip balm and mascara. I would guess I spend less than $12 a year on make-up.

 Cutting costs: We each get shampoo, conditioner, body wash, toothpaste & deodorant in our Christmas Stockings and in our Easter Baskets. This comes from my gift giving fund. The kids love it- fun and practical and frugal. I’d guesstimate that this gets us thru at least 6 months of the year (exception: deodorant).
Otherwise I look for sales, I get Mr. Steady’s favorite brand of deodorant when it’s on sale for $1 (the buy 10 for $10 & get 11th one free- I buy 11 and it lasts him roughly 8-9 months). The girls’ deodorant I like to get when it’s 2 packs for $3. I splurge on myself- the “extra strength” stuff for Egads! $6-7 a pop which I try to find on sale. Mr. Steady and Mr. Conductor use a men's body wash/hair wash combo soap- this lasts pretty well since they both have shorter than short hair. The girls and I use body washes instead of soap because it's usually a gift we're using (hence the splurge), plus Sassafras needs hypoallergetic sudsy stuff. My current favorite "splurge" is Ivory's Simply Lavender Moisturizing Body Wash ($1.97/12 oz.) it washes and moisturizes. A very good deal.

Light bulbs: We purchase CLFs with coupons and rebates that Mr. Steady gets from Menards. These light bulbs last and last. We do have some lamps that can’t take them (like our fan light- the shimmy makes the CLFs pop) and we purchase 4 packs of light bulbs for $1 at the Dollar Store.

Don’t buy: paper napkins, paper towels, paper plates/cups/bowls or plastic silverware. [Note: My mom purchased a huge bag of plastic silverware at Goodwill a couple of years ago for a few bucks and I have yet to use it all up.] When we do have events that we use paper plates (like our 4^th of July get-together) we have a party budget that this comes from.

This probably isn’t a real complete list; I’m sure I’ve forgotten something. I’d have to flip back looking at all of my receipts . . . .  It can always use some tweaking.
Which leads me to thinking of keeping better track with a pocket notebook- I just don’t get into doing it all up on spreadsheets on the computer.

Cut and Slash tips- aren't working here

I currently find myself getting increasingly annoyed at the “frugal” articles running in many magazines.

“25 Ways to Cut Your Spending”
“15 Tips to Slash Your Budget”
“How to Spend Less and Save More”
“50 Frugal Tips to Cut Spending By Half”

and so on and so forth.
Seen any of these?
Have you read them?
At first I found them funny- reading things like stop buying that expensive daily frou-frou coffee drink, drop your gym membership, buy less expensive cuts of meat, limit your eating out to twice a month, rent a movie instead of going to the theater . . . .
I don’t know about you but I would read these articles and find that there wasn’t one tip I could implement to save me money. I was already doing that and more.
Granted, my quest for frugality has been a lifelong one but I am not the only one. How about articles for those of us that already pinch all those pennies- how about digging deeper in your quest for frugalness in such times as these?
I know we are not the only family that doesn’t buy frou-frou coffee drinks, have gym memberships, eat out, have satellite or cable.
We do 80% of our grocery shopping at Aldi’s- the other 20% is mostly sales at Meijer or Wal-mart. Mr. Steady carpools to work and has always cut his and Mr. Conductor’s hair. My sister or another dear friend cuts mine and the girls’ hair. Our family vacation last year cost less than $350 (and it was awesome!). We make meals from leftovers, water down our milk and compost the garbage (food for the garden). We don’t get a daily newspaper and get most of our magazines from the library (I have a subscription to 3 magazines- all were gifts) and we’ve always purchased the cheaper cuts of meat. We rent movies on average once a month, tending to borrow or swap DVDs with friends instead. We use cloth napkins and rags instead of paper napkins and paper towels. If we’ve got the sniffles we get out the hankies not tissues. Soda pop and prepackaged sweets are luxuries here- not the norm.
Our entertainment is often getting together with family and friends to play games and eat potluck style. I menu plan - two weeks at a time and if you’ve been a reader here for very long you know that my family’s on-average daily food expense is $10- for the whole day. My weekly grocery budget is $50 (it use to be $40 but oh, those icky price increases!).
We do “splurge” on some items- but what I find a splurge is probably not the norm.
Our Splurges: Aldi’s brand Oreos (Mr. Steady & Mr. C’s favorite cookie), flavored coffee creamer, a gallon bucket of ice cream. Family membership to local nature center, butter cream frosting from the Amish store, dry erase markers in various colors . . . .
See? I doubt that’s a normal “splurge” list.
Last week I treated myself to a cookbook that’s been on my wish list for at least six months. And I only purchased it now because I had a $14 store credit and the book cost $18. Don’t consider that a splurge? Well, I could have bought more “useful” things- like school books/supplies so I consider it a splurge to use the money on something I really wanted but didn’t necessarily need.
By the way- I am so glad I bought that book. I’ve already made 2 recipes from it and have oodles more marked to try out.
What do you consider a splurge?
Do you consider yourself to be frugal?
Do you ever find yourself annoyed at the “Cut your Budget” articles that don’t live up to your frugal zeal?

Just enough to get by, Please

This funny little story was sent to me and I felt the need to share . . . . . Which would you rather have?

One day an investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellow fin tuna. The banker complimented the fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.
The fisherman replied, "Only a little while."
The banker then asked why didn't he stay out longer and catch more fish?
The fisherman said he had enough to support his family's immediate needs.
The banker then asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?"
The fisherman said, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take a nap with my wife, stroll into the village each evening where I play guitar and sing with my friends. I have a full and busy life."
The banker scoffed, "I am a Harvard MBA and I could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat, you could buy several boats, eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman, you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to a big city where you will run your expanding enterprise."
The fisherman asked, "But, how long will this all take?"
To which the banker replied, "15-20 years."
"But what then?"
The banker laughed and said that's the best part.  "When the time is right, you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich. You would make millions."
"Millions...Then what?"
The banker said, "Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take a nap with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could play your guitar and sing with your friends."

If you are not content with what you have, you'll never be content with what you want.

Bail Out Plan- Common Sense!

Whats going on

Lets look at what I've learned

Sharing more of my debtor story

Contract Terminated- Dum dee dum dum.

My heartfelt thanks for the prayers that have been lifted up on my behalf.

I have been on my knees thanking my awesome Lord for His divine intervention. I rec’d an email yesterday evening from the manager of the debt counseling agency stating that my email had been rec’d and that he would call me in the morning after having researched my account. The email stated that the matter would be resolved.
I rec’d a phone call from him this morning. To make a long and convoluted story short- my counselor at the agency (who I had all my interactions with) never followed through on the paperwork for stop payment, even after all the emails and phone calls and the email I had from her of assurance that a permanent stop payment had been put in place after the fiasco before this fiasco.
The manager apologized and asked me a few questions. He also stated that he had rec’d the documents from my counselor stating I wanted to terminate my contract and he had already put the paperwork in place to make that happen. He would be refunding me my money minus the early termination fee of $300. I was not happy about this as they had tacked on this month’s fees already when I had requested the termination at the end of last month but the Lord held my tongue as the man asked more questions. During the course of this interesting conversation he became very surprised at how a couple of matters were handled—especially when I informed him that I had saved a couple of key phone messages for proof.
And so it ended up that he stated the following, “I will wave your termination fee. The money doesn’t make a big difference to us but it does to you. I am very sorry that this mismanagement has lost us a client. I have read your emails and am using them as feedback. Due to what has transpired with you I have now made it a policy that all emails sent into [debt agency] will be copied to me. This won’t happen again.”
My thoughts: Well, it at least won’t be happening with me!
And so I have finally been able to terminate my contract with this deplorable company. Of course I will feel even better once I verify the funds are back in my account but I am feeling quite vindicated today.
I know God made a way for me today.
I continue to pray that He will make a way with the last and final debt to be settled and we will be done.
Thank you Lord.
Thank you Lord.
THANK YOU LORD!

My eyes were opened

I will not be ignored

Lord God they did it again

I would greatly appreciate prayer support.

We have reached yet another snafu with our remaining debt and this debt counseling agency.
I cannot possibly go into it all right now except to very simply say-- they took money- straight out of our checking account that they had absolutely no right to whatsoever [yes, I have it in writing that a stop payment was put in affect but I have yet to get a real person on the phone to deal with this directly and immediately].
But by the grace of God am I holding on.
I remind myself that God is with me.
Don't be afraid, just stand where you are and watch the Lord rescue you. Exodus 14:13
This has been my very own special verse for months now and I cling to it mightily today.
Please pray- pray for God's peace for me. Pray for this matter to be sorted out with extreme quickness and efficiency.
Please Lord, I know you hear me. I know you are here with me. Lord God help us. You know what is going on in my head and heart right now. I know you do not want me so conflicted and worried. Forgive me for these feelings Lord and establish Your Peace in me. Dear Lord help. Please help.

Please pray- Mr. Steady just returned home from work and I must inform him of all of this.

Thank you.

Blessed in the midst of the Mess

Our financial stability continues to be on shaky ground. We continue to make progress but it is slow going and sometimes painful. I am reminded that growth can be a painful process and we are indeed growing. God has opened our eyes in a lot of ways thru this pile of financial woes.
I am glad that we took a hard look at our debt over 2 years ago and started working to eliminate it. I am sad that we didn’t investigate all our avenues more thoroughly and I know we were much too quick to join the debt settlement agency bandwagon (don't do it), believing they would solve all our woes for us and do so easily and without repercussions. Ha!
BUT—I wonder if it had been as easy as that silly agency made it out to be when we signed up if I would have truly learned my lesson about debt. I believe that because this has been so hard and painful that it will be the reminder that sticks with us our hole lives thru that we never want to be indebted like that ever EVER again. It’s like the child who has been told time and time again not to touch the hot stove- the meaning in the message doesn’t really sink in until the child gets burned; then the child knows and is reminded- “I don’t want to touch the stove because it will hurt me.” I’ve been burned and I know that I don’t want to go into debt again “because it will hurt me” and my family.
We continue to have problems with the debt settlement agency. (Go figure!) We are not in a situation where we can terminate the agreement but we do have a bit of leverage for their “current mistake”. 
I am annoyed that when they want information and such from me I must provide it to them immediately- without delay and without thought, but when I contact them about a problem (such as last month’s double billing) I don’t hear back from them until I’ve contacted them at least 3 times.
But yet I am thankful. We will have a debt paid off by the end of August which will leave us with only one debt listed with the debt settlement agency. It is our hope to get that final debt paid off by early next year and be done with this agency f-o-r-e-v-e-r.
More than anything I am aware that God is in charge and He has always, continually and faithfully provided for us. Time and time again. We’ve been at the brink many times and while it is rocky and scary, I keep reminding myself of how God has brought us through so far. He will never fail us.
We live in shaky economic times and there are many, many good people like Mr. Steady and myself, facing the same dilemmas we are facing, feeling the same fear and worry that we have faced. And some have it far worse.
We continue to take things a day at a time and to fill our days with prayers. I daily ask God that I won’t be imprisoned again with the fear and worry I felt early this year and I also ask that I would never be so far removed that I would forget what it felt like and how He raised me up out of that mire and what THAT felt like.
I realize that what God has brought us through these past two years has been in preparation for these tight economic times. I didn’t know, but the Lord did that we would be facing this now and that we would never be making it now if we still had that debt burden on our backs. These past two years have taught us more than just the fact that God calls us to live debt-free; we’ve learned how to pinch a penny and stretch a dollar “Til George and Abe scream”, to stick within our budgets (envelope system), how to barter for some needs and do without others. We’ve learned to be more creative and resourceful- to reduce and reuse before it was the green thing to do. And even more we’ve learned that in doing so we’re richer for it. We haven’t become misers; instead God has strengthened our marriage and little family. He’s brought us closer and made our lives richer with like-minded friends and family. He’s opened our eyes to the joys we have right here in our home that cannot be found or bought anywhere else.
He has incredibly and richly blessed us in such deep ways as I could never have imagined. While I never want to be in this situation ever EVER again, I know this was for my good- part of God’s great plan for my life (Jeremiah 29:11) and I no longer wish that “it had never happened” because I am very much  the better for it having happened. And continuing to happen.
And so I shake my fist at this current small storm we are facing and I tell it
“My God is BIGGER than you!”
So there.

Interesting in knowing more about how we got here or my thoughts on how to get yourself out of the mire of debt? Click on Financial Bliss in my catagories in the right hand column. Plus there is more of our financial journey buried in the Family Life column . . .

And so it goes

Still no news

I called the debt settlement agency today (had to leave a message). They said I would hear from them "at the latest, Thursday morning."
I didn't.
Am I surprised? No.
Is it frustrating? Most definitely.
The main thing is I have to wait on them to do something about settling this debt because we are under contract with them.
If I had known then what I know now . . . . .
With the economy and real estate the way it is . . . . not a week goes by that we don't get some sort of snail mail or email from one of these "debt help agencies"- singing their own praises of how they can do the impossible for you.
Reality is that what they can do- you can do for yourself. These agencies all have a monthly fee for their services (that's how they make their money). You can negotiate on your own behalf and you won't charge yourself a monthly fee!
I will be overjoyed the day our contract with this agency is through. I will rejoice.
But I also want to remember- no matter how bad this situation has been, how scary and unnerving- I want to remember how God has held us up and carried us through. If I were to pinpoint a praise in this midst of this it is that God is in control. Time and time again He has held me up when I had nothing more to give. He has made a way through circumstances that I thought were going to swallow us up. Even though I wish we'd never gotten into this mess to begin with- I am thankful for how God had reminded me again and again and again that He holds my hand.
And so- even though I am frustrated with the waiting and the wondering if this settlement will come through and if it will really be something we can work with-- I am not worried. I know that God is in control and I no longer doubt. I do not doubt- I no longer think that while God can, I'm afraid He won't. My hope rests in God because He knows best. Better than that- He is. What I mean is that God endures. He has never not been and He always will be. He knows my past, He knows my present and He knows my future. What better hands could I be in?

No update on settlement

prayer on a coming decision

(*Remember I advised not use these agencies- don’t do what I did!)