My personal Drama (caution, LONG)

[metroschultz]

This may or may not be the place to talk about it.
I couldn't think of a better Forum to head to.
I have had a lot of personal DRAMA in my life for the last few months and have not been as involved as I would like to have been,
or done as much to my car, or
driven as well as I could have.....
SO
Without further ado,
I would like to share some personal history,
Maybe some of you are in the same situation,
Maybe some of you are just nosy.
Either way I don't mind telling the world what has been happening in my life.
From the beginning;
March 2008,
My wife lost her job. (beginning of the Economic downturn in our lives)
No biggie then, I work overtime and that will make up the difference.
May 2008,
Cost of fuel begins to rise sharply and P.O. cuts overtime to pay for doubling of fuel costs. (oops, there goes our buffer)
Barb had found another job by now so the loss wasn't as bad as it could have been. However she is working for half of what she used to earn. Finances are definitely tight. Cut as much expense as possible. Even get rid of cable TV ( I have a digital converter box now and there are 9 stations in my area with each one putting out at least 2 signals) and consider going back to dial-up for internet. (Nah)
June/July 2008,
Cost of goods and food goes up to cover rising cost of delivery.
Direct correlation to the rising cost of fuel which hit all time high in late July or early August.
First time I am using credit card to pay for household expenses. (Bad Omen, if you are here, time to re-think your expenses)
September,
First time EVER in my life I paid the mortgage late.
DRAMA BEGINS
Same story has been told over and over and over,
Using Credit unwisely (seemed the only way to pay bills at the time)
Emptying the Savings account (now we live paycheck to paycheck)
Paying mortgage late also leads to paying late charge, large loss of money when paying late charges.(If you can avoid late charges do so as much as possible, eat beans and macaroni and cheese for dinner 4 days a week, not healthy but not expensive either) makes wife mad you can't buy "Decent" groceries. (lots of crying, by us both)
October,
Late on everything, (!?!?!?!?! Holy $hit, what happened, a year ago we were doing well and putting money away!!!!???????)
November,
Paid all small bills, including late charges and promised self to pay Mortgage before Dec.
Dec, still haven't paid Nov. Mortgage. (! CRAP !)
Talk to bank about mortgage, tell them Everything, they are very nice and have several systems in place just for this sort of problem.
We put one of those into place but it will not solve all my problems.
(I had lots of them, 7.5% mortgage, Car payment, Signature loan, 13 credit cards[now all maxed out] medical bills and a tax lien)
Bank manager advises to look for refinance, He would love to help but my credit score has tanked in the last 4 months and is not high enough now for this bank to even process a loan. He told me that with the new laws in place and regulation coming now is the time to get this done. I was amazed at the candor he used and grateful for the information. ( if you are here, talk to somebody, even the Gov't has people who can help now)
I apply online for refinance, start opening those refinance letters we get every month and call friends who have just purchased or refinanced their homes.
Make all applications that don't ask for money up front.
End up with 19 offers.
Some good,
Some not.
Weed out the bad and end with 13,
Make counter offers to these with best numbers from other offers.
Comes down to 5 who will meet the offer I send back.
Make offer again with best numbers, one broker realized that was her offer and would not go any lower. (I think that was as low as her company would go) Those 5 are directly with mortgage companies, BTW, not brokers.
End up using the one who is closest to my home. Same offer as 2 of the others. Selling points;
* NO money up front, (this was a biggie, the other 2 wanted the money for an appraisal before finishing paperwork)
* Close before Christmas,
* Hometown Guy,
* Acquaintance from Church and referral from friend.
* Mortgage payment goes down. (Directly due to lower finance rate, 5.375%)(Was $1810.oo per month, now $1780.oo per. Hey $30 bucks is $30 bucks)
We were able to pull enough money out of the equity (luckily we had, and still have, lots of equity) in the house, to pay all the other debts. We were at one time considering selling to get out of financial stress.
Now I am in the process of closing the credit card accounts, (we will keep one Visa and Discover for EMERGENCIES, I need to hide these from myself and Barb)
So that brings us to today.
My house payment is do-able.
My bills are in check.
My wife isn't mad over finances.
We won't be buying that new Yaris anytime soon though.
and now I can relax and get back to modding the Metro and instead of worrying about the money on my drive home, I can concentrate on the drive to save fuel once again.
I have not put anything in the fuel log because I wasn't really keeping track. To busy. Mind elsewhere.

I put this out here for those of you who may be in a similar situation.
I was feeling as if I would become the next foreclosure statistic.
Help is available and Interest rates are at an all time low right now.
The Gov't has changed the rule on FHA loans so just about any one can qualify (even with a credit score so low you need a co-signer to pay cash)
I know this isn't really related to EcoModding.
But it is me Economizing my life. (at least the financial part)
And I hope it helps someone who may feel all alone in their struggle to keep up. Or someone who is in danger of losing their home to keep the faith and start looking for help instead of resigning themselves to becoming a statistic. (yeah, that was me too)

So, now back to work.
I have a truck in the drive that needs a tune up,( and some light ecomodding)
and a Grand Am that won't run smooth in the morning. (probably get some modding too)
And one coming that needs a belt.
THEN
I can get those wheel skirts on.

[trikkonceptz]

I can definately empathize with your situation. Our roads are not that dissimilar. The difference being that my wife stays home to take care of our baby therefore I am the sole bread winner. In my story, management cut my salary in half as opposed to throwing me out in the street.

The same chain of events followed with one key difference. I prioritized my bills. Meaning Money first went to my home and my vehicles, which I needed to maintain a job. After Ecomodding my home life (Thank you Guys), whatever money was left went to pay bills (credit cards).

Funny thing about that, I only have three, none with high limits, yet only one was gracious enough to extend terms to help out.

On a side note, before you get dragged under, call your mortgage company and your car loan company. I was able to get a 60 extension on my mortgage and a 30 day extension on my car loan. That alone gave me enough room to liquidate other frivilous debt to keep me above board and return to a normal life.

As for the one CC company that didn't budge. Well we stopped paying them altogether and used the money to pay the other two. Yes my Credit will take a hit, but because the balance is lowish and the debt is unsecured, all I have to do is ask the collectors not to call my home and submit claims by mail.

Hopefully this will not get much worse and allow me and others like yourself to go back to our "Normal" lives. I am thankful though, I am coming out of this leaner and meaner than I was before.

So your not alone ... Hang in there ..

[groar]

I'm happy to see you are in the good road

In France some consumer associations exist to give you advices in such situation. More and more people have to be declared in personal bankrupt by the central bank. When you reach such a point your life has already been destroyed so I hope nobody here will need to manage such a situation.

I hope your situation will continue to improve.

Denis.

[cfg83]

metroschultz -

Amazing story of economic survival. I don't know if I would make it through your situation without losing the house. I've definitely heard about the Mac-'N-Cheese diet, as well as living on oatmeal. I think it will be happening to a lot of us in the coming years.

Denis -

Originally Posted by groar

I'm happy to see you are in the good road

In France some consumer associations exist to give you advices in such situation. More and more people have to be declared in personal bankrupt by the central bank. When you reach such a point your life has already been destroyed so I hope nobody here will need to manage such a situation.

I hope your situation will continue to improve.

Denis.

We have those too, but we also have predatory versions that exploit you for even more money.

CarloSW2

[MetroMPG]

Sobering stories, but glad to read that you've both gotten things under control.

My pay has also taken a hit in the last 12 months as a result of the downturn. I'm self employed and have several pokers in the fire. One of my biggest was a good (but boring, unfulfilling) contract which was as close to "guaranteed" income as you can get. Last summer I gave up that contract so I could take on other more interesting jobs that came up.

Unfortunately, the economic situation has cut the amount of good paying "interesting" work to a fraction of what I was getting for the "less interesting", secure work. Drat!

Head is still comfortably above water, but I'm definitely not buying a Yaris either, Schultz!

[metroschultz]

I wasn't looking for a "Pity Party"
And you didn't give me one.
I was just putting the situation out there.
I know 2 other guys at the shop who are in danger of losing their homes.
One has decided to go bankrupt.
The other is resigned to being thrown in the street when the time comes.
I did not know all the finance options available until I went to the bank and explained what was going on.
I would like to have stayed with my bank for the refi, but alas, their policy is:
No loans to anyone, (regardless of their history with us, I have been a customer since 1989) with a credit score under 650. (I told you my credit tanked when I started being late with all my payments)
I wanted others to know they can pursue options besides giving up.
But it has taken a toll on my mental stability. (insert your crazy jokes here)(I wasn't all that stable to begin with)
Now that I don't worry for money (as much), I can get back to worrying about important things;
whether to use driftwood or steel for the mods to the car?
Where can I get that Gia that was stretched so I can make it a 2 cyl diesel?
Will Luke get back with Laura,.......ever?
Who am I gonna pick on when my kids move away?
What exactly is Wiifit?
Why do I need one?
Where did I put my ugly republican pants?
Why do they put locks on the 7-11 if they stay open 24-7?
What is that horrible noise my dog makes in the middle of the night and why does she wait till I'm asleep to make it?
Will Oprah overcome her shyness so she can go back to losing and gaining weight so MPaul can poke fun some more?
Why don't I get minions?
And now back to your regularly scheduled brainwashing,
S.

[Frank Lee]

Sometimes a guy just hasta vent.

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by cfg83

I've definitely heard about the Mac-'N-Cheese diet, as well as living on oatmeal. I think it will be happening to a lot of us in the coming years.

The point is to go on the diet long before you need to. I've been there & done that several recessions ago, and have since found that I'm just as happy without a lot of "stuff" - especially when I have to pay credit card interest rates on the purchase price. But skip the mac & cheese: beans & brown rice are cheaper & better for you, and with additions of whatever fruits & vegetables are cheap & in season can be made quite tasty.

[almightybmw]

Originally Posted by metroschultz

Now that I don't worry for money (as much), I can get back to worrying about important things;
Will Luke get back with Laura,.......ever?
Who am I gonna pick on when my kids move away?
What exactly is Wiifit?
Why do I need one?
Where did I put my ugly republican pants?
Why do they put locks on the 7-11 if they stay open 24-7?
What is that horrible noise my dog makes in the middle of the night and why does she wait till I'm asleep to make it?
Will Oprah overcome her shyness so she can go back to losing and gaining weight so MPaul can poke fun some more?
Why don't I get minions?
And now back to your regularly scheduled brainwashing,
S.

I too wonder these things.
Who is Luke? Who is Laura?
You have kids? I thought you had only one.
Wiifit? isn't that game, not an exercise?
No.
In your closet. I think?
7-11 has locks because....Wait, 7-11? Aren't those all 2-Go-Marts now?
Your dog doesn't have a muzzle?
Who's MPaul? Why is he making fun of Oprah? What did she ever do to deserve jokes?
Why don't we all get minions?

Questions abound.

[Compaq888]

I bet I could write out at least a page just in one post of my problems. The thing is no matter how bad it gets nobody on here will help out. I wish this was the billionare club instead of ecomodder, we would pay each other's bills and drink away the night. I think it's sad that everything revolves around money, even personal health.