How Do You Money? Roger

How Do You Money? Is a series where I talk with real people about their money and how they manage it. Everyone does things a bit differently and there is much to learn from others.

Roger is 33 years old, married with one child. He currently is finishing his engineering degree at Robert Morris University. Let's get into it:

What was the most debt you incurred?

In my mid-twenties I racked up a sizable amount of credit card debt (roughly $15,000) as a result of a mix of things; one thing being my lack of understanding/education about all things money. If you coupled that with my need to please (other people as well as myself) I became an unstoppable spending machine. It started out as, "I'm living in a new city, I need new stuff." That snowballed into, "I should probably buy a round of drinks for all my friends." This was all extrapolated by the fact that the credit card companies love exploiting young dummies so when you get close to your limit you receive a timely letter in the mail stating that 'due to your excellent credit history we've extended your line of credit.'
My excellent credit history? I tried using my credit card to buy scratch off lottery tickets; was that in my report?

How long did it take you to get to the point where the debt was unmanageable? It was quick, I’d say roughly a year, give or take a couple of months. I attempted to make minimum payments for a little while but the interest just swallowed me up. Unmanageable credit card debt is a very lonely feeling. Sure, there are much greater tragedies in life. But when you know that you and you alone got you into this situation it tends to stick with you.

What did you do?
Once it all became too much for me to handle and I got tired of dodging the 10-15 calls per day from creditors I decided to try and do something so I contacted a credit consolidation agency. Their racket was this, "We'll round up all your bills into one neat little package. In exchange, you give us an impossibly large sum of money every month. What's that, our charges are higher than your income? Ok, good luck"!

Was there anyone who you could turn to?

I could've asked my father for help because I'm fortunate enough to have the kind of parents who would've done what they could but I let my pride get in the way and decided in my infinite wisdom that I'd figure it out.

So what did you end up doing?

I ended up filing for bankruptcy in November 2008. The irony of filing for bankruptcy the same month that Obama won an election predicated on Hope is not lost on me (note from Nicole: LOL). My bankruptcy was finalized in May of 2009 and I have spent the last almost seven years scratching and clawing my way back to becoming a useful member of society.

Do you still rely on credit sometimes?

I do still have credit cards but I closely monitor my spending on them and try to keep it so that my outstanding balance isn't something I couldn't pay off if I needed to. That being said, I am human and, as such, I do have moments of weakness where I see something that I just 'have to have' and, even if I don't have the money for it, I'll still buy it. Those instances have gotten increasingly rarer as time has passed but I'm always mindful of my spending now and the adverse effects it can have on not only my life, but the life of those around me as well.

Have your debts stopped you from doing anything you’d like to do?

My wife and I still haven't bought a house because we're waiting for this derogatory mark to come off of my credit report (fingers crossed it'll be this summer.)

How did you change your spendy ways?
I've implemented a budget of sorts but that too is a work of trial and error. My wife and I have an open line of communication when it comes to money so we're fortunate that we can have an honest dialogue about what's working and what's not. The biggest thing that's changed for me from before I filed for bankruptcy is that now I open my mail, I answer my phone. I don't think things will go away by ignoring them.

Are you interested in in talking about how you money? Email me! mindonyourmoneyblog@gmail.com