I almost feel like I have no friends and no
one ever calls me, but I can always count on Adam from ARO Credit
recovery, Bill from CBL Collections, the sweet anonymous woman who
leaves me recorded messages every day asking to quickly return the call
to her 877 number, and the 10 or so other creditors who call to talk
with me everyday. I try to have a meaningful relationship with these
people but they can't seem to let go of a grudge. Theyre the kind of
friends who are always going on about me owing them this or that.
I
didn't end up in this situation because of irresponsibility. I didn't
shy away from social obligations, I consciously turned my back on the
entire consumer credit system after my house value crashed and I was
unable to sell it for more than I owed.
I had already given the mortgager (RBC) $22,000 in interest alone, and I
was tired of giving all my money away to a bunch of fat cats. Instead
of selling at a loss, I told the bank to take the damn house and since
my credit would be ruined anyway, I also walked away from all my credit
cards, furnace loan, utility accounts, and a $3000 municipal tax bill.
My goal was to negate any profit my creditors made off me in interest
and generally thwart them in anyway.
That
was two years ago, and since they've been paying poor suckers to call
me everyday, further increasing the cost of their loans to me, and they
will never see a dime. Living off cash is liberating but precarious.
But I've never regretted this because
having to live within your means brings interesting challenges to an
otherwise humdrum life of work and consumption. And some months I'm
really low on cash, having less than $10 in your bank account never
feels good. But now zero is actually zero, and when I do get paid the
money is ALL mine. I was forced to develop the skills of forethought
and preparation, because mastercard aint gonna bail me out no more.
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