22
Apr
Posted by the Dad in Climbing Out. 11 Comments
if you too are thinking about ditching your big bank and finding a local bank with a soul, I encourage you to give it a try
This post is an example of what happens when companies put customer service last and the customer realizes there are other choices after all. Everyone who engages with customers (which pretty much means everyone) should be reading Seth Godin’s blog. That really is the sidebar to this post, but I think it’s so important I’m putting it right at the top.
I am consistently amazed by businesses that seem to go out of their way to make things more difficult for their clients. Not just slow, awkward or boring but down right more difficult. …continue reading
19
Jan
Posted by the Dad in Climbing Out. 11 Comments
My emotional connection to money, loans, debt and the interplay with relationships has changed so drastically that I feel a certain discomfort with the situation
This whole get-out-of-debt nonsense has really screwed me up, you know that? I mean, really. When was the last time someone handed you $2,000 and you said, “no, thanks”?
Not long ago I mentioned some freelance work coming up. It’s a fun, challenging project, but one for which there has been little time lately.
It is for a dear friend and is not on a strict deadline. Nonetheless, I want to get it done sooner rather than later. I am shooting for the end of February. It should net around $3,000 toward our debt and I look forward to making that payment. …continue reading
7
Jan
Posted by the Dad in Climbing Out. 12 Comments
My dislike for the credit industry is matched now only by my apathy for their business methodology
Last night I realized that with a $48k debt snowball, like a hostage situation, Stockholm syndrome eventually sets in.
We have become comfortable with our method, level of focus and debt-reduction. Yes, we have three debts left, but we are making steady progress and have a plan. Mechanically, the system has found a groove: income is earned, payments are made, debt goes down.
In a way, when you have gotten used to living on a budget and spending less than you make, you can buckle down, do the work and forget the “whys” of getting away from credit card companies.
Then they remind you. …continue reading
4
Dec
Posted by the Dad in Climbing Out. 12 Comments
There is always tomorrow. Another month. Another budget. Another chance to get it right.
Oh. My. God.
After ten months (TEN MONTHS!) of financial responsibility… no, financial PERFECTION, today I screwed the pooch.
Actually, I screwed the pooch more than a week ago when I ignored our budget and decided things were going even better than I thought they were… and gave away the farm. …continue reading
28
Oct
Posted by the Dad in Climbing Out. 11 Comments
How can anyone think that this is good business?
Have you ever watched a person or a business do something self-destructive and just stood there in disbelief shaking your head?
Two letters came this week from Wells Fargo, the holder of our first and third largest debts. One contained the annual new credit card. Yay! A new card to destroy. Got to come up with a creative way to do that.
The second letter was the mind-boggling one. Apparently they have caught on and we aren’t fooling them anymore. …continue reading
4
Jun
Posted by the Dad in Climbing Out. 5 Comments
[I]t came with resentment, guilt and the underlying current of fear that results from living life sans safety net
Every time I watch a newly-married couple smoosh cake into each other’s face at their reception I have this uneasy feeling of something being wrong. When The Wife and I married we were giddy, ridiculously happy, and yet civilized about the darned cake eating thing. There was no smooshing.
Sadly, something was still wrong and I think even then I felt an uneasiness. I didn’t know what it was until nine years later. Nine years and more than $10,000 in accumulated overdraft fees. …continue reading
