The Debt Free Me

Yes, I am now debt free. 

A lot of my readers are asking me how was I able to pay and settle my six digit credit card bill. I will share what I went through here but please, no judging ha. What I am going to tell you is what I went through being shopaholic with a credit card. I am not saying for you guys to follow what I did. I am writing here para sana you pick up the learnings from what happened to me. 

It all started when I received this pre-approved credit card. Tukso ang lumapit sa akin. I was young with lots of needs and wants. I welcomed the tukso with open arms.

If I am not mistaken, I got this credit card in 2003. For six years, I have been paying diligently my credit card bills. I have allotted a budget from my salary that will go to the bi-monthly payments to that card. Pagmay sale, hala para akong loka lokang nakawala sa mental. I was armed with my credit card which I know I can pay for because I have work and earning more than what I need. I was single and wasn't supporting anybody. Ang pera ko that time eh akin lang talaga.

Come early 2009, I stopped working. Ikakasal ako nun eh. It was already planned. After my wedding, I will be starting in this new company. I checked my savings and saw na kaya ko makaraos until after the wedding. However, as you all know, I got pregnant around 6 weeks before our wedding date. The company that hired me told me that I'll start na lang daw with them after I give birth. Shet. I immediately thought about my credit card. How can I pay for it monthly if I do not have income? I didn't want to ask money from Alvin. Utang ko yun eh, before we got married. Hindi siya conjugal debt. So I stayed quiet. Notices and phone calls to the bank came. I was honest with the person in the other line.

"Pasenya na po. I do not have work at the moment plus I am bedridden because of my difficult pregnancy. Please do not transfer my account to the collection agency yet. If you can see, I have been a responsible client all these years. I will be able to resume payment right after I give birth and start my new job. "

I dunno what happened but two months before Anika was born, a rude collector started calling me up. I relayed to him the situation. Paulit ulit nang ganun. It caused me stress and wasn't helping very much with my situation then. May mga threats ateh! Ikukulong daw nila ako. Pupuntahan daw nila ako sa bahay and they'll get my things. I was thinking, wala naman akong pagaari kundi clothes and shoes lang. Kukunin ba nila yun? Galit na galit na ang Alvin sa akin. Bakit hindi pa daw niya bayaran? Galit na galit na din ako sa kanya. Bakit ba siya nangenge-alam?!

Anyways, while I was bed rest with just the internet as my companion during the day, I saw this website, DISKARTE. Yan ang puntahan ng mga hindi nakakabayad ng mga delinquent credit cards. I read and I read and learned that (1) my account has already been declared loss by the bank and have gotten insurance money out of it, (2) madaming tao pala ang katulad ko, (3) hollow pala ang kanilang mga threats and (4) walang nakukulong sa utang. I am embarrassed to admit it pero guminhawa ng konti ang pakiramdam ko. So I learned how not be be affected. When the caller calls, I tell him that no, I'm not going to run away from my debt and I can pay them with this certain amount lang. Paulit ulit lang kaming ganun. And after some time, the caller stopped na. I was thinking that I didn't say naman that I wasn't paying eh. I said I can pay pero this certain amount lang. Kapos na ako that time eh. I think it was unfair that I get from our savings na nakalaan sa needs ni Anika eh. This was my mess and what I wanted was ako ang didiskarte ng money to pay for it.

After a few months, I started na in this new job. No, not the one who said that they'll hire me after I give birth. I joined a different company. A much better one. Anyways there na, I received a letter from the bank telling me that they are endorsing me to a risk management company. In short, mas bonggang collection agency. I was frank with the caller when they called me. I said I cannot pay that amount with all the interest and penalties slapped on it. Can I just pay for my basic utang? There were a lot of phone calls and negotiations after that. Haggle to the highest level. Talo pa namin ang nagtatawaran sa palengke. Finally, we settled on the amount. I was happy because it was almost just less than 20% of the amount that they were making me pay supposedly.

I paid in full and got my credit card clearance from the bank two weeks after.

Ang gaan gaan na ng feeling ko!!

I have a lot of lessons learned here but it all sums up to one thing: I cannot own a credit card anymore. I realized that no matter how responsible you want to be, paying for the credit card monthly, there is always a probability that an unavoidable circumstance will happen which can make you not pay for it. A lot of people were saying that it's okay if we don't pay for our delinquent credit cards. Hindi ka nga lang tatantanan ng mga collection agencies pero you can hope na magsawa sila. Pero me, I can't stomach din kasi that I borrowed someone else's money and not pay for it. Somehow, nakakakunsenya. That was why I paid for it.

My advice to you girls (including the guys and the gheys) is that first and foremost, if you have a credit card, it is best if you pay immediately the amount you used for that certain monthly billing. When shopping, make sure you buy the items that you know you can pay for fully by the end of the month. Take advantage of the payment terms with 0% interest when shopping. Meron na sila nun especially for the girls.

Next, if you are already in this situation with all the collection agencies calling harassing you, try to negotiate with the caller. Let them know that you are not going to run away from your responsibilities. Let them know you want to settle your obligations too. Wala ka nga lang ganun ka laking pera ngayon para ipambayad sa kanila. Be firm. State the amount that you can just pay now. If they offer restructuring like paying on a monthly basis, if you are amenable to the amount, then get that payment term. Ang akin lang, before deciding, make sure kaya mo ngang bayaran yun monthly because ganun din diba?

So there. I hope I was able to help you with my experience. If you have questions, let me know. I will be happy to share with you my advice =)