I owe a bunch of money. Too many credit card debts, too many loans, too many people that circle around my family's monthly paychecks like vultures. I dind't mean for this to happen. I gambled and lost in the Internet stock bubble but most of my debt stems from trying to keep our family afloat when my wife wasn't working to take care of our first daughter. She wanted to work, I told her I didn't want her too and we ended up having to borrow more and more just to subsist. Now we are way behind and even though we both make a good living it might take us several years before we can start saving a nest egg.

Unless...

Last night I had a dream we won the lottery which I see as an omen. The lottery is pathetic, I realize, a dangerous addiction that gives the (mostly) poor false hope about a better life. But I am going to play the Cash 5 tonight and I am going to win. I am either going to play 25 or 50 numbers and I have been working, John Nash style, to come up with numbers. 5 numbers between 1 and 38 with a top prize of 500 grand. And,fellow Orgers, I am going to win the motherfucker! Once and for all. Enough is enough. It is time to win my life back. It is time to get back to square one. I am willing the winning numbers tonight...I will look up in the sky like my main man Russell Crowe did and instead of objects, I will see the five winning digits.

Mark it, people. It is going to happen tonight. Today is my family's independence day! I cannot wait to right those payoff checks to Chase and Associates and Wells Fargo etc. and I will probably not be able to resist writing "Fuck You" in the note protion at the bottom of the check, a la Christopher in UTCM.

Freedom will be sweet...

You okay?

Number23 said:

Never been more okay. My vision is clear.

GottaLetitgo said:

Sorry to piss on your bonfire but I've heard that one before

mdiver said:

My bonfire remains unpissed upon. It's going to happen. My dreams are usually extremely accurate. Except on the numerous occasions that they are not.

GottaLetitgo said:

In that case I wish you all the luck in the world.....apart from my bit

i've done this before. not to a creditor, but i've done it before.

Number23 said:

Awwwww,,,

I remember what it was like to be in debt. It's horrible. The wife needs to work. I don't see any other way. Hopefully they own a home.

GottaLetitgo said:

I think u may be drunk

GottaLetitgo said:

Good grief Charlie Brown.

good luck with that winning number

gemini13 said:

My wife does work now; she took time off a couple of years ago and we had to borrow a lot that year that put us really behind. But we were behind before. I have just never been good with money and screwed up from college on.

We did buy a house with some inheritence money. That is the one thing I did kinda right but we still rushed into that too.

Debt is horrible...but we'll deal.

So here's the deal; I never played the numbers. Had the slips all filled out and was standing in line with my daughter but the people in front of us were taking a long time. I was with my daughter and she said "Daddy we have to go...I wanna go." And we did, just like that. It was just stupid anyway. None of my numbers would have won the jackpot anyway...I checked when they announced them.

The debt rally keeps me from being a complete person right now. I look at my daughters and I am really mad at myself that they were born in a less than optimal situation. I want them to have everything. More importantly it doesn't matter if they have everythng, I just don't want them to want for anything.

Tomorrow I am going to call a whole bunch of mortgage companies to see if we can refinance again. We have already refinanced our house once but it was a crummy deal and the interest rate was way too high. Other companies have called us or written us offering us a better deal so we might get caught up that way.

I believe that every day something could come along that will ease the burden a little. I am still an optimist, albeit one with pessimistic tendencies.

The creditors hold me in their grip a little while longer.

GottaLetitgo said:

Do you have any equity? You can use that to pay off your debts. Do it once and start all over again, then don't touch your trust deed again.

GottaLetitgo said:

What state do you live in?

Maybe you could gamble your way out?

Pay off whole bill, whomever you owe $$ to, then you owe no one and you will be able to put $$ aside and save or invest.

GottaLetitgo said:

I'm glad you didn't get to buy your tickets.

It's an act of desperation. People should be rescued by skills and reason -- not luck.


Do you ever watch Suze Orman on CNBC? She's good.
I've implemented so much good money advice from her.
[Edited 7/4/05 19:25pm]

gemini13 said:

I refinanced last year and had about 10 grand of equity. Now we don't have any equity but we're paying 10% interest and have been offered 9 or lower. I want to re-finance at better rates and maybe do a small cash out thing.

gemini13 said:

South Carolina

SynthiaRose said:

I was saved by the voice of my daughter...but I am sure I will come up with some new crackpot idea tomorrow.

Suze Orman has good advice but very seldom would anything she say help someone as far a debt as we're in.

GottaLetitgo said:

Damn, I could've tried to help, but we're only licensed in CA.

Be very careful when they give you the disclosures. Make sure you know what your rate is going to be BEFORE you sign.