I get a lot of email from people who have either lost their jobs or are losing their jobs. Their 401K is gone, their savings is zeroed out or maybe their unemployment checks have run out. This is becoming a common situation for a good part of our society as unemployment rises. Many people are facing a lack of employment and a lack of funds. Yet their family still needs to eat and the bills still have to be paid. Does this apply to you? I hope it doesn’t. But I am betting that you know someone who is in this situation.
It’s too late to tell people they should have saved more (six months cash set aside to cover your monthly expenses.) It’s too late to say you should have worked harder or smarter or better so you wouldn’t have been the one who got laid off (not always the case but it is often the case.) It’s too late to say that you shouldn’t have spent so much money on stupid stuff – that you shouldn’t have wasted money on things that gave only very temporary satisfaction – that you shouldn’t have gone out to eat 4 nights a week or bought that car you couldn’t really afford or that house you knew you couldn’t make the payments on if anything happened to your income. It’s too late to beat people up about any of that stuff at this point, so I don’t and I won’t.
Instead, it’s time to give folks some ideas they can use when it’s crunch time, they are scrambling and when survival is the main concern. So here you go:
1. When it comes to looking for employment, get your ego out of the way. The fact is that your family needs food and your bills need to be paid. You have something called “commitments.” Which means you should be committed to paying them. You have “obligations.” Which means you are obligated to pay them. When you got married, I am betting that your vows said something along the lines of “for richer, for poorer.” That is the same vow you take with your other obligations and commitments as well. When you had your kids you didn’t agree to make sure they had food only when you had the job of your dreams and times were good. You also didn’t sign a contract with your mortgage company, bank or credit card company saying you would only make your payments when you were employed. You just committed to taking care of your obligations. There were no conditions associated with your commitment.
I don’t care that you USED to be an engineer making $100K per year. Now it’s time to take a job where you say, “You want fries with that?” or “Welcome to Wal-Mart, here’s your basket.” Or “Excuse me, I need to mop that spot right there.” Or “I need to stop and get more gas for my mower.” Or “Do you need a babysitter?” Get the point? You need to do whatever it takes to pay the bills and put food on the table and a roof over your kid’s head simply because you said you would. You gave your word. It is the right thing to do.
There is no excuse not to do it. Sorry. Don’t write me telling me some sad story. There is NO excuse. I have sold plasma and mowed my neighbor’s yard and swept floors and shoveled manure. I have sold scrap metal and cleared trash away. There was never anything I was too good to do when it came time to pay my bills or buy groceries for my family. Did I hate it? Every minute. Did I do it? Damn straight.
So do something. Anything. You aren’t too good. It may not be your dream job. It may not be something you are proud of or can brag about or even want to tell anyone about. It probably won’t be your new career. But if it feeds your family and pays your bills and is legal, do it.
2. Go into survival mode. Other financial gurus break things down into two categories: Needs and wants. That doesn’t go far enough in my opinion. I say that there is another category: Can’t live without. How are you spending your money? Is it on things you want? Things you need? Or things you can’t live without. If the money is running out or has run out, then the only thing you can spend money on are the things you can’t live without. What are those things? Food first. Shelter second. Commitments third. Nothing else gets your money.
3. Communicate. Call your creditors. Explain your situation to them. Trust me when I say it won’t be a new story they haven’t heard before. Just tell them where you are and tell them what you realistically can do as far as paying them back. Remember that credit is judged on the willingness to pay and the ability to pay. Explain that you are high on willingness and low on ability. Of course this will have much more impact and credibility if your past payment history indicates that you are indeed high on willingness. Don’t expect them to buy your story if you have habitually been a person who doesn’t bother to make your payments on time. Regardless, you still need to make contact. You need to take the initiative. The key is to not hide out, dodge their calls or ignore their letters. Talk to them and remember that it is their money that they fronted you based on you saying you would repay it and they have every right to want it back.
4. Sell. Go through your house and get rid of every single thing you can’t live without. I sold my living room furniture and we sat on the floor. We needed to pay our house payment more than we needed a sofa. If you don’t regularly use it, sell it. Start with your toys: golf clubs, boats, four-wheelers, motorcycles, bicycles and all your other “toys.” Then move to your closet, your DVDs, CDs, excess furniture, pictures, and anything else that isn’t absolutely necessary to your survival. Be tough on yourself. It’s amazing how little you really need to get by.
5. Know your new job. If you don’t have a job, your new job is finding a job. Yep, finding a job IS your job. My son, the fashion designer, lost his job. He had a little money saved up so he could last about three months before it hit the fan. He was sure he could find a new job in three months. However, at the end of three months, there was no new job and he was out of money. He did everything I suggested here. I visited him and he had practically no furniture left and very few clothes. He took on a roommate to help split expenses. He ate ramen noodles and boxed mac and cheese. But the most important thing was that he worked twelve hours a day searching for a job. He signed up on every online job search website (malakye.com, monster.com and craigslist.com were a few). He put together resumes in the fashion industry as a designer, sample maker, pattern maker and cutter and every other area where he could work in his area of expertise. He also had resumes that didn’t say anything about fashion. Resumes that would work for any job: retail, sales, or sweeping floors. He slept with his Blackberry in his hand and when a job posted in the middle of the night, his phone would buzz and he would immediately wake up and send the appropriate resume for that job posting so he could be one of the first responders to every job posting. He went on interviews all day long with anyone who would talk to him. He went on job interviews he knew he wouldn’t get just to hone his interviewing skills. He interviewed for a forklift driver, janitor, door-to-door sales, and anything else that he could. He walked the streets going in restaurants offering to wash dishes or bus tables. It was tough and he got depressed and was discouraged every day. But he kept at it. He finally found a guy with a bicycle shop who would let him work on bicycles and clean the place up. It wasn’t even for minimum wage but it was still work. He still did everything he could every day to find something better. When he finally got an interview and an offer for a job as a fashion designer it was for a quarter of the money he had been making. He took it. He still has it. He works his ass off and does whatever it takes to keep it. Why? Because he knows how hard jobs are to come by and he knows what it is like to be broke. (For those of you who are saying, “Larry, why didn’t you just bail him out?” Come on, you know me better than that. Besides, he didn’t ask me to. He knew what it took and he did it. It was his job to figure out how to survive and to get another job.
Here is my question for those of you who are in trouble: Are you doing whatever it takes? Have you done all five of my Five Things To Do When The Money Runs Out? Or are you still waiting for your bailout package? It’s not coming. Are you spending your time griping, bitching, whining, complaining or blaming your employer, your creditors or the government? That’s stupid and a waste of time and energy. Besides that only moves you farther from your goal, not closer. Your job is to do what it takes to survive, take care of your family and pay your obligations. Go to work!
FACEBOOK: Join me as a friend on facebook and keep your eyes open for more television and a new book coming soon! Larry Winget Facebook Page.
Follow Larry on TWITTER to read what’s going on. http://twitter.com/larrywinget
Brand new product released this week. The PBS special, Success Is Your Own Fault and a bonus DVD, Larry: Unplugged, Unleashed & Out of Control! is available NOW. Go to the Larry store on my website.
http://www.larrywinget.com/dvd.html
Special introductory pricing of only $49.95! Save $50 off the normal price of $99.95. Two full length television quality DVDs for $49.95.
Having been in the very situation you describe (former $100k job, laid off, etc) I can testify to the fact that your obligations don’t go away.
First thing to do – get tough on your budget. You have no idea how long you will be unemployed or underemployed. Don’t think it will only be a few weeks.
Get aggressive on the job front. Take what comes and keep looking for something better but stay active.
When you get stabilized – work on your plan for the next time it happens. Don’t think this will never happen again. It will. Prepare for the best but plan for the worst.
keep bringing the good stuff Larry!!!
I was once so poor – while working full time – that my one-room apartment had a cement floor with a drain in the middle so the landlord could hose it down between tenants.
During those lean times, I was hunkered down just as Larry describes the life”style.”
I got up early so I could walk to work and save the bus fare.
I am still grateful to everyone who ever gave me a lift, treated me to lunch, passed along a magazine, said they had an “extra” ticket.
Those lean years taught me to appreciate any thing above survival. Now, decades later, every time I use a cotton swab – EVERY TIME – I remember that there were years when such a luxury was unthinkable. Spend money on a piece of cardboard with cotton on the end? Whaddaya, nuts? I needed to EAT and pay the rent.
What is the source of your pride and dignity? Is it your job or the brand of clothing you wear? Or is it in doing whatever honest work you can to meet your obligations and commitments?
Larry once again tells it like it oughta be but seldom is.
I’ve had clients just like you describe, Larry. They had a job, got laid off, and now they sit at home, waiting for a job that can pay them what they used to make. I used this analogy: On one hand, your time is worth $0, and on the other, your time is worth $8 per hour. Maybe more, maybe less, but either way, you decide whether or not to take those jobs. I also have teenage clients that have found jobs within the last 2 weeks, because they are willing to do whatever it takes.
To bring it home, my wife got laid off months ago and we started working together on my practice. Turns out we’re cutting back, paying our bills and saving more than we did when we were both working full time. It became our practice, and we spend more time together than we used to.
If people can get over themselves, they can make it work.
Awesome blog will be sending this to my sister who is in this very situation and all I keep hearing is I do not want to work at this or that!
Right on and always.
Oh man, brutal reality!
I’m living this nightmare, right now. Your writing reminds me of a new country song out right now by Jamey Johnson with the title “In Color” and speaks of the good ol’ days in black and white where the chorus goes “you should have seen it in color”.
I mention this because the good ol’ days are gone, and what is left is life in true living color. I am a guy who is now broke, has no savings, retirement and can’t pay my bills. This isn’t a bitch and moan session, I take full responsibility for my current economic status.
Prior to 2008 I made between 3X to 10X the $100K annual you mention in your article owning my own businesses and in commercial real estate. I made millions with some great investments, and trying to support and subsequently save my business I lost it all. However, I can’t just blame it all on the business. My lifestyle, affluent as I thought it should be, cost me more than the business losses. It is the root of my problems.
I borrowed against my home to support my “business” but in reflection was really borrowing to shovel money into a business that was supporting a high consumption “affluent” lifestyle. Some times a thief can rob you in disguise, and it’s almost impossible to recognize when you’re the bandit robbing yourself. Unless your listen to people like Larry who point it out, mater of factly!
For someone who has generated billions of dollars in B2B sales I too am having a difficulty finding a job. I’ve come to the realization that I need to take whatever job I can find to make ends meet. This has been/is a very humbling experience. My pride is of little importance at this point in the game as now my objective sole focus is on generating enough dollars to put food on the table, pay the utilities, and save my home from going back to the bank.
I’m in a tough spot. One I wouldn’t wish on anyone, and I know I’m not alone as there are many others experiencing a similar situation. Planning my work, which at this point is to find a job, and then working my plan, are what is going to pull me through this situation. I’ve worked hard in the past to find money making investment opportunities, and now I will worker even harder to find income producing opportunities (a job).
I’ve gone through the depressing would’ve could’ve, should’ve process. It didn’t help matters but it certainly got me to focus on my brutal reality. The process of looking back should serve as lessons on how not to live as we recover economically and when start to turn around.
Larry, thank you for telling it like it really is, and thank you for having the compassion to suggest it might be a little to late for “I told you so” but for telling us “here’s what you know need to do now”.
Chris – it takes balls to say what you did in your posting. I admire you for it – no excuses, admitted your mistakes and are willing to work to fit it – good for you and all the best!
Larry
Great Blog,
My sister just lost her job yesterday and when I suggested a few posting I saw online I got the “I can’t work for that price it’s to low”. Her husband doesn’t work and she was the sole provider for their household. She needs to realize that she needs to take the low paying job. When I lost my job, I took a huge pay cut. Had to move from my house to an apartment, but here I am two years later, still employed and making more then I was at my last job.
Thanks for keeping it real Larry.
Well said. I love your bluntness and the truth you tell!! My story follows but it is more about not waiting but doing something now. It is not about me but about my wife. I have a full-time job, for now, and my wife is a part-time Registered Nurse. We’ve been saving like bandits and are debt free except for the house. However, at the beginning of the year, my wife was always being canceled and didn’t get the hours that we really needed to continue to our savings. So, she decided that she needed to do something about it. Instead of whining about not getting the hours she needed, she went out and found 2 more jobs! One additional part-time job being a nurse at a hospital and she just received an offer to work part-time being an adjunct faculty member teaching nursing at the local community college. So instead of participating in this down economy, we, or I should say she, is swimming against the tide and winning. I and my 3 daughters are extremely happy and fortunate to have such a wonderful wife and mother!!
Another beautiful post!
They problem is people have too much pride! and the higher earnings you make, the higher your pride.
Do whatever it takes!! …..legally
Bang on the money Larry.
I’m not in that situation, but I wish your comments could get on the front pages of our papers here in Aus,your philosophy is 100% spot on Ian
larry,
Although i do apreciate your commitment to helping people by showing them how much you did without and how hard your son worked at finding a job. I have to admit that some of the statements sound a little far fetched. For instance not even getting a job as a door to door sales person? i dont know about that one. sales is the one field, especially door to door that as long as there is a heartbeat, theres a position to fill.
You also forget one other important fact. most people are in debt because of credit card abuse, therefore even if they sold there couch and got say, $150. and there golf clubs for another $200, and there CD collection for another $50. They would still have the debt, and not have enough cash to pay it down, and now to ad insult to injury, they are sitting on the floor with no Cd, no stereo, no tv, eating mac and cheese, but they still pay the collections?
Sorry I dont agree with that at all. I think if you lost your job, absolutely cannot find another one and are in the process of loosing your house and cars, its time to file BK and restructure your finances in order to get a little more time, and a worked out lower payment plan with the creditors.
And yes, there is a lesson to all of this. if most people didnt get so damn greedy and stupid when there houses went up in value, and took out a 2nd mortgage on there homes to furthere invest in there future. Not buy all the “toys” most americans would be just fine rite now.
Johnny – I lied. My son didn’t do those things I said he did. Thanks for clarifying that for me. You were there, he talked to you, not to me. I’m wrong. You obviously know better. Thanks so much. He didn’t get the job because he has tattoos on his hands, not because he wasn’t willing to do.
Second, you couldn’t be more off base with your comments about bankruptcy and I hope to hell people don’t take your advice but instead take mine. Eat mac and cheese and do without your damn CDs and get a freakin’ job. Bankruptcy is NEVER a first option. And it will bit you in the ass FOREVER regardless of what you have been led mistakenly to believe.
Johnny – one more thing – I am not in favor of screwing your creditors via bankruptcy because you have been stupid. They deserve to be repaid, so pony up like a big boy and figure out how to do it! You say “add insult to injury” …… why not suffer a little for your mistakes? It’s how you learn.
Thanks for your comments but I am probably not the guy you should be listening to.
all the best to you
Thanks Larry for telling it like it is. Bankruptcy will follow you forever. Having to explain to a government background investigator why you filed bankruptcy is not fun, and may keep you out of the more sensitive government jobs.
Oh poor Johnny, you just don’t get it do you? Bankruptcy is not the way out, it is a cop out, you learn nothing by allowing the courts to bail you out of your obligaitons.
Thank you Larry, smack you in the face reality is what this country needs. I think there should be a mandatory Larry Winget class for all High Schoolers, College students, and newlyweds. I am listening to “You’re broke because you want to be” on CD in my car and my daughter (Age 11) has already turned to me and said “Nan needs to listen to this guy”.
Larry – Loved the book ‘ You’re broke ‘Cause you wanna be.’ It really changed the way I look at my financial life and how it really cannot be treated as a separate life component. The principles are really biblical and I appreciate them more given with your straight forward no nonsense approach. Now more than ever with this demagogue in office people need to get a hold of their own life and take responsibility for who they are. Keep up the great work. Thanks for ‘real’ common sense.
My daddy was a oilfield hand. He could not do al lot of things well, but he was not afraid of anything. He hired my brother and I out at age 11 to hoe cotton. The man we worked for paid up .75 an hour (1968) which was what he paid his regular hands. He expected us to keep up with grown men. we did it because daddy told us to and we did not want to let out daddy down. He hired us out to bust tires, haul hay, mow grass (we could not charge widow women. And heaven help us if we did shoddy work for one of those widow women). He let us keep the money but we had to buy school clothes with it and we could blow a little if some was left over.
Later I broke out as a welder with a man who taught me first to always be looking for a job as a contract welder job could be over this afternoon. And to always have 2 or 3 skills you could sell in slow times. Somebody always needs a yard cut, a sidewalk poured or a sewer line cleared. (daddy made sure I had many more than that)
Getting the skills to pour and finish concrete, set tile, basic sewer work can be found in books at the public library and people will pay you $$$ to do it for them.
I will bet in the most depressed part of this country is somebody with a plugged sewer line who would pay somebody to dig it up and replace or clean it for them.
You just cant be to proud to do work or charge them for it.
Damn straight Curtis, thank you for that comment. It supports just what I have been talking about. I am sure you made your daddy proud which has always been my goal too. Thanks again.
Larry
I posted a brief of my little financial crises above. But I just have to respond to Johnny, and anyone who thinks he is right.
BANKRUPTCY is for wimps! Man up and do the right thing. In my downward spiral in business, and personal, losses I could have filed bankruptcy, in fact, it could help me tremendously as I try to recover from the deep abyss, but the only one who would benefit from “file Bk” is the sissy who needs a handout from their creditors.
With about $500k in debts between business and personal (excluding the $1.3 in mortgages) I’m a prime candidate for bankruptcy. Point of fact, my own wife asked me last year why we don’t just file bankruptcy, and I told her, just as I’ll tell the world here, because I couldn’t live with myself. Its not a matter of pride, its a matter of dignity. And there is a tremendous difference between pride and dignity.
The person who files BK in lieu of repayment is selling their dignity to ease their pain. Anyone, in any circumstances, can work through a plan to repay what they owe. However, some people just find it easier to use a hypocritical law allowing them to walk away from having to repay their debts.
I haven’t even touched on the various other personal detriments that come along with a bankruptcy. In every loan application, employment application, and most business contracts, there is a question: Have you ever filed bankruptcy. How would you like to answer YES to this question until the day you are laid into the ground. This alone, this one minute detail, would haunt me the rest of my days if I had to answer YES. Personal dignity alone will have me always answering this question with a NO, even if it means toiling away the rest of my days to repay debts form decades ago. Personal dignity whats it worth to you.
If I borrow your car you should expect me to return it. Likewise if you borrow money you are expected to return it to the person who lent it to you. Not to return something you borrow would amount to theft. People are thrown in prison for theft, and in my opinion, so should those filing bankruptcy. It doesn’t matter how long it will take or how hard it will be, you have a personal obligation to repay what you borrowed.
In the five minutes its taken me to write this post, my phone has rang four times, three of them have been creditors, morning, noon, and night they call. They want to be paid, and they should be paid, but I can’t repay much of this at present time, but that doesn’t mean I won’t pay them, or that I’m not gong to pay them, it just means that I “will repay” in a time frame that coincides with my ability to repay.
Do my creditors like this, no. Do they talk to me in harsh tones, yes. They don’t like to hear I cant pay anything at this time, I don’t have a choice but to tell them this, because I don’t have any income coming into my household. They threaten me, send me attorney’s letters, and constantly call me, they have even went so far as to call my neighbors. It’s been embarrassing to say the least (those were fun conversations with the neighbors), but I still talk to my creditors once in a while, tell them I will pay what I can when I can, and I also tell them the truth; I will NOT be filing bankruptcy. If they want to file a lawsuit then that is their right, but it won’t change the fact that I still can’t repay anything at the moment but do plan on repaying them their money.
I’m not a SISSY
Larry,
People who still have jobs should read this piece too. The part about doing all you can to keep your job, even if you hate it, and the part about not squandering money, have really hit home, even though I’m not sticking to the “can’t live without” items yet.
You could also have discussed being creative about giving yourself a job, like you did in “That Makes Me Sick!” THAT was an eye-opener.
Thank you.
I agree with you Larry,when the chips are down you got to be doing whatever you can to survive.I am working 2 jobs and going to college.I do this because I know that when I am done the rewards will be so sweet.
Larry, You are so right. I’m in this situation now, and the day I was laid off, I called my realtor on the way home to meet me. We placed our home on the market and it sold in 15 days. This does not happen often, especially in this market. My task now is to continue to job search, find a home I can afford and sad to say, I’m moving back to home turf to be close to my dad and family in Oklahoma. My need is there, not lying around feeling sorry for myself.
I will also say the day after I was laid off, I called all of my debtors and let them know my willingness and my situation. They were all very understanding. A tool I learned years ago is to keep notes. If someone is in this situation, get a note book and keep notes of all your calls to your debtors. Get names, telephone numbers, and anything else you can to cover yourself including dates and time of the calls. CYOA!
Currently, I am now sitting with my doctorate and no job, but I’m here to say that means nothing at this point. I’ve taken off my higher degrees and only place my Bachelor degree on the education portion of my resume. Getting my foot in the door is easier when employers are looking for entry-level. Some may think this is pulling the wool over the employers eyes, but face it people. It is a dog eat world and if you are not the one in control, who is? After 30 plus years in upper management, I’ve seen my share. I do not see myself at any higher level than others. It is only a “title”. I just have the experience and a tag behind my name.
Best to all and thanks Larry for some advice I will add to my own. Be real!
Paula
Tag on my previous note: I’m not “sad” to move back home to be near family, just not not looking forward to moving back to Muskogee, Oklahoma and Larry, you should know!
Larry,
I am with you on everything you say, I believe you gotta do what you need to with no excuses. But let me tell you Larry, I don’t like the way you are getting down on bankruptcy or people who file it. As a person who has filed bankruptcy, it took me over 4 years to finally decide to actually do it. It was not an easy choice.
I did work my ass off to pay the bills, I did have 3 jobs to get the debt paid, that was not my problem. I ended up getting very ill and did not have any form of health insurance, for over 2 years I was in and out of hospitals and lost all my jobs. The hospital bills got too outrageous and I could not support them plus my mortgage and the necessities. After I became somewhat better I did get 2 jobs to continue paying, but again this took a toll on my health and not to mention, Uncle Sam had garnished my wages for back taxes, so what I was making could never pay off any of my debt.
I finally had to decide my health, my life or my pride. I came to the conclusion that if I didn’t do this I would die and if I did I would have a scarlett letter on my chest but at least I would be alive and maybe one day the scarlett letter would fade.
It is shameful enough to make this type of decision, but in some situations it is the best one. I wouldn’t think you would belittle bankruptcy so much, since you yourself took this option, as you’ve stated before.
It’s an option when all else fails, that’s all.
There you go again Larry, telling people to be responsible and do whatever it takes. Bravo! I totally agree that people have to stop looking for handouts, grow up and stop looking for a note from their mom to be excused from whatever it is they don’t want to do.
I think beyond just looking for a job, they should also be thinking about creating there OWN “job”. America was founded and still prospers today on the spirit of entrepreneurs. Why not create your own product/service and get out there and sell it?
Create a business of your own – then you can help someone else too!
Lia – I am down on people who make bankruptcy their first choice. Anyone who has read my books know that I too once filed bankruptcy. Not because I spend more money than I made but because as president of a small business I had signed personal guarantees on all of their debts and when the business went under I was left with millions in business debt as well as all IRS taxes that the company owed. I know what bankruptcy does to you. I know the humiliation and the shame. I know what it does to your credit forever. That’s why I have the right and the first hand knowledge to say to people that it is a horrible choice. In addition, irresponsible people who got in debt by overspending and then choosing to get out from under their mistakes by filing bankruptcy, statistically end up in the same trouble again with nearly 50% filing bankruptcy a second time. I appreciate your response.
Larry, I agree with you — making sure our kids can survive when we are gone has always been my goal as a parent. If something happens to me I want to know my kids will be able make sound decisions and survive. I think we do more harm when we leave our children so dependent on us they cannot make a decision. I lost my father at 16 — because he was strick and made me accountable, I have survived beyond my imagination, no pitty parties for me. Did I like it at the time no, but today I feel he has given me a wonderful gift that has helped me through many of lives ups and downs. I say you cannot help someone who will not help themself, same goes for my children they have to learn sometimes you have to do what it takes.
Larry,
Thank you, thank you, thank you for point #1. I’m always amazed at persons that I see on the news or read about in the paper that have been unemployed for months, sometimes years even. WTH???? I’m applying with various companies for a second job right now, and while they’re not big bank, big bonus type jobs, it IS employment. I was last laid off about 5.5 years ago, and at that time unemployment benefit (if you can call it that without laughing) in my state was $250/wk regardless of what your income was. I beat the streets, mailed and emailed my resume all over the state, visited the Employment Security office regularly, networked with friends, family, neighbors, etc. I even took a full-time assignment with a temporary agency – it paid hella more than $250/wk! While I understand being laid off, fired, etc. (been there and wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy), I don’t understand sitting on your arse and having a pity party. There are jobs to be had – regardless of how unglamorous and low paying they may be.
One more thing – my .02 on the bankruptcy debate – DON’T DO IT!!!! If you can avoid bankruptcy, do so at all costs. First, it isn’t fair to your creditors. They took you at your word when you signed on the dotted line, your word should STILL be your bond. Second, it ABSOLUTELY WILL haunt you for the rest of your life. My mom filed bk nearly 20 years ago when she had to close her business. To this day, she has a problem even getting approved for a store credit card (and they hand those things out like candy). The only credit she’s eligible for are those bad credit credit cards which are nothing more than legalized usury. She even told me just a few months back, when trying to get money to fix the roof on her house, that she wishes she had never filed and had just sucked it up and paid off the creditors, one by one. Ultimately, the decision lies with what’s best for your situation, but I’d never make BK a first, second or third choice.
Larry,
College grads need you for their commencement speech, not some suck-the-blood-of-the-taxpayer politician who may not have ever had to actually work for a living. They would get the real scoop on the real world (which high school and college are not). In fact, there should be school courses – Winget 101 – starting in grade school. The US of A would start getting back to what it used to be.
I’m carrying a mortgage that has a 3-year balloon payment –plenty of time for the buyer to have refinanced if he wanted something else. Instead, he has moved, the house hasn’t sold, he has refused to lower his asking price, the final payment is coming up in a month, and now he wants ME to solve his problem or he will “let it go to foreclosure.”
To him, and to everyone like him, I quote Larry: “Do what you say you are going to do/ When you say you are going to do it/ In the way you said you were going to do it.”
Larry,
Just read your book, Shut Up, Stop Whining and Get A Life. Couldn’t put it down. Read it in one afternoon. Loved it.
Recently divorced, was $40K in C.C. debt because of him and his toys (video games, model cars and porn), and now I’m free. One thing you said in the book….a good divorce is better than a bad marriage.
I’d like to say that even a BAD DIVORCE is better than a BAD MARRIAGE. Needless to say HE tried to get ALIMONY from me, he lost. Now he’s 35 and living with mommy.
2 years later, I am now free. I have an emergency fund, my own place and just got the title to my new car. Following many of your principles. Thank you for the book. Keep on telling it like it is.
After whining here the other night about being the noteholder for an idiot who thinks that he’s going to “just let his house go into foreclosure” and walk away from it, I began reading up on the foreclosure process so that I would be in a position to tell the jerk what I’m going to do, when I’m going to do it, and how it’s going to get done.
Well, wonder of wonders, I learned from my reading that the note he signed is still a legal contract whether the house goes into foreclosure or not.
If the house goes up for sale on the courthouse steps and sells for less than the idiot paid for it, I can file for a “Deficiency Judgment” and be assured that the court will award me my legal fees and expenses plus the difference between the sales price and the current market value of the house. With that deficiency judgment in hand, I can place a lien on his new house, garnish his wages, attach his cars or furniture –whatever it takes to complete the contract.
Because I have the idiot’s signature on a piece of paper which says that he is going to pay back the money he borrowed from me, I am under no obligation to take the house back –or even to bid on it if it sells on the courthouse steps.
Isn’t that sweet? The damned monkey that he was hoping to put on my back is going to sit squarely on his until he figures out how to repay the money that he has borrowed from me!
As of today, the idiot knows that if he “just lets it go into foreclosure,” I have a lawyer who is ready to represent my interests, a court that recognizes the contractual nature of the papers he signed, and a personal intention to file for a deficiency judgment if he doesn’t live up to his commitment.
The loan repayment is due at the end of August and I have given fair notice. It sure feels good.
On target as always!! During my legendary “blue period” when I had no job, I took the bull by the tail and faced the situation. Picked up aluminum cans along the roadside and sold them to a scrap dealer, hauled away junk from peoples’ homes for free, hoping to find some treasure to sell, usually scrap metal, glass, etc., sold my blood/plasma, did anything, legally, to make a buck. On one day I only made about 50 cents by picking cans but it was more than I would have made sitting at home and feeling sorry for myself. Spread the word you can be productive if you want to be.
Amen Larry.
5 years ago I was looking for a job after moving to AZ and after 100+ resumes and 20-30 interviews for a position where I would make the $ that I wanted and had previously made, I was nowhere.
Knowing that I had bills to pay, along with the wife and I not wanting to live under a bridge, I started to apply for any job that would have me. I got lucky that a small company where I had applied as a warehouse worker for $8/hr liked my background and hired me.
I work my butt off, like my parents brought me up to, and have advanced rapidly within the company to a better position than what I was originally looking for when I first started sending out resumes, but with even more $ than I was asking for.
So as it turns out, by being willing to take any job to gain an income put me in a better position than what I was looking for in the first place. Life certainly has a funny way of working out..
Larry:
You are right on! I reread Shut Up! Stop Whining! And, Get A Life every few weeks just to remind myself not to buy into the
spend, spend, spend message they are STILL touting on TV.
Fortunately for me, I’m too busy now for TV: in addition to my full time job, I’m doing mystery shopping, selling used books, and teaching belly dancing (losing 23 pounds in the process.)
Our cars are paid off. We have a small emergency fund. And, our CREDIT CARD (singular) will be paid off in 2 months.
We don’t go out to eat. We eat whole foods at home. Our church helped us out here by sponsoring a churchwide “Eat For A Week On Rice And Beans And Water” And, you know what? It wasn’t that bad. The two of us ate all week on $10.
A couple of weeks later there was a community challenge to eat for a week on a food stamp budget. The TWO of us ate on $28: beans, rice, apples, oats, peanut butter, homemade bread (trust me if I can do it ANYONE can), potatoes, bananas, and mixed veggies.
I walk to the grocery store. I read books and watch movies from the library. I buy clothes from the Goodwill (the tags are often still attached AND you help keep people employed that otherwise would be able to be employed).
I’ve always worked since I was 10 even if it was babysitting, picking up trash out of the neighbors yard, etc. I worked my way through college and graduated debt-free. Working all through college sucked but, it helped me appreciate what I had when I was done.
Now, I’m fortunate to work for my father. And, like Chris, I don’t want to let my daddy down. The harder I work the more people we can employ.
Anyone that I hear whining about their debt, I send them to your website. If they can’t afford your book, I tell them to ask their library to buy it. Libraries buy lots of books. A sale is sale.
And, speaking of that, lunch time is over. So, it’s time to swallow the last bits of my Peanut butter sandwich and get back to work.
Keep on Keepin’ on Larry. Let us know when you are on TV again. We’ll make sure we tune in for that.
This is great advice. I’m recently started into planning my budget. There are courses and classes you can take in the local community. That’s what I did here.
Get rid of things you can’t live without?! That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.
Get rid of things you CAN live without 1st and if you find yourself still strapped, start looking for a cheaper place to live.
You will always need a couch to sit on!
Here’s something to think about…”Experience gives the test first, the lesson afterward”.