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Amaranth · 04-03-2008, 03:49 AM

Okay, just some current progress on how things are going, thanks to everybody's help and support.

Of 11 total PDL loans:

Check into Cash - PIF
California Check Cashing - PIF
Ca Budget Finance - PIF
CashNetUSA - PIF
Loan Mart - PIF
Cash 1 - EPP
Advance America - EPP

( these ones I am still working on )

500fashcash - .....
Its My Payday/National Oppurtunities - .....
Cash First LLC - ....
Instant Cash Loan Till Payday/ MTE Financial - .....

So out of 11 PDL loans, that is a total of 5 completely down, 2 in EPP, and 4 illegals I am still working on banishing from my life.

Also, last payday was THE FIRST PAYDAY IN 3 YEARS that I haven't renewed a PDL or taken out a new one. I am not done with this mess yet, but I'm sure you guys know how good it feels when they ask, "Would you like to reloan?" and you put your checkbook away and say, "No."

I could not have even gotten this far without the sound advice and friendly atmosphere I have found on this forum. Thank you so much to all of you and for helping to make me feel less ashamed of the trouble I have gotten myself into.

I used to look around me and wonder if other people shared my dirty, embarassing secret of my PDL fiasco. While I am saddened for us that yes, so many of us exist, the other side of the coin makes me glad that we are not alone.

cannr · 04-03-2008, 04:11 AM

amaranth, you have come a LONG way in such a short amount of time! Congratulations to you! And, congratulations on getting paid and not having to get another pdl!I applaude you!

Amaranth · 04-03-2008, 04:39 AM

Thanks much ^_^ You were very helpful when I first came to this forum, a complete, disraught mess that hadn't slept in a long time ^_^

Thanks again!

kashzan · 04-03-2008, 04:41 AM

You are really doing a great job, and fastly becoming a valuable member of our community.

Amaranth · 04-03-2008, 05:02 AM

And thank you to you, too, kashzan. You were one of the first people to quickly address my pleas for help and guidance ^_^

Shazzers · 04-07-2008, 11:31 AM

It's so nice to hear good news like this! Congratulation on your success so far!

Amaranth · 04-16-2008, 05:33 AM

Okay. I made it through yet another payday without taking out a new payday loan. I'm REALLY stretched thin right now and counting pennies until next payday, but I am determined to never have to take out another PDL again.

Also, I have decided that one of the best approaches of dealing with my debt is by taking a second job to add some extra income, so I can start paying down my debt and paying off some high interest loans ( ie. Cashcall ). I interviewed on Monday for a job that is only 4 hours a day, and pays $300 a week. That would work perfectly as far as scheduling around my established full-time job, plus that would be an extra $1200 a month to pay down debts!!

I don't want to get my hopes up too much, but oh my God, if I could get this job, I could really start getting this debt under control without having to resort to any kind of debt settlement or consolidation programs.

The training starts on Monday- and the company is doing their "call-backs" this week. So if I don't hear from them by Friday...

No, I don't even want to think about it! I want to stay positive! Please, everyone keep your fingers crossed for me ^_^

kashzan · 04-16-2008, 05:36 AM

My fingers are crossed. I am sure you will get it. That really is pretty good money for a part time job. Keep us posted.

Shazzers · 04-16-2008, 05:41 AM

Good luck Amaranth, I hope things work out in your favor, keep your chin up and think positive!

ladybug · 04-16-2008, 07:47 AM

That is good news I hope that you get the job. I am so glad that you have gained control over your paycheck and feel like you are making progress. It is a liberating feeling to feel back in control of your hard earned money

Amaranth · 04-22-2008, 04:25 AM

Just an update!

I wanted to thank everyone for the good juju ^_^ I finally heard back from that job, and I got it ^_^ Training starts April 28th. The training will be the most difficult part, because it's 8 hours on top of the 8 hours I'm already working with my established full-time job. I work 6pm - 2am, and the training is 9am - 2pm. But I can rest when my debts are paid, right? Anyway, after the initial week of training, I then only work 4 hours a day, for a base pay of $300 a week, which totals an additional income of $1200 a month. If I want to be an over-achiever, I can make additional comission and bonuses ^_~ One of the BEST parts is that it pays WEEKLY, which will definitely help keep me out of the payday loan trap. Part of the reason why I got there in the first place was because I was constantly borrowing to bridge that gap inbetween paydays. I wish I had known then that half my creditors, if called in due advance, don't mind changing my due dates to coincide with my paydays without penalizing me or considering me "late". *sigh* You know what they say about hindsight, though....

I'm a bit anxious and nervous ( and worried about how much sleep I'm gonna be able to get ), but it eases up once I start to think about what I want to pay off first! Hmm...maybe Cashcall? Or QuickCick loans? Maybe ThinkCash? How about that useless line of credit I have with Norditrack ( just how many elliptical trainers do I need, anyway? )?

Anyway, while I am waiting for training to start, I'm going to start organizing all my debts and seeing how is the best way to start effectively paying them down and paying others off and closing them altogether. I wonder if tackling and paying off lower balances on revolving credit would help my credit score the quickest, or should I concentrate on paying off the big interest bullies first?

If anyone has any advice they'd like to share, I'd love to hear ^_^ Thanks again, guys!

kashzan · 04-22-2008, 04:37 AM

Amaranth, I am so happy for you. You really seem like you have a plan. As for the lack of sleep, its only temporary. Think about how much better you will sellp when these debts are out of your life. By the way, what kind of job is it?

cannr · 04-22-2008, 04:38 AM

Oh, congratulations! You've got a great plan going here and you've got the attitude and determination to pull it off. You are awesome!

As for tackling and paying off lower balances on revolving credit/would it help your credit score the quickest/or should you concentrate on paying off the big interest ones - I'll tell you what, put a post on the debt consolidation Forum. Start a new topic and ask them just that. They are great people over there. They will tell you what works best, how it works, etc. I think you'll really be impressed! Please go on over to Debt Consodiation and start a thread of your own. You'll have a lot of very smart people giving you great advice!

Amaranth · 04-22-2008, 04:55 AM

Thanks for your advice, Cannr, I believe I will go and create a thread there sometime today. I want to gather some of the numbers together for some of those accounts, as far as balances and interest, so that might help others give me an idea of what I should do ^_^

Kashzan - the job is working in the appointment center of a Home Remodeling Agency. I am not a sales-type, but my dad has worked for a company for the past 30 years as a salesman and does pretty good, so I know if you have the drive, you can really make some good commissions on top of what your base pay is. Thankfully, this job entails working with already established customer accounts- commission is based on how much more work we can sell them on ( trim, installing bay windows, etc. etc. ).

LOL- so now I will have two bizarre jobs. Dealing cards and selling aluminum shutters.

And you're right. I have already lost TONS of sleep because of my debt situation. I have literally only averaged about 4-5 hours a night as it is the past 4 months. I just lay in bed and stress and keep thinking over and over again "what am I going to do? There is no hope..." So even if I still will only get 4-5 hours a night, at least it will be "at peace" rest, knowing I am starting to take back control of my finances.

I figure if I work hard now, at the very worst, this job will be temporary. As long as I don't deviate from the plan and start squandering my money on useless things again, I can hopefully pay my debt down far enough that I can pay all my bills every month, and still have money left over to set aside for emergencies. Then I can go back to just one job. I have certainly learned my lesson and now realize and understand the importance of personal budgeting.

My current job is posting for management positions that I qualify for, and I plan on applying. That would be a raise of about 20,000 a year over what my current salary there is. Once again, taking the higher position is more work, but it will be so worth it. I don't mind working hard to get control of this debt fiasco.

I just know of at least 15 others going for the only 5 available positions that have the same qualifications, so we'll see. Certainly won't hurt to try ^_~