Just open everything that comes in and read it. Read it and (here’s the kicker) DEAL with it!

Related to that, answer your phone.

Yes, I know that debt collectors are calling. Answer your phone AND talk to the people on the other line.

Ignoring your mail, letting calls go to voice mail and there by, living in denial will not get you anywhere. I am here to, once again be the poster child for What NOT to Do! 

About a year ago or so, I got a notice from the court system that I was being sued due to a debt with Discover Card. There wasn’t much, I felt, that I could do at the time. I couldn’t afford an attorney. I didn’t want to file bankruptcy. I couldn’t really afford to pay much in monthly payments. I knew that it would lead to a judgement against me but I decided to ignore it.

I felt that a judgement wasn’t going to be able to do much to me. I don’t own anything of value. I don’t make any money. There’s not much they can take from me. So when the judgement paperwork came through, I read it briefly and then filed it.

Part of the issue is that legal paperwork is so extremely difficult to understand and no one can help you with it. No one can give you advice about legal actions except for an attorney and I knew I couldn’t afford one.

I knew a judgement meant possible garnishment of my income tax return or future wages. I was told the money couldn’t be garnished from my wages unless I was working full time. So I always had it in my head that I had to do something, REALLY do something by the time I got a full time job. When I filed my taxes this year, nothing happened. I got my full refund deposited into my account so I figured I still had time.

I made plans for that money. It was going to help me survive for the coming months as I’m not able to sub during the summer. It was also going to pad my savings account a little and pay off another credit card. Maybe even take the kids on a small vacation in August to celebrate my graduation. For the first time in a long while, I felt comfortable with where I sat financially. I felt like I was going to make it until I had a full time teaching job in August (I WILL have a full time teaching job in August).

My mistakes here are many!

1. I got too comfortable.

2. I was uneducated about the process.

3. I made assumptions.

4. I ignored paperwork.

5. I lived in denial!

All of my mistakes hit me the day I got an automated call telling me there was a hold on my account to the tune of $2200! I got the call as I was opening an envelope from the court system (again, it was very confusing paperwork). Something that I didn’t know could happen, had happened. The court awarded the bank a garnishment of my checking account. The bank was instructed to hold everything except $425 from my checking account and send it to them.

To say I was devastated would be an understatement.

But after calming down and making phone calls (many, many phone calls). I realized that this was for the best. I owed the money. I don’t deny that they deserve the money. I have always intended to pay the money. I just never felt like I had enough in the bank to make a dent into what I owed.

The attorney’s and I have reached a settlement agreement to pay the balance in full. The money they garnished will not cover all of it. I will have to make a few more payments over the next few months but once I do that, it will be considered “Paid in Full.”

For the rest of the summer, I will be hustling with my freelance writing, looking for a summer job, living frugally, and finding numerous ways to bring in extra money on the side. We’ll get through it and in August (I’m confident) I will be working full time and my debt can really begin to disappear.

I don’t write these posts to get people to feel sorry for me. I did all of this on my own. I have always taken full ownership for my own brand of stupidity! There’s nothing anyone can say about how completely clueless, uneducated and plain ole dumb that I haven’t said to myself before. I write these posts so they can be a warning for anyone who has debt, is ignoring their finances or has children. These “What Not to Do” posts are to be used to think about your own situation or as a pathway to conversations with those people you love, whether they are struggling with debt, are just beginning to deal with debt or are still living at home but will soon be able to acquire their own debt.

Do not live in denial my friends. Ignoring your finances, ignoring the difficult situations, ignoring the truth only leads to more difficult roads in the future.

I think that goes for more than just money and debt. Don’t you?

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Today, that means:

Check Facebook.

Check Twitter.

Read Message board I belong to.

Send a tweet about something they just discussed on The Today Show.

Remember to log into Viggle for The Today Show.

Check out new Rewards on Viggle.

Fiddle with blog layout.

Jot down notes for an article I’m working on.

Read a blog post or two from blogs I never get to read anymore.

RSVP to a TweetChat that I want to attend (and starts in 10 minutes).

Begin writing a blog post.

Save blog post because it needs more attention than I can give to it.

Realize that it’s almost 1pm and I’m hungry.

Realize that it’s almost 1pm and I haven’t had shower yet.

Realize that it’s almost 1pm and I have to pick up the kids in TWO HOURS!

Write lame blog post that was too long to be a tweet.

Publish blog post.

Check Twitter.

Check Facebook.

Admit that you have no business working from home right now.

Create an “I’m sorry I suck.” email for client in head to be penned later.

Decide it’s best to give up on dreams of becoming a full time freelance writer and that is ok.

Read awesome comments on the lame blog post you just wrote!

Wonder how many others out there have been through this too?

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So what’s a girl to do?

Write a blog post, of course! 

Actually I’m not writing much of a post, but I wanted to share with you a little poem I wrote about a year or so ago for a class I was taking. It was about using creativity in the classroom. I’m not artsy. I don’t do crafts. I can’t take a photograph worth more than the paper it is printed on. But I have been known to write a limerick or two in my day. I thought I’d share one with you.

The assignment was to introduce ourselves to the class in a creative way. I added a slideshow with images to go with the words.

Without further adieu:

There once was a girl from Ohio
She started freaking out over writing her bio.
Be creative she was told.
Her reply? “UGH, I’m too old.”

So this girl she sat and she thought.
What is with this class? Come on Dr. Rhodes,
Creativity just can’t be taught.

Her story began too long ago
but it gets most interesting
when she moved to Columbus Ohio.

She graduate from Ohio State
and taught for a few years
before getting married, that only lasted 6 years.

The highlight of her life comes in the form of 2 boys
Gavin and Ean who are great
but lord their obsessed with lego toys

Life was hard post divorce.
Money was tight and it only got worse.

Unemployment, no car, massive debt,
but living with mom was even worse yet.

This girl fought, she didn’t bow out.
She put on her big girl pants
and paved a new route.

Back to school she decided to go
no where else but O-H-I-O

But that wasn’t enough, she needed to make money
So she started to write a blog,
She really is quite funny.

And so she became, The Debt Princess
She writes about money and her lack of good sense.

As a freelance writer, her mission is clear
make some money for bills and occasionally a beer.

Her hope is to talk to high school students.
and teach them what not to do.

She’ll feel better about the future,
and maybe you will too.

Now, here she is in T&L 823
She’ll do her very best,
She better not get a C.

I will be completely done with all my grad school course work and have defended my thesis in exactly two months. I can’t promise much for this blog between now and then but I do hope to post at least once a week. Then I will start building back up to something bigger (also want to add a Teaching/Teacher’s blog into my mix. I already own the site and have post ideas for miles, just need to take the time to design it and get it going).

If you are still reading my site when I do post, THANK YOU! Thank you for sticking with me during the past (nearly) 2 years.

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