What Happened the Day I Declared Bankruptcy?

MartinRaymondo

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MartinRaymondo 〰️ 〰️

I will never forget that day, as it was exactly one year after 9/11.

Arriving at the lawyer’s office, sitting in my vehicle with my partner, I was scared to death. 

You know that feeling you get in the pit of your stomach when something terrible has happened or is about to happen?

The Dreadful Meeting

We met with a lady who was a licensed insolvency trustee before the lawyer finalized all the paperwork. 

She was very friendly and didn’t make us feel bad. 

I still remember handing over all our credit cards and having her put these rubber bands around them.

There were so many she needed multiple bands to hold them all together. 

It was a reflection of our lives being held on with rubber bands.

Our spending was out of control, and we were about to have our first child. 

Talk about starting your life off in the wrong direction. 

After the meeting, we were given the schedule of payments which was less than a year.

It might be different now.

Repossession

This process was slow, so I drove our car for three months before they came.

The guy parked behind my car and then came to ring the doorbell.

I knew this day was coming, so I was prepared as best possible. 

He asked for my keys and wouldn’t let me come outside. 

Being treated like a common criminal isn’t fun, yet I can only imagine the people these repo guys deal with daily. 

Off went the car, and now we were down to one crappy vehicle. 

They didn’t bother taking that as it was worth practically nothing.

Relationship Issues

Bankruptcy is tough on a relationship.

The exact percentage is hard to nail down, but we were one of the statistics. 

It took two years for us to separate after the bankruptcy. 

It happened before my youngest son’s first birthday in September.

It’s always challenging going through that, especially the first of everything like Halloween, Christmas, birthdays, etc. 

I don’t know if we would have made it without the bankruptcy, but I know it sped things up. 

The trustee warned us of this, so we weren’t blindsided.

After the Bankruptcy and a Never Ever Moment

I still remember being at work five years after the bankruptcy and thinking about how I got there and how far I had come. 

I had no debt, but my credit was abysmal. 

I decided to get myself a secured credit card.

I should have done this sooner but didn’t know they existed.

The credit card from Capital One came with a small limit of $300, and off I went. 

That elusive credit card was maxed in no time, and within a year, I had a few that were maxed. 

I decided to let them go into collections — yeah, it’s a bad idea, I know — as my credit was shot anyway. 

Several years passed by, and I’m only a few years away from having those debts erased by the 7-year statute in our province. 

That’s when someone comes knocking at my door with a registered letter. 

The collection agency was suing me for over $15,000.

That was a fun weekend.

I decided I needed to fix my financial life and deal with this.

It took me two years to fix everything, and it’s been great since. 

After I was sued, I had my never-ever moment. 

They go like this:

• Never-ever will I have a car payment

• Never-ever will I owe money on a credit card or credit line

• Never-ever will I borrow money

Life after all the Chaos

It’s been several years since all that tragedy, and life is good.

I’m completely debt-free, work when I want and have money invested. 

I’m much happier and have gone through so much financial stress and pain that I can show people how to change their lives.

I made all the mistakes you can make over the years, which only changed when I sought the advice of more intelligent people. 

People who made it, not your broke brother-in-law at the Christmas table, spewing nonsense. 

None of those mentors borrow money, and none use credit card points like it’s some freaking gameshow.

They all stay out of debt, live below their means, don’t buy crap they can’t afford, and invest money little by little. 

Then, one day, they wake up and are financially independent. 

I’m just glad I decided to ask a millionaire one day how I could fix my life. 

Who knew they would actually respond to my text?