How I finally paid off $30,000 and got out of debt bed

Everyone thought that I'd have a life like a fairytale. And why not? I had everything one could ask for during childhood. My dad (an accountant) gave everything to us. In fact, later, much later, I realized that he gave more than what he could actually. He worked like a dog but made sure I went to the best school, had the best clothes and toys, etc. He never demanded anything. All he gave us was his unconditional love.

I went to the best schools and restaurants. I didn't have to think about the serious parts of life. Didn't know much about credit cards or school loans either. And why would I? “I've never had student loans or credit cards”. My life was nothing but a beautiful fairy tale where everyone lives happily ever after.

My life before the advent of credit cards was beautiful. But, this doesn't mean that it didn't have downsides at all. Since I was the youngest kid, so my dad always pampered me. I didn't bother much about school grades and couldn't finish my college diploma as well. I was hardly bothered about it. Who goes to college everyday? Not me at least!

But then, life has always a weapon to teach you a lesson. And it did so, when my dad passed away suddenly. It was like a big blow to my head. Apart from the heart-wrenching pain, the biggest problem was that there was nobody to run the family. All my big brothers and sisters were busy with their lives. They didn't have much time to care for their younger brother. So, all of a sudden, I had no choice but to grow up within a few days and start looking for a job. But, nobody had a job for me. I was too under-qualified for the jobs I applied for. And, my friends too became very busy suddenly. They didn't have any time to help me out. It's another thing that they were the same people who used to party with me everyday a few months back.

I tried to take out a loan, but didn't get one. Lenders said only thing:

“You don't have a credit score. You don't even have a credit history. Neither do you have any collateral. Sorry! We can't help you”.

Desperate to earn for a living, I started giving tuitions to a small kid. My brain was not bad. It's just that I didn't take studies seriously, Anyway, I fetched some money from there. Gradually, I started giving tuitions to more kids in my neighborhood and this helped to survive every month.

The tuition fee was just enough to cover my basic expenses. I could survive on hot dogs and donuts. But, I wanted more. I wanted to go back to my fairytale life and for that I needed a credit card.

After several attempts, I was finally approved for a credit card, albeit at a high rate of interest. But, who cared? I was too happy that day. Finally, I could shop, party and do whatever my heart desired.

“Several things happened after I got my credit card. I started buying a lot of things – from clothes, accessories to television and refrigerator. I got married to my childhood sweet heart and had a kid within a year. Jennie, my wife was doing a job as well. So, that helped to pay my credit card and other bills every month. So, all in all, everything was going fine.

Sure enough, after a few years, my financial stability got another jolt when Jennie separated from me. Now, I had to support 2 households on my single income. This forced me to depend more on credit cards. I had stopped giving tuitions by that time and started a business on web development. As ill luck could have it, I lost some of my clients due to recession and unsatisfactory work. Frankly speaking, I couldn't focus on work much after Jennie's departure and that created more problems for me.

I couldn't pay my credit card bills, outstanding balance was only increasing day by day, and finally it reached $30,000 within 2-3 months. Collection calls started coming in and I started working harder to pay my bills. At one point, I was working 15 hours a day, but still couldn't pay off the debt. There was no extra-money to contribute towards credit cards.

“Actually, there were 3 turning points in my life.
First, when I became a father.
Second, when I vowed to quit smoking
Third, when I heard about OVLG

Fatherhood taught me to enjoy the smallest things in life. It taught me the meaning of unconditional love. It gave me the challenge to quit smoking as well.

Yes, it's true. Every time, I went to my kid, he used to turn away his face from me since he couldn't sit beside a smoker. He had breathing problems. Seeing his plight, I finally decided to quit smoking once for all.

Well, this was a tough challenge for me, but I finally did it. And this motivated me to take up the next big challenge – paying off my debt .

This was really a tough challenge for me. First of all, I didn't where to begin from and my income was not that really great. One day, I was discussing my problem with an old client at lunch. After hearing my story, he suggested me to try Oak View Law Group (OVLG).

I have never worked with any law firm before. So, I was a little bit hesitant. Nevertheless, I called

them up one day to give it a try. And, thank God, I made that phone call. It changed my life.

After I made the phone call and discussed my problem in details, BG told me two things:

“Smoking is injurious to health. Likewise, credit cards are injurious to your financial health” and “where there's a will, there's a way”.

After that, there was no need to turn my back anymore.

My Case Manager Anthony Robbins explained me how OVLG works and helps to settle debts of people like me. He explained me the concept of trust account where I need to save money. Initially, I was not confident about saving money in a trust account. I couldn't afford to trust anybody with my money anymore. But, after I came to know that the trust account will be opened in Bank of America, I felt little bit confident. Anthony explained OVLG's reasonable fee structure and tricks to save money too. This was an added bonus for me. Thereafter, I read some articles on how to save money and started leading a frugal life in the next few months.

“When I was finally able to make my first payment, Anthony started negotiating with my creditors within a month to settle credit cards one after the other. I can still remember the day when he settled my first credit card. After the birth of my son, this was perhaps the biggest day of my life. I was happy, satisfied and content finally. I could sleep peacefully that night.

Till date, he has already processed debt worth $14,319, settled $4,555 and saved $7,579. Three of my accounts have already been settled and only 2 are undergoing negotiations. Hopefully, these cards will be settled soon. You can get more details from my review section.

• Be little strict with your kids. Teach them the value of money right from childhood.
• Use credit cards as per your income.
• Do save money in an emergency fund. Life is an expert in sending troubles.
• Do your budget before receiving your paycheck.
• Use cash to know how much you're spending every month.
• Don't buy anything if you run out of money.
• Note down your expenses in your smartphone.
• Analyze your subscription plan every month to know if you're paying too much.
• Confess about your bad financial decisions in front of your kids.

“I don't believe in fairy tales any more. Neither do I have big dreams. All, I want is to lead a live without any financial stress. I have plans to build an emergency fund after my debt is completely paid off. Hopefully, that day will come very soon.

I want to ensure a good life for my kid. I would like to save money for his education. I don't want him to go through the pain that I have endured. No father would want that.

I'd like to flourish as a businessman. I'll work hard and try to expand my business. And, after I retire, I would try help those who are helpless. Even now, I try to help losers like me whenever possible. In fact, you won't believe it, some of my friends have already started sharing their problems with me. It gives me a great pleasure when someone says “Hey, I paid off a credit card today”. It motivates me. It boosts my confidence and makes me work hard even more. I don't want to stop. I have miles to go and dreams to achieve.