The tongue is a powerful tool and if used the right way you can really make great things happen with a wonderful ending.
Thought that would get your attention, but I what I am referring to is the “Power of Communication.”
For those of us who don’t have a family or a friend to go and run to for financial help, the first thing you need to do is communicate. Oh, it’s definitely one of those days!
In the beginning when the health department first told me the extent of the damage the bugs caused, I knew I had loss some money. I unfortunately didn’t know the true amount at the time or worse that I would continue to lose money along the way. However, the moment I found myself dipping into my savings without an income, I knew I was headed for trouble.
Without hesitation, I communicated.
I contacted every single creditor I owed. Fortunately, I didn’t have a long list of people to contact. I kept my credit cards to a bare minimum. For me, that was only one card as I believed in paying cash for everything and then there’s the damn pain in the ass over priced car payment. And no my payment isn’t astronomical because I drive a luxurious car; it’s high because I got ripped off! I’ve since learned how to configure a great deal on a car and will share that as blogs go on but with this purchase, I was ignorant with auto financing and was taken complete advantage of at the time. Did I mention, I hate Ford? (I told you it’s one of those days)
Now, back to communication. I first applied for a two month extension on my car note and that only cost an upfront fee of $11.95. Actually, that wasn’t bad for a shitty ass credit company (again that’s FORD). It’s important you do this BEFORE you fall behind then they are not as reasonable to work with you. It still can be done even if the case is you're already behind in a payment, you will just have to use your tongue a bit more. Asking for an extension has no effect on your credit and gives you quite a bit of breathing room.
I then applied for insurance on my credit card NOT telling them I was in trouble. The insurance becomes effective the day you apply. Within two weeks after receiving my paperwork in the mail, I politely called back and filed a claim that day.
Now, what’s great is depending on your insurance plan and your card holder, they will make your payments anywhere from three to twelve months with again, no adverse bearing on your credit.
Here’s what I DIDN’T know; your credit is frozen until after the time frame is up. In my case, my plan agreement was to pay my minimum monthly payment for up to three months. Unfortunately, I still had an availability of about $1,000 that I now can’t access during this crunch.
You would be crazy to wait until you suffocate before you communicate with your creditors. These people want their money and as much as we would like to believe they want to hit us with all these fees and mar our credit reports, believe me they’d rather you continue to stay in good standing and hit you instead in the pockets with a ton of interest.
Now I DO NOT have overdraft protection but when I couldn’t make the rent and as I wrote in my previous blog, I was $350 short. What did I do? I simply prayed and used my tongue.
I called the bank and I learned something new myself that day, because truthfully I wasn’t quite sure what the hell I was actually going to tell them or if they could or would help me in any way. What I found in my experiences is that when speaking to customer service reps, you don’t need to make up scenarios as the truth usually works.
I simply told the very nice woman Cindy who answered the phone my current state. I told her I never not intended to put the money in but well, I might need a few more days extra in coming up with the cash and if at all possible to please just not return my rent check. Do you know, this wonderful woman simply said, “No problem, I will note your account and we won’t return the check?” In fact, she proceeded to tell me, “You will be charged a $30 overdraft fee that I have no control of, but once you get it covered go to your branch and speak to a representative there and I’ve just noted that I recommend they reverse the fee. Unfortunately, only your branch can reverse a fee so I can't help you there.” Do you see the power of communication and how mighty the tongue can be?
Don’t feel intimidated either by picking up the phone and talking to your creditors. What you don’t realize is those customer service representatives understand your dilemma more than you know and not because they hear stories all day.
Unfortunately, most customer service reps don’t make much money and for some, it’s even a second job because they can’t make ends meet. Why do you think sometimes when you call up you get the Rep from the Hell? It’s because you just reminded that person that they too are struggling and more than anything they don’t want to be there hearing someone else’s story when they have their own damn problems and that job isn’t putting a dent in their quest for a solution.
Usually when I get a Rep from Hell and my instincts let me know before the conversation even begins as I can tell from their tone, I simply say, “Oh I have the wrong number.” and simply call back. Also, if you do ever get a customer service rep that doesn’t help you in the end with your dilemma, simply call back again and again and in some cases you might have to ask for a supervisor before you get the result you were looking to get.
I’ve met some wonderful customer service reps along the way and some after sharing my story, they’ve shared theirs. Some I’ve ended up feeling bad for and wished when I got back on my feet, that I could actually help them out like two weeks a go when I spoke to a woman from Kansas. Her husband was in an accident and it left him unable to work, they didn’t have insurance and she had to pick up a second job in order for them to survive. Welfare told her they make too much to receive help because she’s $20 over the poverty limit they require you to be at in order to help. But what really struck me with this woman was that she was still happy and thankful with life because she recognized that just her husband being alive was all that really mattered and do you know her only wish? She expressed she just wanted to be able to make enough money so that she could be at home and have dinner with her family at least one night a week. Now, working two jobs she was never home to eat dinner with her two young kids and husband. Since welfare also denied her food stamps, I immediately shared with her my coupon saving tips as she said she had never used them before and was grateful for me sharing my knowledge.
It sounds corny, but I’m inspired every single day as I go through this mess even without money as I meet people and listen to their stories. You would be really surprised how truly powerful the tongue really is if used just the right way!
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