Ask For It -- by Jessica

How many of you have been laid off as a result of the recent recession, which... no, I don't think is over yet. But maybe that's just me. How many of you have had to do more with less? I'm sure we've all had to "trim the fat" at least a little. I myself was laid off back in July. Immediately, we (my hubby and I) to find savings wherever we could. We cancelled our cable. And we had the supreme digital package, but going to basic wasn't that much of a savings. So we cancelled the whole thing - going on three months cable free. And we decided to stop ordering pizza delivery, which we sort of did once a week...(I know, not cool). But we stopped. And that helped. As did other little tweaks we made. But lately, I've been trying to do more. I've read and heard people talk about calling creditors to see what can be done... reduced interest rates or whatever, but never really considered doing it.

However, as I found myself more strapped and stressed, I decided to see what else could be done. It was a month and a half ago, the first time I called one of the credit card companies (with whom I carry a significant balance) and asked about reduced/lower interest rates. The first person I spoke to told me that I had the lowest interest rate card (19.9%) and there was nothing less that I could get. I accepted that. I planned to write a long, ranting email the next day and express my disappointment and stress that I would pay off my card and then cancel it. Instead, I called again. I said to the customer service rep, "I understand there's nothing lower than 19.9%, but what if, let's just say, I declare bankruptcy (a little dramatic, but possible), in that case you get nothing. There's nothing else you can do?". She asked, "did you lose your job"? I guess she'd heard it before, but she mentioned a different option and said someone would call me within a few days. I won't bore you with the details and poor customer service, I've been phoning every week for the past 6 weeks and finally found out today, that I'll be able to participate in the hardship program. What does it get me? Well, I can't use my card (not a bad thing), but I pay NO interest for one year and only 50% minimum payments (although I plan to try to pay more). What I really get is an actual chance at catching up and getting ahead. And a bit of relief. And to think, I almost accepted that there was nothing I could do. Imagine, I almost didn't ASK FOR IT.

Written by:

Jessica, a Toronto Wealthy Wilma