Part 7 - complete financial despair

This is a series of articles labelled from #1 to #9 which chronicles how I went from being a fanatical young saver to a pathetic spender, and then finally paving the way for financial success.

​

In Part #6: Getting Married, I looked back on how one of the happiest moments of my life was also my saddest, I got married and soon after we were blessed with an adorable boy. This happiness was short lived as most of the money was coming from credit cards and personal loans, as my income was stretched further I resorted to asking friends and family for help, I stopped paying some creditors and pretended the letter never arrives, eventually all the cards were cancelling their services and my world was crashing down on top of me.

To be honest I did not know what to do, I broke down I cried I did not see light at the end of the tunnel, there was no way out and at times I’m ashamed to say I did contemplate suicide, what kept me going was my little boy and my wife who supported me through this phase, seeing my little boy smile and hold my finger at though he was depending on me really lit a fire inside me, I owed it to him to get myself out of trouble and pave the way for a happier life. I finally opened up about my life and finances to my poor wife, speaking about my problems past and present really helped me to move, I guess it’s true when they say you have to sometimes look back to go forward.

In a space of a few days I felt a renewed optimism, I prioritized the most important things in my life and was determined to take responsibility, I can remember my wife saying that this problem will not take as long to solve as it did to create it if we really put our minds to it. Looking back now she was the cornerstone on my financial recovery, its true when some people say that behind every great man is a great women, although I’m the first to admit I’m not great I now have a real chance to of becoming great.

With renewed optimism came responsibility, I knew I could not screw up again, I made a pact with myself to thoroughly think things through and not to give up however hard the problems became, I took a photo of my ceiling with whom I had so many conversations with when everyone was asleep and framed it on my desk as a constant reminder of the despair I was facing, I also put a bigger photo of my wife and son behind the picture of the ceiling to symbolize that ease will come after great pain and suffering.

Everything that happened in the days where I spoke about my problems was getting me into a better more positive frame of mind, things were looking up and I kept on repeating to myself “if you’re going through hell, then keep going”, the phrase was by Winston Churchill.

In the next part of the series which chronicles my rise and fall I face up to my problems and realize that things are not as bad as they seem and there is light at the end of the tunnel, read the next installment on #8: Facing Up To My Problems.

Full Series Index

#1: Great Early Saver

#2: Having Money Taken Away From Me

#3: Seeing My Family Experience Poverty

#4: Spending to Keep Up

#5: Disaster Strikes

#6: Getting Married

#7: Absolute Financial Despair

#8: Facing Up to my Problems

#9: Laying the Foundation for Success