Hi Gang, This issue of hiring someone else to "fix" your past comes up from time to time. I just always try to make sure that each person who makes the decision to hire an outsider completely understand what you're giving up, if you do. My favorite book: "The Road Less Traveled" by Dr. M Scott Peck, begins; "Life is difficult. This is a great truth, one of the greatest truths. (The first of the four noble truths taught by Buda was that life is suffering) It is a great truth because once we truly see this truth, we transcend it. Once we truly know that life is difficult - once we truly understand and accept it - then life is no longer difficult. Because once it's accepted, the fact that life is difficult no longer matters". Butch's Paraphrase: "Life's a Bitch, Get Over It! Human nature seeks to escape this fact by all manner of mental, emotional and behavioral contortions. But it's only when we bare down and struggle through our own problems, work to find their solutions, implement same and resolve never to repeat those mistakes again will a human being EVER learn anything. Human nature is well studied and carefully documented by now. People just don't seem to learn anything until the pain gets to a point where we just can't stand it anymore and a change MUST be made. If you're at all like me, you'll learn nothing until it hurts too much not to. Things easily gotten are little appreciated! Not only that but there's an extraordinary GIFT that comes with this painful exercise of correcting your own credit. When we accept the tumultuous path of working through our past failures a good deal of emotional pain is involved as we face up to our own shortcomings and irresponsibilities. We all need to struggle through and find our own solutions. When we do, we get so much more in return. We learn much about ourselves we never knew before as the windows to our souls open just a little at a time. What about that incredible feeling of new personal empowerment, self confidence and self esteem you get from winning your own battles. When you finish and your reports are perfect your head will be held high and you'll know "I did this myself". Your relationships with others will dramatically improve as you become more emotionally available to friends and family. You'll no longer feel "less than" everyone else, now you're an equal participant in the human race and shall henceforth grovel before no-one. You'll be of help, this time substantive help, to family and loved ones who desperately need your knowledge, experience and encouragement. You'll no longer blink in the face of life vicissitudes but rather, you'll know, deep down, "if I can fix my credit, I can do anything". You'll know you can fight when you need to and you'll stand and defend against the next criminal who comes along and tries to steal what you have. Most of you are young yet, but I can tell you there will be many. And then there is the technical knowledge you'll gain. How to read law and use it when the time is right. Exactly when and how you're mistreated when it comes to your money. How to deal with atty's, or hire one when you need to and how to recognize when you should, etc., etc., etc. I'm sure you can think of much more and I encourage you to add them to the list here, if you want to start one. These gifts you will be missing if someone else fixes this stuff for you. Alcoholics Anonymous has some of the most beautiful literature on the planet. From one of their books called "12 Steps and 12 Traditions" (P. 124) we find the very least you can expect to gain from your sometimes seemingly endless, futile journey. It reads: Still more wonderful is the feeling that we do not have to be especially distinguished among our fellows in order to be profoundly happy. Not many of us can be leaders of prominence, nor do we wish to be. Service, gladly rendered, obligations squarely met, troubles well accepted or solved with Godâ??s help, the knowledge that at home or in the world outside we are partners in a common effort, the well-understood fact that in Godâ??s sight all human beings are important, the proof that love freely given surely brings a full return, the certainty that we are no longer isolated and alone in self-constructed prisons, the surety that we need no longer be square pegs in round holes but can fit and belong in Godâ??s scheme of things â?? these are the permanent and legitimate satisfactions of right living for which no amount of pomp and circumstance, no heap of material possessions, could possibly be substitutes. True ambition is not what we thought it was. True ambition is the deep desire to live usefully and walk humbly under the grace of God. THESE PROFOUND SPIRITUAL GIFTS ARE UTTERLY PRICELESS AND CANNOT BE OBTAINED THE EASY WAY !!!!!! It was recently suggested that unless your time is worthless you should hire it done. Well my time is FAR from worthless, in fact it's expensive. So yes, I've lost a bundle of money over the past year doing all this by myself, but I wouldn't have traded it for anything. The rewards far outweigh a temporary inconvenience. And when you get there, you'll look back and say, "Man that was NOTHIN compared to all that I've gained". So if you do hire someone else, no problem, I just wanted you to know what the TRUE cost will be.
Butch: Great Post ! How APPROPRIATE to write of the hope we all have if we have faith in ourselves which can only truly come from the faith we have in him who made us. The process you describe seems, at the risk of sounding corny, somewhat analogous to resurrection ! The teachings of Budda always make a good and compatible complement to those of Jesus. Although I don't know you well because I'm a Newbie, I find your writings well thought out and inspirational and saw nothing but support and hope in your post for those of us just starting this journey. Thanks ! Happy Resurrection Day !
Butch's contribution deserves its own thread. Other extraneous and unnecessarily argumentative non-credit postings were moved to their own thread in our Feedback Forum which is designed for personal feedback to this site and its members. CCN steve
Steve, thanks for cleaning up this thread. Varinia makes a big win. http://consumers.creditnet.com/straighttalk/board/showthread.php?s=&postid=331989#post331989 I wonder if she feels empowered today. Day Bump.
It is with GREAT pleasure that I can read this cleansed thread. Too often those who have posted on this and other forums have downplayed the immense value of "doing it yourself". Aside from the sense of accomplishment, and self empowerment that is gained, in addition to the knowledge and brain stretching research skills,there is another (and in my opinion) most valuable gift to be gained. Many people have never fully developed a "sense of consequence" a deep felt sense of responsibility for their own actions,because they never have had to clean up their own messes. Once you have had to struggle and strain and spend time and effort to repair the damage that you have created, one way or another through the choices you have made in life, you become much more responsible and careful of ALL your actions in the future.
Re: Re: Fix Your Own Credit! I'm glad I found this post amongst the technicolor that is LBrown's signature. nickpaige ================ Glad you're glad. And there you have it in black and white. L O L THE END ** *** ** LB 59
Re: Re: Re: Fix Your Own Credit! It gets a bump every time I post no matter where or on what thread I post:
I must disagree in part with Butch's manifesto, despite CCN's implied threat of censorship. I don't think you can equate an improved credit file with personal improvement. If you've had credit problems, you should focus on the causes, not the symptoms. Bad credit is a symptom. Low income, high spending, poor budgeting habits, lack of long-term planning, and of course "the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune" are some of the causes. If it was purely an accident, pure chance, that you went bankrupt or had delinquent obligations, then yes, cleaning up the credit reports is the best way to overcome the feelings of helplessness, victimization, etc. that may be holding you back. But if you had anything to do with it, then it is infinitely more valuable to change the habits that led to the delinquencies and/or bankruptcy. That's the only way to ensure (insofar as possible) that it doesn't happen again. If you have to focus your time and attention on the perverse policies and inflated egos at the credit bureaus and collection agencies, then they've won the battle. In effect, they own you. If you have to spend all your time examining the minutiae of the credit reporting and debt collection acts, or even worse of tort law, then you are not a free person. You are a slave to the law. In some cases, it may be better to ignore the credit reports, pay your bills on time, and wait 7 years for things to drop off. Then you get to live the life you want to live, not the life of constant struggle and turmoil that the credit industry wants you to live. They don't have real lives, many of them have excessive debt or bad credit themselves, and they want you to experience what they fear for themselves. Don't give them the twisted pleasure of controlling your life. Remember, you always have the option of dropping out of the corrupt credit system for 7 years, living with less credit than many other people, lowering your expectations and your borrowing for a while, and meanwhile applying Butch's inspirational thoughts to something, anything, other than credit.
Correction: I personally don't like dealing with the corrupt credit REPORTING system. Credit itself is a wonderful invention, and I enjoy using it and making my payments on time. If both we and the banks could emphasize credit relationships rather than credit reports, then we'd all be a lot happier, and the parasites at the CRA's and CA's would have to find real jobs, if possible.
lol i'm pretty old here. I used no services, just my own skill and advice from others. i started out with so much bad stuff its not funny. now i have over 190K in mastercard/visa/amex unsecured lines. If you need someone to fix your credit, well you're just plain lazy or rich or something.
Butch, Excellent post! well said. I think that Butch is not talking JUST about credit.... I think he is seeing the glass as half full and saying that if we can overcome this adversity (bad credit, regardless how we got there) we surely will be better prepared for the other curve balls (battles) life has a way of throwing at you. We can learn from our mistakes, if only we are willing to face them, by looking into the mirror. A very wise woman once told me to pick and choose my battles carefully. Bad Credit is one of those battles that I choose to fight. By going through the steps, hassles, and frustration we learn that credit is like trust...... easy to loose and very hard to get. We are forced to examine our habits, motivation, needs, wants and desires. We finally ask ourselves: How in the H*LL did I get HERE? Maybe, just maybe we learn from these mistakes and MIS-STEPS, and vow to change the way we live so that it does not happen again. I printed out Butch's primer and will keep it for reference. I plan on sharing it with my 21 year old son. Not that he will listen, but it never ever hurts to try. When we learn to play the hand that God (life) dealt us, we come out winners. We all are dysfunctional in some way...... some more than others...... what matters is how we handle our misfortunes, how we work through problems and continually strive for the better in life. I do have a question for RichGuy, if you are so against fighting the big bad CREDIT Machine, why are you hanging out here on the credit repair boards? I dunno, but I think Butch has it right. Maybe PsychDoc has some thoughts to share with us? cheers, piggycat
Since RichGuy doesn't "hang out" at the "credit repair boards" as you put it, I'll answer. He has been a member for a long time, but that doesn't mean he spends a lot of time here. If you look at his number of posts, you'll see that 567 in almost 2 years, by comparison, is not too many. Secondly, Creditnet is not just a credit repair board. It is also a place where those with A+ credit gather to talk about the new cc's or the better apr's etc. Does that satisfy your question?
Re: Re: Fix Your Own Credit! Well said! If you address the disease, the symptoms will go away by themselves. If you only address the symptoms, then the disease will only bring them back again.
