What Happened To Me

My credit problems began after my parents passed away. Being paralyzed in 1967, my life looked pretty bleak. As a sixteen year old quadriplegic, there weren't very many employment options on the horizon. Like so many millions of others, I sold Amway for a few years, my Mother and Father making my deliveries for me, while I sold products over the phone in my small community. I had loyal customers and I always had money for new clothes or some electronic gadjet, but I never made any REAL money. Things changed when I attended Michigan State University-I got a pre-approved student credit card!!

Being naturally frugal, I used the card sparingly. I could pay for a new stereo or speakers and pay it off in a few months. I developed a good credit history before I graduated.

After graduation, I flew to England and stayed with a friend for about six weeks, thinking I would return to my parents home to begin my job and apartment searches. Unfortunately, my Father passed away shortly after I returned home and I decided to stay where I was so my Mother would not be alone.

I began hiring people as home health aids but in the good financial times of the mid-eighties, most of the people that answered my minimum wage job had less than stellar backgrounds.

I enrolled in a stockbrokers education course in Detroit, and the pre-approved credit cards began to roll in. When the cards numbered ten or so, the credit line I owned reached nearly $300,000.

I earned my state and federal brokers licenses and began working in Flint, Michigan. The caregivers took notice. As my income rose, so did the needs of others. "can you loan me ..." became a never ceasing request, and I, being grateful for their help would write up a contract and access an empty card. What a mistake! If they didn't pay, I had to, or damage my credit. If I fired them, they lost the ability to repay me. If I let them go and sued them, how do you collect? I slowly became deeper in debt.