Another Arizona Walk-Away

[dogatemy]

How does that work, "prepaid" credit cards ? Never heard of that process before. I'm impressed with how thorough and forward thinking you are! Good luck.

Thanks! I think the 'forward thinking' part is nothing more than paranoya. :-P Then again.. it appears the banking sector was out to get us afterall!

The prepaid credit cards are very similar to gift cards except you can use them anywhere they accept Visa or Mastercard. Most of them offer the option of reloading the cards via your bank account or at a local retailer and they charge fees of about $1 per transaction or a $10/month flat fee for unlimited transactions. Just think "Target Gift Card" but you can use it almost anywhere.

For example.. lets say I buy up $5,000 in prepaid Visa/Mastercard cards. If the banks closed or significantly reduced available credit amounts then it would further damage my credit. I would refuse to pay for some period of time, let them close the accounts then settle for 20% of the balances. Since you can withdraw funds from these cards for a fee; I could simply withdraw $1000, settle the $5000 debt (used to buy the prepaid Visa cards) then open secured Visa card accounts to rebuild my credit.

The gamble is that I will be paying interest on that $5000 while I wait to see if the banks are going to reduce limits or close the accounts. At an average of 2% per month.. $5000 would equate to interest payments (on the $5000 credit card debt) and service fees (on the prepaid Visa/MC cards) of about $130/month. If they don't make any changes to my account then I will have spent $500+ over the course of a few months for nothing.

Decisions...decisions...

[dogatemy]

Also, I thought Chase told someone else here with a HELOC that they couldn't do a settlement until after the foreclosure is completed.

You are correct. I was told the same thing by another Chase representative. This leads me to believe the "Chase Loss Mitigation Representative" is living up to his name. He is not trying to mitigate my losses but is looking for information to help mitigate Chase's losses. I am with BinAZ on this one. I think I am just going to send over the hardship and settlement offer letters and keep my personal information to myself. If they want to mitigate their losses then I will suggest they bite the bullet, forego the paperwork and make a deal.

Of course this is Chase we're talking about here. I doubt anything good can come from talking to them.

[snapple candy]

Dog,
I am getting ready to put request for modification in for my HELOC while I am on trial mod program (waiting to see what final mod they offer me before I pull the plug). You mentioned Chase saying a 6K settlement was acceptable. What was the original amount of the HELOC?
I dont like having to provide all this info either. It seems it is part of the process. I am going through the same requirements just trying to get medical bill reductions due to hardship. I cant understand why I have to provide taxes and the like just to get a $350 bill reduced or written off. I cant help but think it all an effort to gain financials to do judgement collections.

[dogatemy]

Dog,
I am getting ready to put request for modification in for my HELOC while I am on trial mod program (waiting to see what final mod they offer me before I pull the plug). You mentioned Chase saying a 6K settlement was acceptable. What was the original amount of the HELOC?

The original amount of the HELOC is up to $35k. My attorney indicated I should be able to settle the debt for 8-15% of the balance which means $6k is overpayment.

I hope this helps!

[dogatemy]

UPDATE:

6/24/09

The calls keep coming.
Citi uses an automated system that calls several times a day. The first call arrived this morning at exactly 7am.

Chase has graduated to a human being from loss mitigation that calls a few times per week. I have been ignoring him because I refuse to provide the documentation he wants. Eventually I will have to answer his call so i'm waiting until I am in the mood.

My FICO score
My FICO was 720 on 3/15/09. My FICO today (6/24) is 573/550. Chase is reporting me 2 payments late and Citi is reporting me 30 days late. I haven't made a payment on either account since 3/1/09.

Credit Card Terminated
I have the following cards with the associated balances..
Chase - 2500/862
Chase - 1100/0
Chase - 2300/1900
HomeDepot - 2500/200

Yesterday my Bank of America card had $2500 in available credit with a $400 balance. This is 2 days after paying off last month's balance.

Today I logged in to find my available credit equals my $400 balance. I am now debating if I am going to continue making payments? I think $400 is appropriate compensation for terminating my account without notice. I can probably settle that account for $40 at some point.

I am still trying to max out my Chase cards. I bought a beautiful Nikon D60 camera, went on vacation for 2 weeks and purchased some gift cards. Today I am going to Costco to buy a 3 year membership and a new, 55" plasma screen TV for the new house. I'm going to stop at Home Depot and buy a few Home Depot gift cards. I still have $1100 to spend after that. I'll figure out something.

After I have maxed out all the cards.. I will begin making the minimum monthly payments on all my accounts for 6 months. If Chase leaves my cards alone then after several months of payments (and the foreclosure process is far behind me) then I will pay off the balances. Otherwise.. $10,000 is just compensation for the hell they put me through. If they want to protect their shareholders value then maybe they should take better care of their better customers.

Moving

The electrician is upgrading the panel to 150amps today on the new house. After that I just need to pull a 30amp/240v circuit for the air conditioner. I also bought some window bars for the back of the house. I'm an engineer so I routinely have thousands of dollars in my customer's computer equipment laying around. A wall full of windows is not enough protection for my taste.

I also need to pull a water line for the refrigerator at the new house.

More talk with the attorney..

I called my attorney again last week and confirmed that moving into the new place will not convert my loan from non-recourse to recourse. I apparently mis-understood our conversation the first time around and assumed I was required to occupy the house in order to retain my non-recourse status. He clarified that although he may have unintentionally alluded to this fact by asking if the house was still my primary residence.

Emotional..

I think this is an exciting time. This excitement is good.. and bad. The good is that I am moving into a beautiful home. The house is cheap enough that I could conceivably have it paid off, in full, by January. This market collapse has allowed me to take advantage of opportunities that I would not have had 5 years ago at the height of the market. My girlfriend is tired of hearing the phrase, "when we move into the new house.. ". For example.. when we move into the new house I can actually cook for her.. I can make my own coffee again.. have friends over without having to say.. "don't fall in that hole over there"..

The bad is the amount of work, effort, money and memories I have in the house. One of my most loved cats passed away in my house. I miss her so much. She is buried in the yard. The idea of some stranger walking on her grave hurts in ways I cannot communicate. My girlfriend and I solidified our relationship hanging new doors and painting the walls together. There was an entire 2 weeks of my life spent pulling new electrical wire because the previous owner's makeshift electrical work would eventually burned the house down.

Chase took all of this from me.

[knownick]

Today I am going to Costco to buy a 3 year membership and a new, 55" plasma screen TV for the new house.

Just so you're not surprised when you get there, Costco only accepts AMEX and debit cards.

[dogatemy]

Just so you're not surprised when you get there, Costco only accepts AMEX and debit cards.

Damnit! Thwarted again..

In that case I shall order online!!What forms of payment does costco.com accept?

Costco.com accepts the following credit cards:

• American Express (the preferred credit card of costco.com)
  To apply for the Costco American Express Credit Card, click here
• Visa
• Master Card
• Discover Card
• Costco Credit Card
• Online Gift Certificates
• Costco Cash Card

[Moe Bedard]

Dog,

Wow, where have I been. This story is classic and so well documented.

I like your style and feel that you are on to "better" life and sometimes you have to go through pain to get that gain. You're learning and growing. You have decided to act instead of saying woe is me.

That gives power to your soul which in turn ignites a light of hope in your eyes. A light that we all need to guide us forward through our dark times. I have always used that light and I now know not to look back too often at the past.

I am not very religious, but I always go back to that serenity prayer and you don't have to be religious to say it. You can replace god with whomever or whatever you may believe in.

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;

That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.

Yeah, look back every once in a while if you need some pain to torture yourself a bit , but by focusing forward, that dark door to the past now becomes your portal to the future and a better life.

In the end you have done the best you can do and did whats best for you and your wife.

[dogatemy]

I am not very religious, but I always go back to that serenity prayer and you don't have to be religious to say it. You can replace god with whomever or whatever you may believe in.

My cat was just diagnosed a few hours ago with partial kidney failure which means she may need routine kidney flushes and other medical work to keep her going. I can afford to get her the medical treatment she needs.

What really makes me sad is knowing there are so many people right now who are having trouble putting food on the table for their children and taking proper care of their 4 legged, loving companions. I was talking to my girlfriend today and she asked how much this was going to cost? My response..

I don't care. My priorities are 1) the mortgage payment 2) food for the cats 3) medical expenses for the cat 4) food for me. I will starve long before I let Liz suffer.

I know so many people here who have love ones who depend on them. I can only hope my story proves that no matter how bad things get; when god, or fate, closes a door... it will eventually open a window.

[Irish Gal]

Hi dog,

I am so sorry to hear about your cat (kidney probs) and understand completely your pain of leaving your deceased kitty behind, too. As a fellow animal lover, I empathize greatly. You are a sensitive soul, and your girlfriend is a lucky woman . A good friend had his beloved dog cremated which helped him greatly, after he lost him. I applaud your 100% commitment to your critter family members as they are so disposable to many in this society, even during good econ times. I too, would spend every last penny I had to save an animal family member. They give sooooo much to humanity, and are treated so poorly many times, in return. I recently read a great book: "Animals As Teachers and Healers" by Susan McElroy. Great, comforting book that only animal lovers might enjoy.
Also, I love how creatively you are handling your housing situation! Keep up the great work in fighting back at the bums, and good luck with your cat. I hope he/she does not suffer too much. Your animals are lucky to have you .

[dogatemy]

Update:

7/1/09

Chase called again..
Received another call from Chase but he did not identify which department he was calling from. He explained that he wanted to see if we could make payment arrangements to get the account up to date. I explained that Chase is responsible for the mess I am in because they terminated my HELOC and the only possible solution at this point is to restore my HELOC to the initial amount, waive all fees and then I would resume payments. He said that he could not do that because, "we have an obligation to protect our shareholders. I'm sure you can understand the risk we would take if you failed to meet your obligations in the future."

hahahahahahahahahaha

oh. Sorry.. I don't think I was suppose to do that outloud.

I responded, "Of course! The shareholders at the Bank of Dave thank you for your call." and I hung up.

7/6/09

Chase HELOC no longer available

I am officially 90 days past due on my mortgage and HELOC. My online access to my Chase HELOC ceased to be available on 6/30:

Account Details
Limited Access to Your Account
Issues with your account are limiting your access. Please call Customer Service at 1-888-215-2800 for more information. Or, find out how to resolve these issues online. Note: If you have a construction loan, please call 1-866-213-0264, option 3.

Credit Cards Maxed
Chase - 0 available of 2300
Chase - 300 available of 1100
Chase - 40 available of 2500
Bank of America - 0 available
Home Depot - 40 available of 2500

Wow.. I worked hard to max out all those cards! Target, Safeway, Home Depot and Ritz Camera appreciate Chase's donation to their shareholders!

Home Depot has scheduled delivery of my 50" Panasonic TV for next week. It is so beautiful!! *sniffles* Thank you Citi!!

Decisions to pay...
I canceled my payments for my Chase credit cards. The largest shareholder at the Bank of Dave has decided he needs to protect the interest of his shareholders and that does not include spending money unnecessarily even if he does feel a bit guilty about that decision.

I am sticking by my decision not to pay Bank of America a dime.

I am leaning towards paying my Home Depot card unless the status of my account changes. The TV is 12 months with no interest and no payment. I bought a $1000 Home Depot card and spent another few hundred dollars on others stuff for the new house. If Citi honors its commitment to me (in the form of a $3500 emergency fund and a 50" Panasonic TV) then I am happy to honor my commitment to them.

The Calls Continue
The calls from Citi and Chase continue but no further action.

Questions about Bankruptcy
I am beginning to think about the next step in this mess. I know my 401k and IRA are both protected by law during bankruptcy and I believe I qualify for $150k homesteader exception for the new house. Would I qualify for bankruptcy if I made $4k/month and Chase filed a $50k lawsuit against me? I am determined not to let them get a dime so I assume I would quit my job and file for bankruptcy to prevent them from garnishing my wages in the event of a lawsuit?

Anyone been sued by a bank or collection agency during the last couple of years? Did they get a judgment?

Any thoughts on the topic would be appreciated.

[snapple candy]

DOG,
I just a got a phone call from B of A myself early this am asking why havent I mad e payment? Geez, do you read the content of the last call? Well by the time we got done, the lady was feeling sorry for me and telling me to take each day one day at a time.
I called B of A 1 mth ago to ask for a 2-3 mth forbearance since my hours drastically cut in May and had to come up with 1st trial mod payment. Well they said we can cut your % rate in half to 4.85% (was at 10.9%) and convert to an installment loan (this is cc). Well the payment amount ended up being the same as what I had been paying so that did me no good. They sad that was al they could do for me. I said OK. stand in line.
If they get a judgement and you file BK, either you discharge or restructure. I know there is homestead exemption but I think depends what state you are in how it applies or if you moved from another state there in the past 2 years, then the previous states exemption amount applies.
Chances are Chase wont sue, they will write off the amount and sell it to a debt collector for pennies. Chase just gave me a 50% reduction in payments and going to match 1st trial mod plan and will mimic final terms. My real estate attorney gave me a few options if I decide to walk. One being I give deed in lu, in exchange for them not coming after me for the HELOC or the best he has been able to negotiate is 20% of the total amount and get payment plans. I have heard others negotiate down to 10%. In my state, the legislators are passing laws that prevent lenders from going after foreclosed homes where they hold both notes and it is 80/20 type loan.
As for collection agency, I do have a friend that had judgment against her. It was sold to a scum bag debt collector. They have tried every trick int he book to collect. If they know where you work, then you are at risk. Probably should talk to a BK attorney. Good luck. Sorry to hear about your cat. I know I havent taken my dogs to the vet in 2 years. My vet was a sweetheart and let me do bartering for surgery on one of them. When the office manager found out I was in foreclosure, she wrote half of it off. Now these are people, I will bend over backwards to pay. Yes, you would think the banks would get it by now.

[dogatemy]

As for collection agency, I do have a friend that had judgment against her. It was sold to a scum bag debt collector. They have tried every trick int he book to collect. If they know where you work, then you are at risk.

Chase knows where I work (and by extension - the collection agency will know where I work) but that is a temporary situation. In all honesty I am really unhappy at my job and everyday I hope something changes to fix that but I do not see that happening anytime soon. The best I can hope for is that someone here will be charitable enough to ask for my resignation.

Thankfully I have enough in savings (401k/IRA) that by January I can cash out my 401k, IRA and have enough to pay off my mortgage. A friend of mine is a CPA and said by converting my 401k to an IRA, withdrawing the IRA in payments of about $20,000/year and living off the girlfriend's income (and cash business) then I can escape paying more than 10% penalty while paying off my mortgage in about 3 years. The $20k/year would be considered income but with a couple of deductions would fall below taxable levels.

[dogatemy]

Update

7/8

Moving
I have finally decided to take the plunge and move to the investment property. The HVAC guy said he can schedule a crane to move the AC unit from my old place to the new one. The cost is $600 which is a far cry from the $2000+ it would cost to install a new one. I bought the A/C to replace the 30 year old, non-working unit that came with the old house. I am probably going to follow my attorney's advice and have an old unit put on the old house before the Trustee Sale but that could be many months from now.

Thoughts about the future..
I have been trying to decide how I am going to deal with Chase and the $35,000 HELOC + $8000 Credit card debt. I have a comfortable amount of equity in the new house so I might offer to sign documents allowing them to put a lean for 60% of the debt on the new house assuming they are willing to forgive the other 40%. This would be ALOT more than the 6% to 15% my attorney suggested I settle for but this would also mean interest and fees would cease and inflation over the next several years will reduce the value of that debt to something more manageable. The idea that I don't have to pay it back until I sell the new house (if I ever sell it) makes this idea much more palatable. I paid $70k for the new house and it appraised for $121k leaving me with about $50k in equity.

The Big B
I have made a final decision that if they touch one cent of my bank account or garnish a single dollar from my paycheck then I will quit my job, wait several months then file for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. This will guarantee they never get another dime. If anyone has filed for bankruptcy then I would appreciate your thoughts on how this has affected you! Are there any unintended consequences that you did not expect?

Roth IRA
I opened a Roth IRA yesterday with E-Trade which is protected by Arizona law from garnishment. This would allow me to, at the very least, withdraw money tax free to pay my mortgage in case I am forced to leave my job because of a wage garnishment. I am also saving at a feverish rate. Right now 34% of my paycheck goes straight into my 401k. I contribute another 19% to my IRA. I am trying to get money into my Roth now. Thankfully my girlfriend has been patient! No more expensive dinners..

Sadness
I am going to miss this house. :-(

[snapple candy]

Dog,
Good luck on the move. Sounds like you have thought this all out. I think its great to get the AC unit and move it! Personally, I wouldnt let Chase know about the new house. I liken it to exposing your underbelly.

My attorney told me the best he could get on my HELOC from Chase is 20% and that would be set up on installment plan. If it means you wont be charged interest for the lifetime of the HELOC, maybe it worth it to go for settlement of 60%. I dont know, it sounds a bit high to me. Have you crunched the numbers on this? I hear the lenders accepting 10 cent on the dollar for cash payouts for HELOCS. Some even giving 3 mths installment plan. That sure sounds like a cheaper , cleaner, way to go.
As cc, I am not paying for 6 mths and hoping to settle for 20-30% in the end. I hear that is the going rate. We'll see if I get there. This all sounds alot better than to quit your job. Maybe I am not seeing something?

[dogatemy]

I wouldnt let Chase know about the new house. I liken it to exposing your underbelly.

Chase will pull a copy of my credit report and do a records search. They are going to be looking for as much information as possible so they can decide how much money they can get from me. Thankfully the first $150,000 in equity on the house is exempt under Arizona law.

My attorney told me the best he could get on my HELOC from Chase is 20% and that would be set up on installment plan. If it means you wont be charged interest for the lifetime of the HELOC, maybe it worth it to go for settlement of 60%. I dont know, it sounds a bit high to me.

When I approached Chase about the settlement; they demanded a bunch of documentation. Did Chase ask for documentation as a part of your settlement or did they just blindly accept 20%? I am only about 3.5 months behind. I suspect they may be willing to accept a settlement without my financials after the foreclosure process is complete. They stopped calling at the 90 day mark which leads me to wonder what they have up their sleeve?

[fallacy]

dogatemy - Sorry to hear what it has come to. The moving process is never fun, and the memories of the pets don't make it any easier. May you find peace.

[dogatemy]

7/10

Chase Loss Mitigation Called Again
I just received a call from a nice sounding fella from Chase Loss Mitigation. He wants to know what my intentions are regarding the $35,000 HELOC? I reminded him of our last conversation saying I have no intention of handing over any paperwork. He says they can't accept a settlement without paperwork because "the government may audit the books and want to know why we're settling for pennies on the dollar". I know this is complete BS because Chase already repaid the TARP funds. Of course he followed this up with, "well.. let me ask management if they will accept a settlement with just a hardship letter".

"Let me remind you that Chase is the reason my house is in foreclosure. Chase got greedy and wanted to raise my interest rates. Their greed burned them. Chase now has an opportunity to recover some funds and if they get greedy again then they won't get anything. I will file for Chapter 7 and they won't get a dime."

He said he would "ask the question on Monday and get back to me".

[ugh_2009]

I have to say, the Bank of Dave Loss Mitigation department is doing a fine job.

[snapple candy]

Dog, I am starting to understand the thought process behind your strategy re: BK and all. It took me awhile but I got it.

Yes, Chase did ask me for financials but I only got a trial mod at this point and provided it for them. I make very little and that job is gonna end soon anyways and I told my lawyer I wont be earning much for a few years anyways and by then I can file BK again if I have to. They cant garnish my child support either so I am not worried about a judgement. No settlement as of yet with the 2nd. I am waiting till the final 1st mod terms before I make a decision to walk and/or if I dont like what they offer, play hardball with them and see where it takes me. I am prepared to walk if thats what needs to be done.
I suspect you are right that Chase will accept a settlement without your financials.
I gotta agree with Ugh, Bank of Dave is doing pretty good! I imagine you can craft a pretty darn good hardship letter too!
Chase sent me a promotional offer to open a bank account with them by way of a $100 check. Like Im stupid enough to put my money in their bank so they can monitor it and tap funds if they want. I will open an account to at least get the hundred bucks and do electronic trial mod payments.

[dogatemy]

Yes, Chase did ask me for financials but I only got a trial mod at this point and provided it for them. I make very little and that job is gonna end soon anyways and I told my lawyer I wont be earning much for a few years anyways and by then I can file BK again if I have to.

What is your situation? How much do you owe Chase? What were the terms of the loan mod?

It is nice to have exempt income!

[snapple candy]

Hey Dog,
My first was 300K but add on the 1 year delinquent payments (thanks to WAMU for dragging it out) its about 330K. My HELOC is 30K. I put 75K down 3 years ago. Owe 360K + my 75K down and two brokers now say it is worth 250K so I am underwater 110K plus out 75K of my own that I might as well kiss off. It would take 7-10 years just to break even I suppose. The first trial mod is just that- 3mth MHA trial mod (31% of gross income) and I am just getting ready to make 2nd trial mod payment. I contacted Chase about the HELOC about 6 weeks ago and faxed them the same MHA application for the first. ABout 2 weeks ago, they called me and when I told them I was on the MHA program for the first, they immediately offered to lower the 2nd lien payment by 50% - its $45 a month. They didnt want to talk about extinguishing it. Just that when the 1st perm mod goes thru, they would match the terms.
I am going to school right now because no decent employment opportunities. Hopefully by the time I get out of school, the job picture will improve. I am considering moving if I have to get decent work. I feel like I dont really have much choice and I am tired of being so broke and hanging on by a thread.

[dogatemy]

Update

7/14

The Move
Everything happened on Friday:

- The electrician finished upgrading the breaker box from 100 amps to 150 amps
- The electrician pulled a 30amp circuit for the AC unit
- The HVAC guy called to say the crane moved the AC unit from the house to the investment property on Friday
- The AC unit is connected and working

Great timing considering the investment property is poorly insulated and the temperature on Saturday was 115. Sunday was not much better! The AC unit ran from noon on Friday until 3am on Saturday before reaching 80 degrees in the house.

The move itself is going pretty smooth. I rented a UHaul so a friend and I could move all the heavy stuff on Saturday before it got too hot. Now I am running back and forth moving the little stuff as I need it. I think the entire move could take weeks. At least this way I could check on the house on a semi-regular basis.

Insulation
I am going to buy 60 bags of insulation next paycheck. It should take several hours to spray all 60 bags into the attic. The plan is to start at 5am and hopefully I will be done by noon. The cost is about $11 per bag which should total $660. I can get a 30% tax credit on next year's return which brings the cost down to $462. Hopefully that will cool down the house a bit!

Turned off Utilities
I turned off water, sewage, trash. electric, satellite and Tivo on the "old house". I am setting up a home theater PC so we can watch TV on the computer and we'll record public broadcast TV shows (like Desperate Housewives and Star Trek) using old rabbit ears and with BeyondTV's DVR software.

I have been paying utilities for both houses for a few months now. I calculated that paying for both houses cost me about $400-500 more than absolutely necessary. I am worried about the trees dying for lack of water so maybe I can pay my neighbor to let me borrow his hose so I can water the trees once a month until someone moves in. I would dig them up and take them with me if I thought I could get away with it!

Rent-a-Moon
I have decided I wouldn't mind renting a room or two in the new place to recover some of my costs and prepare for the possibility of bankruptcy. Would be nice to have some income during the year of unemployment I will face when filing for Chapter 7.

Of course.. after checking on Craigslist.. I have some doubts:

"single very good looking guy seeking a room to rent from a open minded landlord. i sleep nude, sometimes walk around nude. i bring girls home, i like 3 ways and couples, i quess you could say i am a swinger too. on the flip side i am pretty normal, i do work, non smoker, no drugs, light drinker, and no pets or drama. 32 and latino......so dont judge, and a roomy is a roomy "

I asked my girlfriend if she would object to a "very good looking Latin guy wandering around naked". Hehehehehe. She said I could always use a "very good looking, latin pool boy". For some reason I think she might be a bit biased towards the male *** when it comes to pool maintenance.

Of course, in order to rent a room I need to get the cooling costs under control otherwise I will be sleeping in the pool! I don't want some guy paying $500 to rent a room only to complain the place is always warm.

Target
I bought a Mr Coffee Espresso Machine. Thank you Bank of America!! *sniffles* Aren't they such nice people? It is not everyday that a lender like BofA gives you a $500 gift card.

For those of you who don't know.. I spend about $2300/year at Starbucks. (Which is pretty much all of my disposable income). I plan to cut that figure in half by making my own lattes. Some people suggest I just cut down on my coffee consumption. What they do not understand is that everyone has their own addiction. For some (like my girlfriend) it is purses and makeup. Mine is coffee. For others it can be cigarettes, gambling, *** or religion. If someone gives up one addiction then they just substitute it for another which usually ends up being worse than the addiction they gave up. For example.. if you give up cigarettes then you replace it with food. Thankfully my addiction is cheaper than most and completely legal.

Okay.. seriously.. the balance on the Target Gift card is $24.00 and Bank of America insists I give them more money otherwise they won't give me any money back. *sigh* Capitalist bastards.

I guess future Target purchases will come out of my paycheck for now on..

Change? Can you spare some change?
I did some calculating and right now I need $10,061 to pay off my mortgage. For those South Park fans out there..

Can anyone spare some change??

Girlfriend says I should just put my own ad up on Craigslist.

[Irish Gal]

Update

Target
I bought a Mr Coffee Espresso Machine. Thank you Bank of America!! *sniffles* Aren't they such nice people? It is not everyday that a lender like BofA gives you a $500 gift card.

For those of you who don't know.. I spend about $2300/year at Starbucks. (Which is pretty much all of my disposable income). I plan to cut that figure in half by making my own lattes. Some people suggest I just cut down on my coffee consumption. What they do not understand is that everyone has their own addiction. For some (like my girlfriend) it is purses and makeup. Mine is coffee. For others it can be cigarettes, gambling, *** or religion. If someone gives up one addiction then they just substitute it for another which usually ends up being worse than the addiction they gave up. For example.. if you give up cigarettes then you replace it with food. Thankfully my addiction is cheaper than most and completely legal.

You are too funny! I think you're our new "cactus7777" (an old member here who foreclosed and moved on ...)! The site has not been the same w/out him so your smart humor is a breath of fresh air! I'm a Starbucks (or gourment coffee) snob myself. Let us know how that Target expresso machine works. I may invest in one. I also heard you can get Starbucks coffee (by the lb) at discount stores at half the price they charge in the actual stores. Right now, my "addiction" is gourmet (any good brand) "vanilla bean" ice cream, big time! I'm only a smidge overweight and can hide my ice cream addiction pretty well, as it's easy to hide that extra 15 lbs, if you're not 5'2, which I'm not . Sometimes, I even have a big cup of strong java along w/ a big bowl of ice cream and I'm in heaven . True heaven! Thanks for the entertaining post, dog! woof woof

[dogatemy]

You are too funny! I think you're our new "cactus7777" (an old member here who foreclosed and moved on ...)! The site has not been the same w/out him so your smart humor is a breath of fresh air!

The Target machine works great! I just bought a pound of the Starbucks Espresso coffee at Target. The problem is I am a night person so I am awake until 1-3am but I have to be up for work at 8:30am. I just can't seem to bring myself out of bed early enough to make my coffee.

Ironically I am entitled to 2 x 15 minute breaks and a 30 minute break during an 8 hour day at the office. I used to stop at Starbucks on my way in but if I were 2 minutes late then my boss would get really mad. About 2 years ago I finally said, "look.. I can go to Starbucks before I show up and be 2 minutes late or I can go to Starbucks during my break and end up taking 30 minutes because of the line". He confessed that my coworkers were complaining because I was allowed to be late but they weren't so he would not object if I went to Starbucks during my 'morning break'.

Now I wander in at 8:30am like a zombie, check my email then leave from 8:45am to 9:15 or 9:30am for Starbucks.. wait 2 hours... take 30-45 minutes for lunch.. wait 3 hours for another 30 minute Starbucks run before wasting some time reading the paper and trying to stay occupied until 4pm. 8:30am to 4pm is only 7.5 hours but that is all I can manage to commit without resorting to suicide or medication.

Now.. if I could somehow manage to keep some Butter Pecan Ice Cream in the office then I would be right there with you! I'll just have to suffer without until 10-11pm when I can sit down with a good bowl of ice cream and Starbucks.. *sigh*

I will echo your sentiments. I miss Cactus7777. I haven't seen any posts from him in a long time. You know.. I thought about approaching a publisher and working on a book deal. We could write a book based on some of the stories found in these forums. The book could be named after Magic Kingdom for Sale - SOLD!. Our book would be called, "American Dream for Sale - SOLD! To the chinese guy in row 3.. "