The year was 2008. I was sitting in front of a credit committee who laid all my poor financial sins in front of me. A small credit union in Waterford, MI to whom I owed $3000 was passionately going through my bank records. Meanwhile, the Countrywide lawyer, to whom I owed $160,000, was silent.
That silence echoed the guilt and shame I felt due to my poor financial decisions. I felt like a failure. I was determined to never let my family and myself down again. The bankruptcy magistrate ordered financial counseling. I thought to myself “bring it on, I never want to be here again….”
This started the Late Frugal journey. I was determined to never sit in front of a creditor committee again. Call me cheap, call me a skin flint, I don’t care – this will never ever happen again. In my late forties I started my late frugal journey. The rest of my life I would aim to owe no one, and to save for retirement. The consumptive lifestyle was over and getting my financial house is order has been one of the most rewarding and satisfying things I’ve ever done.
