We don’t generally have to deal with collections.  To my knowledge I have been ahead or on time with all of my payments for a year and a half.  Unfortunately this last Saturday we got a call form a store credit card collection agency that I was completely unaware of.  My wife was also unaware of the problem as we ran into some issues with email notification and spam filters combining to a net gain of nothing and a net loss of a stupid interest rate and late fee.  We’ve paid the card and now we’ll cancel it.  I don’t like store cards and I don’t know why this one was signed up for, I think my wife was offered tremendous savings of some sort.  We’ve lost the savings, but gained a lesson.

When dealing with a collection person remember several things about their job:

1. Their job is to get money from you
2. They are rewarded for getting money from you
3. They are trained to ignore your personal situation and to demand money
4. They hear all sorts of everything every day and are numb to what you have to say
5. Rational discussions don’t mean anything because their job is not to be rational, it is to get money from you

So in dealing with these people, and they are people, though they may seem like monsters or jerks or rude people, just realize that their job is not to wave fees, reduce penalties, take your side, or help you get things straightened out.  In fact, in most cases you shouldn’t even talk to them.  The best way to deal with them is to not deal with them.  Instead, if you get a call from a collections agency, find out who it is they’re collecting for and then call the company they’re collecting for and bypass their job’s inherent socially aggressive issues.

Remember that they’re trying to figure out your payer type.  That is they’re looking for the type of person you are to find the argument that will talk you into paying them right now, which means they get rewarded. As soon as they get rude tell them they can stop being rude and work with you or you’ll hang up.  They may respond in various ways, but in the end don’t let their attitude cause you to get worked up.  This is what happens to me when I’m discussing things with people and they begin to ignore intellect and rationality.  They know that if you’re emotionally charged that this will get you to act one way or another.  Don’t let them get you worked up.  Hang up first.

Remember that if you’re legitimately in debt to someone you should attempt to pay it as soon as possible, but don’t let their problem be your problem.  Tell them that you’re glad to know the total you owe and you’ll figure out how you can go ahead and pay it on your time and schedule.  Say, “Thank you, good-bye,” and then hang up.  Don’t give them a foot in the door.  Hang up and then genuinely figure out how you can pay your debt and put it behind you.

If you’re a newer reader you may not be familiar with the Credit Rate Reduction Rally.  One of the purposes behind the rally was to build a movement that is about optimizing interest rates for people paying off debt.  In my case doing this on one of our cards reduced the interest we’re paying per month (which also includes a lower balance from making payments) by $125.00 a month.  That would be like saving roughly $1,400.00 in one year’s time [calculated loosely with the assumption of a reducing balance with minimum payments].  Or three Nintendo Wii’s, several car payments, a very, very nice bottle of wine, a Mac Book with memory upgrade, or a nice donation to a charity.

Have you sat down and calculated how much money you might save by getting your interest rates reduced?  Be persistent, be consistent, and make them change your interest rate.  It could change your future!

I will more than likely enjoy my economic stimulation check for all of two seconds as I flip it over, sign it, and then cash it in at my bank.  Upon actually receiving the funds in my account it will go towards paying off my debt.  The ‘fun’ of the spending money will be gone in a flash, but the excitement of being that much close to debt free is there.  In fact last night I got paid for some work and that money is going straight into the debt snowball.  Five hundy down in all principal since I’ve already made the normal monthly payment on  the Disguster Discover card.  It is this kind of extra payments that are exciting, but at the same time are a monument to my folly.

There are very few things in life that don’t come with lessons, but when they kick your pocketbook, the lessons feel a little more like sandpaper than satin.  I’ve found that each check gets me closer to the short term goal of debt paid off, but serve as a reminder, as I sign them,  that I’m signing off on the consequences of my previous stupidity.  I don’t say that to be melancholy, but more to emphasize that I recognize the consequences of past actions, and in the future, as I sign other checks after having my debt paid off, I’ll be signing them as a monument to where I’ve been, where I’m going, and to help build the foundation of the long term goal: financial independence.

Do you care about your economic stimulation check’s arrival date?  I figure that a few months difference in interest payments can be somewhat important, but the short term difference to me is insignificant.