The Do It Yourself Bailout

I am an independent film director. In the Spring of 2007, I began shooting an independent, dramatic comedy called "Uncross the Stars."  I had a private investor and it had taken me just over ten years to raise the financing.   As we started production we went over budget, and simultaneously my investor became sick and was hospitalized. It couldn't speak with him at the time about the extra expenses and I had to choose between shutting down the film or covering the costs myself. I ended up putting $212,000 on a half dozen different credit cards. Then my partner (and close friend) passed away. I was left with this massive debt at a time when I couldn't look for other work or generate income because I still needed to finish the film.

My intent was to complete the film and sell it to generate the income to pay off the debt. I continued making monthly payments of nearly $4000 with that goal. Unfortunately, when we had a completed film, the housing market had already tanked, the credit collapse was just beginning, and after more than a year the film still was unsold. I was going through my cash and barely staying current on my mortgage.

Though my debt was incurred making a motion picture, I feel there are many business people who now find themselves in similar predicaments, taking out loans for their businesses and then discovering that the failing economy isn’t generating the same income they are used to for the same amount of work. Perhaps many of these people, like me, also find themselves turning to credit just to cover basic living expenses.

I was 41-years-old and was quite proud of my nearly 800 credit score.  Out of necessity, I made the hard decision to stop making payments on my credit cards for the first time ever. I then spent months taking often more than five calls a day from collection agents. It was a long, frightening, often painful time that, in the end, not only reduced my credit card debt from $212,000 to $30,000, but also taught me a lot of lessons about freeing myself from the emotional pain and anxiety that often accompanies debt.

Eventually, I came through it all a stronger person. I saved $115,000 in written-off debt. I did this without using an agency, many of which are receiving bad press as being disreputable. I observed so many patterns and details of the debt settlement process that I decided to write a book so that others can have all this information to help them work through their own debt.  I put everything in the book, what the collection phone calls were like, how I got my settlement agreements in writing, I even put copies of the agreements and amounts into the book.  

I feel that every person can consider him or herself the C.E.O. of their own corporation, the corporation of “You,” and You have the right to treat debt the same way that businesses do. It is a commodity and the executive's responsibility is to pare it down as best he or she can for the health and well being of the shareholders, which in the corporation of “You” is the family.

I truly feel that the experiences I discuss in "The Do-It-Yourself Bailout" will give people countless insights into how they can negotiate through their credit card debt and emerge healthier, happier people.