Life is about negotiation, never try never know.

I have a client who got into debt management problem with credit cards. The amount outstanding was $55,510. The debt has been 5 years old. He admitted that the problem lies with him, and have committed to pay-off the debt.

The bank has closed his account and served him a letter of demand. After some communication with the bank recovery officers, they allowed him to pay the minimum amount each month, but the 24% p.a. interest still hold. Occasionally, when he missed the date-line, he will receive a humbling phone call from the bank recovery department. He pressed on.

Life of course was tough and many conveniences of life have to be sacrificed or toned down.

My role was to encourage him to keep track of his debt repayment plan.

Recently, he managed to have a bonus of $60,000, and wanted to pay off the debt as reflected on the credit card statement. He called me, and below was what happened:

Client: "Allen, I got a bonus of $60,000. I will be paying off the debt tomorrow."

Me: " I am happy for you. But before you do that, give a call to the bank covery department stating your intend, and ask for a discount in interest."

Client: "Can I do that? My self esteem has been beaten to so low by them that I just want to settle this as soon as possible."

Me: "Life is about negotiation. No harm trying. You owe money to the bank, not the bank officers. Get up and call them."

Client called the bank, and the bank is willing to off-set 10% from the debt upon immediate full settlement. The 10% amount to $5,510, a significant amount to my client.

Life is about negotiation, never try never know*.

(* I learnt this from a wise old man who prefers to be anonymous.)