As a small child my grandmother use to read to me “The Three Little Pigs”. It had an everlasting impression on me.
The Three Little Pigs
When I was much younger, I had 2 friends that were like brothers to me. In certain ways, we grew up like the three little pigs in many ways.
So today, I’m going to talk about my Pig #1 friend:
My 1st friend, was the most successful of the three of us at first. He made a lot of money and was on his way on becoming a VP at 2 of his former places of employment. He looked exactly like people would expect of VP material. He was tall, very handsome (he had many girlfriends), and was a smooth confident talker.
So why is he my first choice for Pig #1?
Well, he lived the high life, he had a Mercedes, married a spendthrift wife (he got her $15,000 rings), had an expensive country club membership, and went to Disney World almost every year (for a while, starting when his 1st child wasn’t even 2) staying at the ultra deluxe Disney resorts.
At his high point he bought a $590,000 house, while having over $40,000 in credit card debt. I was surprised when I heard that he bought a $590,000 house, especially since he declared bankrupcy years earlier. After the company that he was getting paided the big bucks went out of business, his downfall started. Being the smooth talker that he was, he was able to get out of the $590,000 with minimal losses to him (I think he owed them something like $11,000 or so).
House of Straw
His brother took him in, and Pig Friend 1 lived in his bother’s basement (which is almost like an apartment) for the next 8 months. After that Friend 1 and his wife moved out and then later got a divorce. My friend got another job, but lost it too, when the economy started going sour. He’s been unemployeed for quite a while now, but every now and then he gets great offers that he turns down (mainly because the drives are too long).
He got luck, his Mom and Dad (yeah…), bought him his third house (it was a fixer upper, but still pretty nice). For the last few months his father and brother has been helping him renovate it. I would help also, but I live too far away. His unemployment benefits are about to expire (yeah…), after getting so many extension from the government.
I’m rooting for him (he’s a smart, talented guy), I just hope now that he is divorced, he start to approach life in a more sensible manner.
America is full of 2nd chances, and he has skills…
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Interesting story. I hope this friend will be able to launch a nice comeback and hopefully a few well needed lessons in personal finance.
@Jane
I hope so too, he’s a smart guy in many ways, most of his problems was created by his ex-wife. When he married her, she was already over 20,000 in debt already. It just shows you how the spouse you choose can make a huge difference in your financial well-being.