Accept that some days you’re the pigeon, and some days you’re the statue.

I’m just old enough, a senior at Loyola, to know that one.  And that education started at Lake Park H.S. before that.  I know that money comes, money goes and you’re smart not to spend more than you have.

But at the same time, everyone I know from Roselle where I grew up agrees that you have to borrow money in this life. My tuition would be unaffordable if I had to pay for it now. That’s why I and everyone else takes out student loans. It’s an investment.

I had to take out as different kind of loan reacently, a car title loan. For reasons too complicated to go into, I had to hire a lawyer, and she wanted some money upfront, about $500.  I barely make enough money to buy my food, so that seemed like an impossible amount – but what choice did I have? That’s when car title loans started to make sense to me.  I went to Roselle Title Loans, where they got me money for my old 98 Volvo, and which I can pay back on my schedule.

It was a situation where I definitely was the statue, and I had to go after the pigeons.  The good news is I WON.

By the way Roselle is near Bloomingdale, Hanover Park, Itasca, Medinah, and Wood Dale.

There are a lot of unanswerables in life. Why is “abbreviated” such a long word? Why is lemon juice made with artificial flavor, and dishwashing liquid made with real lemons? Why is the third hand on the watch called a second hand?

My new question is why do the commercials make it look like credit cards are about creating a wonderful happy life for you and your family, but car title loans are looked down upon? Lemme tell you about my credit card story.

I was given three credit cards when I went to college, and here, four years after I graduated, I’ve only gotten more and more debt accumulated. I paid the minimum balances for the last three years, then lost my job at United in the fall (just as well, it didn’t make sense to commute into the city now that they moved there from here in Elk Grove Village). My unemployment checks didn’t come close to covering my expenses, so I had to figure out how to keep them working in case I had to buy something on emergency.

Fortunately, my car is paid for (thanks dad!). So I went to Elk Grove Village Title Loans to see what it was worth. I was able to get a car title loan in less than 24 hours, which helped me make rent and get some car repairs that I might need if I take a job in McHenry County (yeah, who knew?). Either way, it was at a rate that is less than my 29% credit card interest charges.

Which goes to show, it pays to question some things we take for granted in life.

By the way Elk Grove Village is near Wood Dale, Bensenville, Mt Prospect, Arlington Heights, and Wheeling.

My husband’s family is from Arkansas, which is a far distance up here to the Chicago area in Bensenville. They are such hillbillies, they spend more on their pickup trucks than on education. They drive around the country to deer with their cars … on purpose! You can tell how old his mother is by the number of rings in her bathtub. And speaking of his mother, she wanted to tell our kids how to sneak booze into sporting events. Ay carumba!

So when my husband told me he lent his brother $600 to buy an old boat for fishing, I went through the roof. I needed that money for some home improvements we planned on, literally, to fix the roof. So I insisted he come up with ideas on finding that money before winter came.

He found a company called Car Title Loans n Bensenville , where they lend you cash based on the value of your car title. We got a car title loan on his pickup truck for exactly $600 – so now when he pays that off he knows it’s all about him and his brother going fishing on the Fox River. As for me, I buy my fish in the groceria.

By the way Bensenville is near Wood Dale, Addison, Nothlake, Schiller Park, and Elmhurst.

My wife says that if it weren’t for marriage, men would go through life thinking they had no faults at all.

I’m your best example of that. I got a degree in accounting. I keep my car properly serviced and in good condition. I go to the gym and don’t eat hamburgers for lunch.

But apparently I don’t know how to save money. My wife, she’s always looking at ways to save money. Like the jacuzzi we installed off our back patio. We’ve used it twice since putting it in last fall. The first day and the second day it was there. We got it at 50% off. And if you go into the stores these days, it seems like everything’s 50% off. How about that?

Except, even 50% adds up in the debt column. So when we both lost our jobs (funny, but even with extra time on our hands, we’d rather my brother’s kids play sports at Addison Trail High School than soak ourselves outdoors where the neighbors might see us), when we both lost our jobs we had a hard time paying the bills.

That’s when I looked at some assets, our cars, both paid for, as a way to get some emergency cash. I went to Addison Title Loans for a cash advance on both vehicles. It was easy, the online application has changed the car title loan world, and we got money in a day.

So my wife actually acknowledged this solution was a winner. Whew, I’m so relieved to hear that.

By the way Addison is near Villa Park, Lombard, Elmhurst, Wood Dale, and Bensenville.