I was neck-deep in debt. I had made serious mistakes speculating while thinking I was investing. I borrowed to speculate, and I paid for it dearly. Those were really dark days.
I would drive home but constantly look back to see if anyone was following me. At one point, I thought of running away. I could pack my bags and travel out of the country. But then, running away from a problem has never solved it.
I thought about how I could solve the pending problem. I considered borrowing more to invest in another high-yield opportunity and, from there, repay my debts and meet my obligations. So, I borrowed one more time and put the sum of $10,000 into forex trading.
A trader who came highly recommended would trade on my behalf. I had access to view the platform on my laptop, but I couldn’t control the trade. My problems were about to disappear—or so I thought!
When desperation drives financial decisions, the results are rarely positive. You can prevent costly mistakes by stepping back, reflecting, and planning wisely. Share on XOn the first day of trading, I got a profit of about $50. I was happy. I didn’t know this thing was that sweet. I thought that I should have invested earlier. In my head, I calculated how much I would make in one month. I was smelling financial freedom. I was about to enter my ‘breakthrough.’
I was already thinking of quitting my job. Who needs a job when you can make about $50 daily? God had finally remembered me.
On the second day, I got something like $20. That wasn’t bad. At all, at all, na im bad pass. (At least I was getting something.) Convert it to naira, and I’m still balling. Everything was good. Let it just be constant. Little drops will make a mighty ocean. My God is a good God; yes, He is!
The third day, a Wednesday, was a day I will never forget. I logged on to the platform to see how we were doing. I was alarmed. I saw the fund depleting at an alarming rate. My $10k had become $9k and then $8k.
I called the trader. He asked me to relax, saying the market was turbulent, but he was a professional. I had no reason to be worried; he would gain it back. I wasn’t totally convinced, but what else could I do?
My fate was in his hands. A short while later, I went back to the platform. My heart skipped a beat when I saw a balance of $6k. I called the trader again. Yet the same words meant to be soothing: “Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing. I’m a professional trader,” he said.
I wasn’t comforted at all. Then it became $5k. I broke out in sweat and loosened my tie. I felt my world crashing down around me. Another look at the platform showed a balance of $4k. I called the trader again, but this time he didn’t pick up. My calls rang out.
I wanted him to stop the trade, but he didn’t answer my calls. I was desperate. I couldn’t sit still; I paced all over my office. How could I be so foolish as to entrust my fate into another person’s hands without a background check?
What did I even know about forex trading before jumping into it? Why would I join the bandwagon just because everyone else was doing it?
Investing without understanding is like gambling with your future. Real investment requires knowledge, research, and a focus on long-term value. Share on XI took another look at the platform. My jaw dropped as I saw the $4k become $3k, then $2k, then $1k, and finally $600. The trader logged out of the platform when my balance was $600. I had lost my ‘investment’ and was neck-deep in debt.
When it rains, it pours. That’s how I can describe the feeling. Great sadness overwhelmed me. I was trying to solve a problem, but I ended up in a deeper mess. Everything now looked bleak. I had been a fool, and a fool and his money are soon parted.
When I got home that evening, I couldn’t eat. I tossed around on my bed as sleep refused to come. I just couldn’t wait for morning to come so I could get to the trader’s office. Someone had to pay for this loss.
When day broke, I took my bath and dressed up. I got to the Adeoyo office of the trader before 7 a.m. The sight I met was unprecedented. Almost a hundred people were causing a commotion in front of his office. I went closer to know what was really happening.
Alas, they were people like me who had lost money the previous day. I saw elderly men crying like babies—their whole savings wiped out. The scene made me forget about my own troubles momentarily. I got into my car and drove off like a whipped dog.
I made up my mind to solve my problem by myself. I was in debt, but I wasn’t about to give up. I had had enough of jumping from the frying pan into the fire. It was time to face my reality and craft a practical plan to get out of debt.
Let me assure you, the journey toward a debt-free lifestyle was not an easy one. It was tough, but I achieved it within two years. I repaid ALL debts within that timeframe and started a lifestyle of savings and financial prudence.
I will share the practical steps I took in a subsequent article. Watch out.
“Pay all your debts except the debt of love for others…” (Romans 13:8 (TLB)