I was born to two immigrant parents, who, insofar as love, affection, providing, were the absolute best parents a kid could ever ask for. My dad was the hardest working person I have ever known (and likely ever will know), working a hard manual labour construction job, usually 10+ hrs a day. He did so to be able to provide as best as he could for my mum and I. Up until I was 13, we rented a small apartment in Toronto, but at that age, my parents decided they wanted a house (despite not being able to afford one on our single-income finances), so my mom got help from her brother for a downpayment, and we got into a house north of the city, in the suburbs. I was never "taught" finances at home, and never paid attention in school or cared to learn them on my own, so it was largely never discussed, outside of the odd argument I'd hear between my parents about money.
A few years into living at the new house, my mom talked my uncle (who lives overseas, and who at the time was doing much better) into investing into a second home as a rental property that would only increase. Which it of course did. That house was flipped, small profit made, and another bought, which remained for about 15 years with various tenants.
Despite my dad working like a dog, his pay could never cover all the bills, but this was always kept from me, I always thought we were fine, and I kind of just blew any money I made in my 20's on random stuff, no savings to speak of. Again, finances were never really discussed.
In my early-20's, as I was in the midst of establishing myself (and on an upward trajectory) in my respective field (creative field), my father got diagnosed with a really awful illness, which by my mid-late-20's ultimately took him from us. I didn't get a whole lot out of my 20's, but that's okay, and I wouldn't change a thing, because I was at home helping with dad, getting to enjoy what time I had with him (despite the ugly nature of the illness and how it changes the sufferer).
This now left my mum and I alone, with her in imperfect health as well, and my income shoddy at best. But it also forced me to finally better familiarize myself with the financial situation... which, when I did, I had a major breakdown, and, frankly, have not been the same since. It very much robbed me of any "colour" I had in my already mediocre life. I suddenly felt that this great big burden, which entailed second mortgages and lines of credits on both houses, fell on my shoulders, and felt overwhelmed and stuck in the truest sense of the word, totally unable to escape. My relation with my mom also suffered temporarily, but we bounced back- even with this slew of financial havoc, she is still my mom, and I love her more than anything... I won't let even an insurmountable debt tarnish my perception of her, or our very special relationship.
In time, I suppose what was inevitable happened, and she was forced to sell the second property, only coming away with something like $100k (on an almost $2mm home at present market value)... that should illustrate, in part, how bad the situation was. I had another breakdown when this happened, not because I saw what I thought might someday be my inheritance-- I never thought that; I always knew there'd never be anything, and have always been fine with that, not expecting a thing-- go up in flames, but because it was the end of something I know my parents worked so hard towards, and hoped would someday lead to a more comfortable life for them (which, sadly, they never had- and it kills me to know how hard my dad worked, only to come away with absolutely nothing).
That just recently happened, and, well, really lit a fire under my butt to at the very least start getting my own financial situation in order, which is why I'm posting here.
I don't know what awaits my mum and I- specifically, our living situation. More than likely she will be forced to sell our primary residence of the past 20 years as well. I'm totally fine with that- it stinks to see the house I spent my formative years in have to go, but if it's what's necessary, so be it.
I have no semblance of a social or romantic life for various reasons, partly due to all that transpired throughout my 20's, and just wanting to work on myself before I get to that. I'd love nothing more than to have a family of my own, but for the time being, it's just a distant dream (for various reasons). But what is important now is that I will have to be the primary bread-winner obviously, but more than that, that I get my financial situation, spending habits, and credit situation in order so as to set myself up for a future that is hopefully not near as destitute as that which my parents found themselves in.
My line of work, in the creative industry I work in, is inconsistent at best, which has forced me to, after 12 years in the industry, look elsewhere. I see it as lost time, but also experience gained. Time to grow up and move on, and seek out something stable with room to grow. I never finished college, so am not sure what that might be, but I'm open to pretty much anything. I'm great with people and words, so some have suggested a career in sales, which goes against most everything I've ever believed in, but, again, time to grow up and do what's best for my mum and I. I am actively looking for work, but of course still accepting paid commissions in the field I have worked in for the past decade+. Additionally, I have a smaller scale "side business", mostly for cash, which I've done for the past 6-7 years, which I'm looking to take legit and incorporate, and ideally build up to the point I'll be able to open a storefront eventually. Some friends are advising I keep it online and build it that way for the time being, while some others suggest I draw up a business plan and present to investors with the same enthusiasm I pitched it to them with. But that's all secondary, even tertiary, to what I want to focus on now.
That side business has made it such that I've got some liquid assets I could sell off, which were bought as investments (and have already yielded nice returns in a short period), the profit of which I was planning to put back into it, to keep growing and generating, BUT being about $30k in CC debt, I'm thinking of getting out of some of these assets and paying down at least 1/3-2/3 of this debt. My credit score has greatly suffered the last year, going from 680 down to 570 currently, the lowest it's ever been, and I desperately want to fix that, again, hoping that a good credit score will someday come in clutch when applying for a mortgage, car loan, whatever. I hate having that CC debt looming over me, only ever making minimum payments which only ever cover the interest... The debt spans about 8 cards from 3-4 banks... all maxed out long ago. It was an awful way to go about it, I'm only now recognizing that- better late than never, I suppose. And of course it's not fun to pay it off now, months/years later, but I'm trying to be responsible for once. Learning as I go...
I don't exactly know the point of posting this lengthy story here... It's partially just to get this all off my chest, to have in writing at least part of what I aim to achieve (so that I can hopefully look back in a year or two once I'm at least partially out of this hole), but also a plea for your general advice on what you'd suggest I do outside of the obvious (which is to find a steady job and pay off the CC debt).
I have a friend who often talks about opportunity cost, and I know he'd say to keep the money in the appreciating assets which would continue to make me more money as I sell them and use the profit generated to get into new ones which would also generate more income (basically flipping), but I feel like that'd keep me locked in for too long, and I really just want to start paying down this debt ASAP.
But besides that... and besides getting into a steady job... what all should I be doing to set myself up for a relatively comfortable future? I am presently at rock bottom, and am ready to accept any and all necessary changes required to put me on the right path.
My apologies for the long post... I wanted to be as thorough as possible in conveying my situation and my aspirations... I greatly appreciate, in advance, any and all advice you might be able to offer.

I have the Chase Sapphire Preferred card and I'm not seeing much of a benefit in terms of rewards. I use it for nearly all of my purchases. I don't travel very often right now, but may travel more in the future (not in the very near future but in the distant future after I save up some money) so I don't want to rule out the possibility that I may use points for flights and hotels in the future.
Most of my purchases are in groceries, dining/takeout, gas, retail shopping (in store and online), health and wellness, and other bills. I sometimes spend money on entertainment (mostly streaming services, music) but am trying to save money right now so haven't made a lot of purchases.
Which card(s) would be best to get to maximize my rewards or cash back?
Additional details:
-Excellent credit score (770-780)
-Have not applied for any cards for over 3 years
-Annual income: ~$130k
-Have an Amazon prime membership, but only order from Amazon occasionally (don't go there for regular day to day purchases)
-I have 2 other credit cards that I never use:
(1) Chase Southwest (I have no clue why I have this card; I opened it many years ago for a promo offer when I needed points for a trip) and(2) Barclay Ring card - terrible card. No rewards. I opened it several years ago just for the balance transfer of 0% APR when I was trying to pay off my credit card debt over a period of time without incurring interest.
I am not loyal to Chase and am open to other banks. My checking account is at Chase, which is why I started there with credit cards.
Thanks!

We provide online digital payments across 150+ payment modes Over the last 10 years such as Credit Cards, Debit Cards, Net Banking, EMI, BNPL, QR, UPI, and wallets including Amazon Pay.

Hi all,
I have been a Discover credit card using for over 10 years and got their saving account a few months ago.
I tried to create a CD account online, and at the end of the application for a 10k deposit, I have use my phone for take photo of ID and selfie, to call them for verification.
They then asked me to get a notary form signed, and I figured out that requires me to print out a form and make an appointment at a nearby bank for this. They also told me this form is valid for 90 days, and after that if I have to make a CD deposit again, I have to go through the same procedure.
I wonder for those who have applied a CD account there recently, do you have to go through the notary step? It's really troublesome for just make a fixed term deposit, using the money at Discover saving account.
Jake

My partner and I would like to get a joint credit card, it looks like the only banks in NZ that do truly joint credit cards are ASB, BNZ, Kiwibank, and Westpac. Does anyone know of any other banks or have any recommendations from those four please?

Hello,
Background, I met my husband when I was still in college studying to be a school teacher, I was a single mom, having a child at 16. He worked in “banking” coming from a extremely small town in Arkansas I assumed he was a bank teller. He was actually an investment banker. We fell in love, got together, etc. Now after several years of long distance (5) and getting him through business school (2) we have finally been in the same place consistently for the last two years. When we moved in together he got us joint credit cards. That year my daughter started middle school so I cut back on flying (I am a flight attendant) to stay with her to navigate her first year of middle school. During that time I made about 15,000 that year. I used the joint credit card to purchase household goods and household expenses. Whether it was a gift for a neighbor who just had a baby or we needed a rental car for the weekend to visit his parents, etc. I used the joint credit card because it was not in my particular budget. Anyway, now a year later, he’s declared me a criminal…having stole money from him…I feel exhausted because I am the only one who takes care of our home, our pets, mowing and maintaining our yard etc. I flew maybe once a month at that point but felt like our home like was a full time job in of itself..now we do not share money, I am flying 12-18 days a month, subbing at my daughters school, keeping up with household chores (we are very southern, living in Philly now, but I am expected to do laundry, dishes, trash, etc) living paycheck to paycheck. He’s a VP at a private equity fund now, making over almost 400,000 a year. I feel like I’m hitting rock bottom. I live paycheck to paycheck, with no room for savings. What is going on? And am I being greedy? He says he pays for our mortgage and I should be grateful. But living in a one bedroom apartment with my daughter I feel like we were so much happier and now I feel like I’m teetering on the edge of a panic. I’m exhausted and scared and I just don’t know if this is normal? It doesn’t feel normal. Am I expected to do the indoor house work, outdoor house work, and work full time? And also, not to mention pack his bags, bring him water if he is thirsty, bring him his chargers or anything on demand, all while juggling my day to day responsibilities. I feel like I’m cracking at the seams, help, advice, anyone?

CREDIT PROFILE

• Current credit cards you are the primary account holder of:
  • CSP - $30k Limit - Opened in 2018
  • BoA Customized Cash Rewards - $20k Limit - Opened in 2012
• FICO Scores with source (see note on FICO score sources below):
  • 796
• Oldest credit card account age with you as primary name on the account: 10 years
  • Number of personal credit cards approved for in the past 6 months: 0
  • Number of personal credit cards approved for in the past 12 months: 0
  • Number of personal credit cards approved for in the past 24 months: 0
• Annual income $: $250k

CATEGORIES

• OK with category-specific cards?: Yes
• OK with rotating category cards?: No
• Estimate average monthly spend in the categories below. Only include what you can pay by credit card.
  • Dining $: $600
  • Groceries $: $800 (Most groceries are done at TJ and Safeway)
  • Gas $: $200
  • Travel $:
    • Flights: $800
    • Hotels: $600
    • UbeLyft: $100
• Do you plan on using this card abroad for a significant length of time (study abroad, digital nomad, expat, extended travel)?: No
• Any other significant, regular credit card spend you didn't include above?: $1000 (Shopping, including Amazon)
• Can you pay rent by credit card? No

MEMBERSHIPS & SUBSCRIPTIONS (delete lines that don't apply)

• Current member of Amazon Prime?: Yes
• Current member of Costco? Yes
• Current member of Chase, US Bank or any other big bank?: Chase and BoA
• Are you open to Business Cards?: No

PURPOSE

• What's the purpose of your next card (choose ONE)?: SUB and Cashback
• Do you have any cards you've been looking at? Amex Blue Cash Preferred for Groceries, Chase Trifecta, Citi Premier

I have been living under a rock and finally catching up on how to best utilize credit cards. I'm looking to get at least 2 more in the near future and start building from there to maximize cashback and rewards. I will have a significant purchase in the near future ~$10k (In the next 2 months probably) so I would like to maximize the rewards. I also read that I could downgrade my CSP and then re-open it to get the SUB. Will I lose any of my UR points if I do that?

Hi po! Ask ko lang if what are the banks that offer credit cards for first time members. Yung hindi na required to have a primary card for you to get another one. And also the easiest and fastest approval if ever. Thanks!

Hi all,
I'm a newbie, working with a small business that is located in Canada, with a Canadian bank etc, but making a lot of CC purchases in USD (tech industry, not avoidable). As a result, almost 50% of the transactions picked up by QB don't match the invoices. What's the best way to deal with this to avoid a lot of data corrections and manual entry: I'm thinking tell the owner to get two credit cards, one in CAD and one in USD?
Any thoughts? Thank you for your help.

TLDR: Where can we fly business class from North Carolina internationally for the most bang for our buck using Chase Sapphire and BOA rewards points?
Hi there! This may not be a reasonable question to ask, but my fiancé and I are starting to brainstorm what we want to do for our honeymoon next fall (Sept 2024). We are putting all of our wedding expenses and other big purchases on a Chase sapphire rewards card with plans to use any accumulated points towards the honeymoon. As of right now we’ve accumulated about 93,000 points and we anticipate that we will probably have close to 120/130,000 by the time we are ready to book. Additionally, he has 70,000 rewards points through his Bank of America travel credit card that he’s had since college. Long story short, we are really flexible on destination, but basically just want to combine relaxation and adventure as much as we can and we are looking to do anywhere from 10 to 14 day honeymoon. We would love to have the experience of flying business class for the first time on our honeymoon, especially since we are looking to go to an international destination (we are based in North Carolina, USA) and we’re trying to figure out where we could get the most bang for our buck using the points to cover as much of the business class flight as possible. Any suggestions or tips on places to go or ways to use the points smartly? Thanks a bunch!

CREDIT PROFILE
* Current credit cards you are the primary account holder of: (list cards, limits, opening date): 0
* FICO Scores with source (see note on FICO score sources below): 757 (Chase Credit Journey)
* Oldest credit card account age with you as primary name on the account: NA
* Number of personal credit cards approved for in the past 6 months: Haven't Applied
* Number of personal credit cards approved for in the past 12 months: Haven't Applied
* Number of personal credit cards approved for in the past 24 months: Haven't Applied
* Annual income $: 45,760
​
CATEGORIES
* OK with category-specific cards?: If it best fits me
* OK with rotating category cards?: If it best fits me
* Dining $: I rarely dine out but with cash back benefits I will at least 1-2x a month; UberEats/DoorDash 60-120/m (cutting back on this)
* Groceries $: 150-200/m (SafeWay Supermarket, Me & my brother usually splits the total); Farmers Market $20-40/every 2 weeks
* Gas $: 0
* Travel $: $300-500 Flights every 6-7 months (Southwest);
Turo Car rentals $200-350 (when traveling or in general whenever I need to drive somewhere. This is occasionally);
Lyft/Uber $30-50/month;
* Any other categories (examples: phone/internet, insurance) or stores (example: Amazon) with significant, regular credit card spend (the more you specify, the better): $50-100 for Amazon each paycheck on any household or personal items
* Any other significant, regular credit card spend you didn't include above?: Personal Shopping $100-150 every now & then (This is Occasionally)
* Can you pay rent by credit card? If yes, list rent amount and if there's a fee for paying by credit card: Rent $500 (I live with my brother); Credit Card Fees: Amex: 3.00%, Visa: 2.20%, MasterCard: 2.20%, Diners: 2.20%, Discover: 2.20%, JCB: 2.20%, UnionPay: 2.20%)
​
MEMBERSHIPS & SUBSCRIPTIONS, Current member of
Amazon Prime?: $8.26
* Adobe Membership: $19.99
* PlayStation Network: $9.99 (canceling this)
* Current member of Chase, US Bank or any other big bank?: Banking with Chase
* Are you open to Business Cards?: Yes, I have a Successful Clothing Brand but don't need this at the moment.
PURPOSE* What's the purpose of your next card (choose ONE)?: First Credit Card
* If you answered "first credit card", are you an authorized user on any other cards? Yes my moms with Capital One
* Do you have any cards you've been looking at? QuickSilver, SavorOne, Chase Freedom Unlimited, DiscoverIt Student
​
*I am a college student and as you can tell I don't really have that many expenses monthly and save a significant amount from my paychecks. I have a schedule of when I would pay for things and I believe most of my daily expenses can be paid with a credit card\*

My credit card payment date for SMBC is set to the 26th of every month. But, this month (May 26th) I could not pay the credit card bills because my bank balance was insufficient.
I have not received any emails or letters from the bank yet.
Do you guys know what would happen in such a case?
I'll have the money on May 31st. Will they deduct it then or on June 10th?
Do I need to go to the bank and pay in person?
Any help is appreciated. Thank you. :)

8 weeks now, almost a full days worth of hours on the phone, half on hold, been told over 10 times now "it has been escalated and we will have an answer in 24-48 hours" and nobody ever calls me.
I was sent a damaged replacement for my faulty 3090 and now I have been charged the $2400 Advanced RMA collateral for not returning my GPU on time, after I was told by two separate supervisors that they had the tracking number (because they made me the label as some sort of garbage consolation for their fucking abysmal warranty process) and that as long it was in transit before the due date (May 28th, a fucking Sunday) that I would not be charged, and then they charged me today even though I shipped it before the 28th.
EDIT: I considered it last week already and didn't do it, but fuck it, I emailed a multi-paged detailed account of this nightmare to Gamers Nexus. Maybe they'll put it out there for me and make ASUS look even worse than they already do as of late.
EDIT 2: I already called my bank, they took note of everything and made a case but told me to first contact ASUS one more time because technically they charged me just tonight and all my conversations had been prior to the actual charge so far. I did call ASUS, got the same "we will escalate and answer in 24-48 hours" line I have been told 20 times now. When they don't call me in 48 hours I will call my bank back.
The problem with this is that my bank said it could take up to 3 months, which would suck ass.
EDIT 3: Here is a breakdown of the whole timeline, just so everyone understands the whole situation.

• Bought the card in September of 2022.
• Had some minor issues, thought they were driveOS related.
• Went through many drivers, fresh OS install, issues remained but were minor still.
• Called ASUS on April 10th to start warranty claim after issues became more frequent and annoying.
• Asked them to confirm stance on cards that had the cooler remove for water cooling. They changed their policy in 2018 to allow it, but I wanted a confirmation in email form since I'm in Canada, not the US.
• Also asked for an Advanced RMA.
• Got told they had no replacements in stock and that it was my job to keep checking in. Told them they could do the checking for me, so they set it to automatically check like they should have just done in the first place.
• Two weeks go by, no answer to my cooler question, only several "will get back to you in 24-48 hours" emails and calls.
• Get notification of replacement in stock, hold off giving my credit card for confirmation on cooler question.
• Another two weeks go by, still no answer, keep asking, keep getting emails about needing to give them my credit card for the replacement to be sent.
• Give up waiting, put in my credit card. Couple days later I get an email saying the cooler being removed won't void the warranty as long as the card is not damaged (its not).
• Ask for free shipping label to send my card in, for the hassle. They sent me one.
• Replacement gets shipped a few days later.
• Replacement arrives on May 15th, immediately notice damage to LED bar on side and then later the bent rear expansion/PCIe bracket, which got the card stuck in my PC and almost damaged my motherboard. Called ASUS to report damaged replacement, asked if I could send it back and keep my original (mostly functional, with no cosmetic damage) until they send me an acceptable replacement. Get the same 24-48 hour bullshit.
• Get auto generated email telling my I have to return my GPU by the 28th (the day you receive the card counts as 1 of your 14 days, which is unbelievable on its own, but also its not business days, its just days so my due date fell on a Sunday).
• Spend the next week and a half calling, waiting, emailing, calling, waiting, trying to get an answer for which GPU to send in. Keep getting told 24-48 hours.
• Due date approaching, still no answer, won't give extension, have probably spent 8+ hours on the phone this week alone, tell them it's now too late to send one of the cards because it won't be delivered until Monday the 29th, even with the overnight label they gave me.
• Gave up and said I'll just send my original, undamaged one in to avoid all the confusion, am told by told by two separate agents on the phone (one "supervisor") that as long as it's in transit before the 28th, I won't be charged because they have the tracking number since they made me the label.
• Drop off original card at FedEx point at a Staples on May 27th, have receipt proving it, tracking number was immediately updated to reflect that it was dropped off.
• Heard nothing on Sunday, the 28th. Assumed all was ok.
• Got home from work on May 29th, took my phone out of my pocket and see an email saying my card was late and I have been charged the $2400 collateral amount.

​

I’m going to paste below a post written by a dear friend of mine about an experience she recently had in Waterville. She is looking for more victims and has already been contacted by many. 🔗 to the original FB post at the bottom. We would appreciate anyone who is able to share the original post or help otherwise shed light on this growing problem.

TRIGGER WARNING: S.A.

----
​
‘The Waterville Secret that Everyone Knows’ Easter Sunday, on a sunny afternoon, 10 minutes from my home; I was drugged, raped, sodomized, robbed & left for dead like a piece of trash. Law enforcement then found me, in another county, 50 minutes from my home, heading in the opposite direction, unable to tell them where I lived, unable to answer or follow simple commands, telling them over & over again that I could not see, all while holding my hands over my ears…a 55-year-old woman, with no criminal background, in a ditch on a sunny Easter Sunday. Was I then taken to the ER? Did I then receive immediate medical attention & doctors discovered that I had been drugged & raped? No, I was handcuffed, arrested & thrown in jail. Fourteen hours later I came to in a cell, not knowing where I was, why I was there, raped, sodomized, actively bleeding, I couldn’t see clearly & had no peripheral vision. I was told I was being charged with OUI & refusal of test, Failure to Stop & Failure to Sign the Summons documents for those first two charges. OUI & refusal of test? I was clearly drugged; I have watched the dash cam. Failure to stop? I was driving 30 miles an hour in a ditch!?! Failure to Sign a Summons? I did not even know my own address & I could not see. To add to this, as I sat in that jail cell drugged & bleeding, my bank account was systematically being emptied.
I have been through rape exams, sobbing breakdowns, interviews, medications, sobbing breakdowns, blood tests, sobbing breakdowns, urine tests, sobbing breakdowns, vaginal exams, more interviews & more sobbing breakdowns. I have obtained legal counsel, a trauma therapist, have reported this to local police, the sheriff’s department, the district attorney’s office; I have supplied easily over 200 pieces of documentation, evidence, bank statements, lab results, affidavits, photos, names of other women that have been drugged, raped & left in the same ‘Rape Basement’ as me. To date I still have not heard from the sheriff’s department or the DA’s office; it has now been 48 days since this happened to me.
Additionally, I requested to speak with the chief of Waterville PD & was denied, I asked to speak to the head of Waterville Detectives & was denied, I asked for them to give my statement & evidence to the head of detectives & that was also declined. I asked if they had a specialized Sexual Assault Detective & was told only cases of child rape go to that individual. I asked why my case had not been assigned to a detective & they told me it had been assigned to a patrol officer & a detective could help out if needed. I then attempted to report this crime to the County Sheriff's Department & the Maine State Police & they told me that they could not take my statement due to not having jurisdiction over it & sent me back to Waterville PD.
The fiscal out of pocket cost for me to date is $12,738.64 & that amount is still rising. I am burning through my EBT time, I am struggling to work, leave my home & my vehicle is undrivable. This also does not include the ongoing cost of trauma therapy & the cost of the added bonus of now having an incurable STD that for the rest of my life I will need to take medication for. To which I might add; I had to share my sexual activity with law enforcement; which it has been 10 years since I was sexually active (not that if I was sexually active it should matter).
The last time I have actually heard from law enforcement that was conducting this investigation was 13 days ago when an officer called to ask me if “I drank daily, If I drank to the point of black out & how often did I drink?” To which I supplied each & every date in the past year that I have had a beer along with each receipt & picture of me during that time having the beer. I do not have a history of alcohol addiction, I do not have a history of drug addiction, I have never received any alcohol nor drug rehabilitation services (not that if I had, that should make this rape somehow different).
I also must point out that officer asked me these questions AFTER speaking to the staff at the ‘Rape Basement’ that I believe drugged me. Staffs response was that “I walked in drugged & I went down into ‘Rape Basement’ on my own & that they ‘found’ me there & asked me to leave”. That would mean that I went to a 2pm show at the Waterville Opera House, walked out of that theater production & then decided to become a totally different person. That I then drugged myself, raped myself, sodomized myself, gave myself a genital-to-genital STD & then found my own way into the ‘Rape Basement’ that I had no prior knowledge of!?! This same ‘Rape Basement’ establishment also stated to police that they did not serve me any drink or food; yet I have supplied law enforcement with the charge on my credit card that supports the opposite. A portion of the $12,738.64 price of my ‘Drugged, Raped, Sodomized, Robbed & Arrested’ experience was the $9.06 that I paid the ‘Rape Basement’ establishment for my drugged beer.
To date this crime has cost me my sanity, my safety, my peace, my joy, my kindness, countless hours of sleep, isolating myself in my home with a loaded gun by my side, my trust & faith in the world, basically my life as I have known it.
I recently went very public with this experience; I have since also reached out to the media. As I shared this story, numerous others came forward with similar experiences. Posts of this were being deleted as fast as victims responded to them. We are now speaking to each other & have created open posts on our own facebook pages. We learned that this is apparently ‘The Waterville Secret that Everyone Knows’.
• When I learnt that one woman had been drugged & had called for help from the very same basement as me; I became physically ill. ‘The Waterville Secret that Everyone Knows’.
• Another women shared that when she was 23, she was drugged & lost 14 hours of her life & woke up at an entirely different location. She reported it to the local police & was told it was going to be investigated; she is still waiting to hear back from them…she is now 28 years old. She also shared that she has a high school reunion coming up, yet she is fearful to go because it is being held in Waterville. ‘The Waterville Secret that Everyone Knows’.
• Another woman feared reporting to the police that she had been drugged because she was on an organ donor list & feared that she would be denied a lifesaving operation if she disclosed the experience. ‘The Waterville Secret that Everyone Knows’.
• Men have come forward that they too have been drugged & assaulted & have woken up at completely different locations from where they began. ‘The Waterville Secret that Everyone Knows’.
• One woman started at a restaurant & then came to drugged, robbed, wearing completely different clothing, in an abandoned building. ‘The Waterville Secret that Everyone Knows’.
• Tragically yet another woman shared that her young brother was found dead in these same horror show ‘Rape Basements’ that other victims speak of; these ‘Rape Basements’ that I too was in. ‘The Waterville Secret that Everyone Knows’.
• Others have shared that (for a price) you can have a woman drugged & then have unfettered access to her & then they will ‘let her go’ when you are done. When I have shared this information; I have heard from numerous individuals that casually state, “Yes that has been going on for years”. ‘The Waterville Secret that Everyone Knows’.
• One Maine Liquor Enforcement Officer states that they tried to shed light on this years ago, yet the drugging & raping of women is bad business for a college town; then this person stated they do not wish to be named due to fear of repercussion. ‘The Waterville Secret that Everyone Knows’.
So yesterday we (the victims of this) all made some noise, we all started to shine a light on it…& overnight the responses came. Public posts have been deleted or turned off; 2am phone calls from the owners of these ‘Rape Basement’ establishments were made threatening victims to take posts down, to stop speaking. Many victims that were raising their voices yesterday are now silent today. I have also learned that I am not the only victim scared & carrying a firearm. It has also come to my knowledge today that two of these owners of these establishments were convicted of human trafficking taking place within these ‘Rape Basements’ & sent to prison. They are now out & back in business from the same exact ‘Rape Basements’ we the victims are being found in!?! ‘The Waterville Secret that Everyone Knows’.
I do not know what else to do, I do not know where else to go, I do not know what else to say! I would be lying if I said I wasn’t scared…I am! I am afraid to leave my home, I am afraid to speak out, I am afraid to demand justice…yet most of all; I am terrified of being silent.
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https://www.facebook.com/pamela.boivin.7/posts/pfbid02YSkQ1vVX1ghBY9XmBoGC7n345fhUaChCwRfAX38y3hE248xKnvteuficnsyJcx1Ml

For 2 days now, multiple devices and browsers and clearing cookies ect, I cannot complete transaction
It either says technical difficulties or says cannot complete online
It charges my card and then immediately credits my card so no funds are left on hold. It does this with my BoA bank card and my discover card

Wasn't an adult in 2008. I nerd out about macro a lot, not an expert, obviously rates have risen faster than ever in history, may stay higher for longer etc. by all accounts major issues developing, M2 money supply coming down which hasn't been seen since Great Depression, meanwhile Consumer debt is highest it's ever been. Hopefully it's not as bad as it points to being ...
Basically, expecting at minimum the credit crunch that is already developing to get worse in the coming months. At some point, do we expect Balance Transfer offers to dry up?
Banks have to cut risk from likely to default borrowers right?
Are cards that are already open with current 0% APR safe or no? Can banks drastically cut credit lines - say I have 25K line on Amex BPP, is it possible they cut it to like 2k one day if shit hits the fan?
Are there regulations against this now? No idea...
What happens to new SUBs? Don't seem to be slowing down at all right now... so far so good..
Devalue points en masse or even take them away (prob not?)?
Anyone who was an adult in 2008 can comment?
E.g. https://twitter.com/BowTiedBull/status/1662207796685963264/photo/1 see the lag between avg interest rate on all cc accounts vs assesses interest (avg interest rate is due to Fed hikes, and then the lag between when it's assessed to borrowers)
Obviously no one should be living off credit cards and BT offers constantly... but when life happens and layoffs abound... and can't find anything for months or find something and get laid off again... just good to discuss and be mentally prepared. It's scary that people are already using BNPL to buy groceries and stuff.
I have impeccable history, 765 score, ~300k in credit, util <12% all on 0% APR - someone like me - even can I expect to see lines cut?