Chapter 20
"If you will, Penny, please complete the credit awareness quiz." Gene handed her yet another something to complete. She looked over the ten questions and then sighed.
"I know," he sympathized. "I once had to fill them all out myself." He smiled.
Penny was a bit surprised that he was a former gambler himself. He seemed so normal.
She read quietly. Credit cards charged to the max? Well, that would be a no, and she penciled in the miniscule circle for that response.
Would you be in financial trouble if you lost your job? She felt that Shane could probably carry them both, so that one was a "no" as well.
Unable to save or living beyond your limits? Hm. That was a good one, she thought. Hesitating, she gave it a "yes," recalling Shane's exhortations about flushing her money
away. She chewed at the end of the pencil.
Are you borrowing more or transferring balances more? Penny had to bubble in "yes" on that one as well, remembering how she had covered a gambling spree just a month
before with a payday loan, hoping that she could hide it from Shane. Several times she had tried to get better credit rates with balance transfers, too.
Do you sometimes incur late charges for payments or make the minimum payment? Feeling a blush, she filled in another "yes" circle, knowing how she could scramble at
times to make sure everything got covered.
Are you working overtime or moonlighting? "No." Shane never allowed that. Then she remembered how she sometimes took a double shift to play catch-up, but she left her first response, since it was her first impulse.
Have you taken out a new loan to pay off an old one? For Pete's sake, yes. She giggled a bit thinking of how many times she was forced to do this before she and Shane had been married. He hated credit. He was like her father, believing that one should not buy something unless it could be afforded easily.
Ever received telephone calls regarding late payments? Again, she snickered, revisiting the many ways she could put off the bill collectors back in the old days.
Credit cards ever been taken away from you? That was a tough one. "By whom?" she pondered out loud.
"Pardon?" Gene replied.
"Oh, sorry. I was thinking out loud. Where it asks if credit cards have ever been taken away, I was just wondering, by whom?"
"Anyone," Gene helped. Penny thanked him and then became entranced in a recollection of Sassy's irate rant once when Shane had taken her Visa after she made a large cash advance at The Parapet.
"Almost finished?" he broke her thought.
"Yes," she acquiesced. Glancing down, she was being asked if she had ever had any negative marks on her credit report. Again, she thought, not since Shane was in the picture, but to be totally honest, that would have to be a "yes."
Gene looked over her answers, then added the page to a large accordion folder. From the same folder, he took a budget and announced that Shane had estimated the amounts. He then took out an identical form that was clean, and asked her to estimate the amounts they spent on everything, including rent, insurance, car notes, food, clothing, medicines, utilities, phones, cable TV, landscaping, gifts, vacations, education, and even charities. It
was probably the most thorough inventory she had ever done. She was just itching to see what Shane had responded in all those categories, but Gene was busy comparing the two
now. So, she tried to look nonchalantly about the room, until she realized she was tapping her pencil nervously on the desk.
"Okie dokie," Gene finished.
"I'll need your green sheet now," Gene announced, beginning to punch at a calculator.
"Sure," Penny replied, and she produced it from her notebook. Gene perused it, making sure she had checked all the boxes indicating that she understood investment debt, convenience debt, and consumable debt. He then flipped
the page and went on to see how she had answered some basic questions about her own spending. He checked over each category of expenditure carefully after that. He crunched more numbers as she began to grow embarrassed.
"I know this part is rough," Gene consoled. "But we are going to be able to produce a great budget when all is said and done. The goal is to give you a fresh and healthy start."
There was compassion in his eyes as he looked over his reading glasses. Penny fidgeted and forced a quick smiled.
"Okay," he finally announced. "You did a good job completing the inventory. I want to let you know that I have seen a lot worse."
"A lot worse?" she puzzled, biting her lip.
"Yes, Penny. Many who come to us have gone through a lot more money than you have. They have wasted much more in their gaming addictions. Your case is mild. For that, we can be very grateful."
"Then…well…you are saying that I do have a gambling problem?" Penny seemed hopeful for a negative response.
"Oh, certainly," Gene offered calmly. "You have not done a lot of severe damage. You have come to get help just in the nick of time. I would now like to share with you the amount that you have wasted on gambling, if that is okay with you, of course."
Penny marveled at his matter-of-fact expression. She guessed that he must have done this many times before. But hearing it for the first time, it did indeed sound strange.
"Go ahead," she whispered ashamedly. "I guess I am ready for it."
"Everything considered, the approximate costs of your addiction, up to this point is $60,000. I rarely see an amount so low."
"Oh, why, that is impossible," Penny stuttered.
"And why do say that?" Gene queried, seeming genuinely interested in her shock and dismay. He removed his glasses.
"Why, I just don't go that often. I mean, I have only been going to a casino at all for a couple of years. I just learned how to gamble, I mean really gamble, like at a casino!"
Penny could feel the tears burning her eyes along with the sting of embarrassment.
"But, friend, this includes all of your own estimates, dating back for years, even to grammar school."