The Mindset Required for Wealth Production

[mweiss]

Inspector, I use IE 6, not Firefox, and it doesn’t increase the size of fonts. My workaround now is to type my replies in Word, with a 36 pt font so I can see it (letters about ½” tall) and then paste it into the browser. It’s saved me a couple of times this week when I hit post and the forum went into la la land and lost my post. At least I was able to paste again and re-send when the forum came back.

I’ll say this about Primerica: I was very critical of them for the first few months. But as I learned what competing insurance companies were doing to deceive and overcharge their clients, I realized Primerica was a much more honest company, as insurance companies go. They paid on claims in which there was a dubious legal distinction, and the paid on all the 9/11 victims’ claims, where other companies invoked “war clause” and told their policyholders to go pound sand.

Primerica is far more than insurance. They provide counceling on finances and help the families with high interest debt consilodate that into low interest 2nd mortgages and use the savings to put into retirement and college funds if they have kids. The company is really helping the less financially-smart families to solve their problems and build a modest nest egg for the future. I believe in the products and services and I am convinced they are valuable to a segment of the population.

The drawback is that this grass roots marketing system only works well for people who have a lot of friends and relatives. The concept of it is to eliminate the salaried salesmen so they can offer term insurance and still make a profit. Eliminating the overhead means that money becomes available to offer good incentives for good performance. Primerica rewards the people who conduct lots of business quite well.

The average insurance company’s life policy includes $833 of the premiums going to advertising costs. Primerica’s life policies have an average advertising cost of $0.63 by comparison. They don’t advertise. They get the product out there by network marketing. There’s nothing morally objectionable with this method, in fact, I give them credit for coming up with an innovative way to compete in a tough market (since most insurance companies don’t offer Term Insurance because it’s not profitable with their marketing structure). Having studied the differences between Term and Whole Life, it’s clear that the latter is just short of a scam and a fraud, because the buyers of said policies are led to believe that they’re building a savings acount that will go to their spouse when they die. But that money goes back to the insurance company and only the death benefit is paid (most of the time, except in the case of 9/11 for many insurance companies invokes their ‘war clause’).

So that’s part of what motivates me to stick it out with Primerica. I genuinely believe that because the more I investigated the company, the more I found that was good about it, therefore, I discount the naysayers who are made up mostly of competitors making bogus complaints and former reps who, most of which, never bothered to get licensed to do business in the first place.

That said, Primerica isn’t for everyone. And I do take issue with some of the things our trainers want us to say to prospects. But I think an intelligent person can use his own honest methods of communicating and achieve the same end result. Just not folks like me, however. I failed to get business for my graphic design business 20 years ago for the same reason—I just don’t have credibility. As one friend put it, “you can see the desparation of a starving animal in your eyes.”

No, I don’t think it’s a dishonest business, only that some of the selling methods are a bit retarded, or geared toward ignorant people. Perhaps religious people.

About the technician comments, I can’t imagine that you did mean “line monkey” as in some production level job. R&D however is beyond my credentials. I wanted to work in engineering, but I only got as far as Prototype Wire Worker. That was a guy soldering parts together, based on a schematic written by an engineer.

You’re absolutely right about needing a business partner!! I agree totally!

Back in ’87, I posted an ad, looking for a business partner with marketing and business skills. I got one call on that ad and he was looking for a large salary and when he found out I was a one-man operation, that was the end of it. Even my own friends aren’t confident in me, nor interested in partnering with me in some sort of business. So I’m always back to being a sole proprietor.

As for the Shawshank comment, I had to make that decision back when my father passed away, leaving me to be the last living Weiss, and totally alone with no family left, no advocates to stand up for me. I gave it long hard thought for about two weeks. I chose to live. And then I struggled to sort out the incredible mess that was left behind. I struggled, and it was overwhelming. And then I decided not to take on the whole Big Picture at once. I chose to take on a small piece at a time, and in that way I found it to be a manageable burden. I slowly worked through it. I’m still working through the remnants of that mess today, but at least now I have a wife and a cute little precocious 2-1/2 year old daughter to kick me out of bed and to cheer me up. If they didn’t come into my life, I’m convinced I would have died, Waco-style by now because I was the epitomy of the disillusioned, angry, fifty-something, potbellied, balding right wing anti-government gun nut with an unlicensed radio station that I was going to defend until death. My action to pursue a wife displaced me from that path and most definitely saved my life from certain firery demise and notoriety of the sort David Koresh’s name enjoys.

It’s now the property taxes that threaten my otherwise idyllic lifestyle. First they take your home, then they take your children, because a homeless family cannot properly take care of their children. Wonderful, eh?

So what am I to do? The government is powerful, and it wants something from me that I cannot give them in the time frame they demand it in. And that term, “taxes in arrears PLUS current taxes” assures that one can never catch up and keep up.

[Inspector]

It seems that I need other skills, in marketing, before any of these directions will be viable income-earners.

...or a business partner.

[mweiss]

fatdogs12: Yes, I’m depressed. Because the government is making our lives miserable. The constant hounding, the sheriff’s visits, the visits from the police investigators are really getting to wear me down. They want what I cannot give them and they know that I won’t just walk away without a war. Taking a man’s home is the equivalent of killing him. I’ve told them already that any initiation of force by them against me will be taken as an act of war and that I will respond in kind.

While I could probably stand to eat better and get more exercise, I believe that 90% of the problem is my philosophical premises—how I stand with the irrationality I must deal with.

It’s 12ºF here. That precludes me going outside for a walk. I used to take walks at night, but during the warmer seasons, I expend all my energy rebuilding the parts of the house that have collapsed from rot, termites, carpenter ants, water damage. I hate the agony of that work, but I do feel somewhat better after the first month of being fully engaged in the carpentry work. I derive some degree of satisfaction as I beat back the decay, one agonizingly slow step at a time. I spent all spring, summer and autumn just rebuilding a corner of the house. This has been going on since 2003 and won’t be done until 2010, as I am now about halfway through with the repairs. Part of me wonders why I bother, since the town is probably going to take the house anyway for back taxes, but I suppose the optimist in me says to just push onward and to heck with the town. My wife seems to think that somehow things will work out. I see no rational evidence of this, but she’s been right so often in the past that I sometimes regard her powers of prediction to be almost as if supernatural.

At least I’m eating better than when I was alone, which was peanut butter sandwiches every day because that’s all I could afford. The wife feeds me pretty well. I gained another 40lbs since we’ve been married. And she complains that I’m an elephant now.

I know that a vegetarian diet can help, but in the winter, I need calories. We keep the house at 58ºF to keep our energy costs as low as possible, so we can’t be living on carrot juice as we do often try in the summer. However, what plagues me is a problem of IDEAS not so much of diet.

You’re quite correct that lack of revenue had something to do with why my businesses failed. But moreso, lack of business acumen—I’m good at technical stuff, but I can’t balance a checkbook to save my life! But I certainly could have used advertizing revenue. Sadly, that was not possible when you have to choose between running a newspaper ad that may not work, and buying groceries for the month.

Thank you for citing the “No Cash No Fear” book title. I’m building a reading list, and my wife graciously ordered the other book by Edwin Locke, mentioned earlier in this thread. I’ll order this one eventually, as I read the others first-suggested.

Now see, here’s the difference between you and I—you started from nothing and, while holding a job, managed to figure out how to start and succeed in a business at the same time. If that were me, I’d still be working the menial job and living in my car. Sure, I’d be trying to start businesses to, and failing, because there’s something about the way I go about things which is incorrect.

And I agree that money isn’t all there is to life! I really don’t have any interest in money, beyond the fact that it buys me food and subwoofers. I would be happy enough just living off my land, raising a garden for food, chopping my own firewood and so on. But the problem is the local government wants American dollars. I can’t just hand them a bushel of potatoes and pay the taxes off. They want the kind of money that successful businessmen can afford. The average tax bill around here is $15,000/year. Even though I pay a bit less than that for my ramshackle abode, it’s still way more than I earn as net income in a year. Fall three years behind, and with interest, penalties and lien fees added on, and it becomes almost as much as I’ve earned during my entire life as an employee.

So you see, although money isn’t all that important to me, there are men with guns who want large sums of it from me, so I need to earn larger sums still, so I can pay the randsom and still have enough left over that I don’t feel devastated when I write out that check for eleven grand and more, each year.

Money is, in this Socialist society, very important. You can’t live without it. Money is protection from enemies like the government. Money buys good legal protection. It makes problems go away. Only the poor get harrassed by the government because the feds know that the poor cannot afford a defense. Ever notice that the bulk of IRS audits are upon the working poor?

If the government went out of existence tomorrow, it would be the greatest feeling in the world for me. Really. I would be so happy and full of joy and hope once again.

[Inspector]

My workaround now is to type my replies in Word

That's a good workaround. As you say, it also has the benefit of saving your work from board foibles. Plus, there's spell check.

I’ll say this about Primerica: I was very critical of them for the first few months. But as I learned what competing insurance companies were doing to deceive and overcharge their clients, I realized Primerica was a much more honest company, as insurance companies go.

See, that's the problem. Sales, by and large, is taught and practiced dishonestly these days. Insurance doubly so. And network marketing (amway style, I mean)? Oh, lordy. I think that kind of marketing is just wrong. If not generally, then certainly the way it is encouraged to be done. Yeah, yeah I know about the whole "financial counseling" thing. We could go back and forth so I'll just say that I think it's a dishonest profession in a dishonest business, in a dishonest industry.

As one friend put it, “you can see the desparation of a starving animal in your eyes.”

You paint a picture of Gil from The Simpsons, who I suppose was obliquely based on Willy Loman from Death of a Salesman.

It’s now the property taxes that threaten my otherwise idyllic lifestyle.

Have you ever spoken with a tax lawyer? Isn't there some kind of settlement that can be reached?

[Inspector]

The average tax bill around here is $15,000/year.

That seems very high. Just how much is your property worth?

I know we've likely been over this before, but why not just sell the property for the boatload on money it's likely worth and move out further into the country where you can buy a similar-sized house for less than half of what you'll get for yours?

1) This would solve your money troubles right away. If the lawyers that advertise on TV are to be believed, back-taxes can be settled for a fraction of what is owed.

2) You wouldn't be living in this crummy town which hates you so much, and would never again have to deal with them

3) Property taxes out in the boondocks are quite low. Your tax problem could be permanently solved

4) You don't sound like you have any sort of employment that's keeping you living where you are

You've said you're too old to "start over," but your description of your life does not match this. Given the amount of work you've poured into your house, the act of moving and getting settled should be a breeze by comparison.

Yes, I know, the house is yours. It's not right and not fair that they're basically forcing you to move out.

But given the alternatives, what would you rather have? Do you want to be buried in that house when they come for you, or do you want to be living comfortably, with no wolves at your door, in a house that you can make "yours?" Which alternative is better for your wife and child?

[mweiss]

That's a good workaround. As you say, it also has the benefit of saving your work from board foibles. Plus, there's spell check.

See, that's the problem. Sales, by and large, is taught and practiced dishonestly these days. Insurance doubly so. And network marketing (amway style, I mean)? Oh, lordy. I think that kind of marketing is just wrong. If not generally, then certainly the way it is encouraged to be done. Yeah, yeah I know about the whole "financial counseling" thing. We could go back and forth so I'll just say that I think it's a dishonest profession in a dishonest business, in a dishonest industry.

You paint a picture of Gil from The Simpsons, who I suppose was obliquely based on Willy Loman from Death of a Salesman.

Have you ever spoken with a tax lawyer? Isn't there some kind of settlement that can be reached?

I will readily admit that I feel uncomfortable with the methods espoused in training sessions on how to sell Primerica. But I wouldn’t go so far as to call it a dishonest business.

Let’s just say that we hold divergent opinions on the sales methods for insurance and leave it at that.

Tax lawyers can assist with IRS INCOME TAXES and often the IRS will accept an “offer in compromise” when they realize that the defendant has not a snowball’s chance in hell of ever repaying the full tax + penalties in a lifetime, and perhaps the person is divorced and already paying child support. In rare cases, people have had their FEDERAL taxes reduced.

However… this does not happen with towns. Because the towns can always forclose and obtain the money through auction sale of the property. In the IRS case, the person has no assets approaching the value needed to pay off the tax and no income to support the payoff, so the IRS accepts the compromise with the realization that it’s more cost effective to get the person off the books and move on to bigger fish than to collect $50/month for the next forty years.

With the house tax, the town has a close to 100% chance of recovering the full tax due through the sale of the property.

I have spoken to many tax attornies over the years. There is absolutely nothing any of them could do.

[mweiss]

That seems very high. Just how much is your property worth?

I know we've likely been over this before, but why not just sell the property for the boatload on money it's likely worth and move out further into the country where you can buy a similar-sized house for less than half of what you'll get for yours?

1) This would solve your money troubles right away. If the lawyers that advertise on TV are to be believed, back-taxes can be settled for a fraction of what is owed.

2) You wouldn't be living in this crummy town which hates you so much, and would never again have to deal with them

3) Property taxes out in the boondocks are quite low. Your tax problem could be permanently solved

4) You don't sound like you have any sort of employment that's keeping you living where you are

You've said you're too old to "start over," but your description of your life does not match this. Given the amount of work you've poured into your house, the act of moving and getting settled should be a breeze by comparison.

Yes, I know, the house is yours. It's not right and not fair that they're basically forcing you to move out.

But given the alternatives, what would you rather have? Do you want to be buried in that house when they come for you, or do you want to be living comfortably, with no wolves at your door, in a house that you can make "yours?" Which alternative is better for your wife and child?

The valuation placed by the town is meaningless in the market because it’s based largely on the square footage and the surround property values. So it’s way more than I think the house is worth.

We looked into selling it last year, but because of the condition of the house, and the condition of the land, plus the fact that everything’s built on what is now designated wetlands, even a buyer who plans to demolish and build anew can’t do so. The new zoning laws also disqualify the lot for a new construction. As such, we could not find a real estate agent that would list the property.

There are numerous “environmental” issues that I cannot discuss publicly, which would come back to haunt me in the form of huge lawsuits, if I did not disclose them at time of sale, and to disclose them would prevent sale and end up with the entire lot being turned into a superfund site.

I am caught between a rock and a hard place. The circumstances are almost surreal. I can’t prove to the town that the parcel has no resale value without causing the property to be condemned which would mean we would be immediately evicted. This is not like a nice luxury home we have here. It’s not even contractor-built. It was built over a 25 year period, with used barn lumber, and weekly paychecks. Having lost our Bethel house to a sewer assessment (city sewer came in, our 4 year old septic was condemned and we had to pay a $900 tie in fee plus a $3,000 sewer assessment in 1966, which pushed the house into foreclosure because the mortgage payments doubled and it went into default as a result) we were forced to move in here without plumbing, heating system or electric wiring for the first few years. A borrowed gas unit heater provided the heat for a few years and I collected gallon milk jugs and rinsed them out and filled them up and friends and a neighbor’s house, 36 of them in the back of my ’59 VW bug and that would last a week. We used it for drinking, bathing and washing dishes. There was also a porta-potty, since there was no septic yet installed. Electricity came in off a big yellow extention cord, from a temporary feed from the power company outside. For the first 3 years, it was ‘roughing it’ like in the 19th century style of living. Some of the heat came from a wood burning stove in the basement, when the concrete was finally poured.

I hustled to get the walls insulated and sheetrock put up. Slowly, funds were accumulated to we could hire a well digger and that went in. Then the septic eventually went in, then the 2000 gallon in ground oil tank, and finally I installed a cast iron furnace and spent the next several months sweat soldering hot water baseboard piping. After that, came the water plumbing for the sinks and toilet, bathtub and so on. A third of the house was just roughly framed-in with plywood and tarpaper on the outside for quite a few years and no insulation or sheetrock on the inside. It wasn’t until 1976 that all the sheetrock was finally done. But the exterior was still in tarpaper. The roof wasn’t finished either, and it leaked in several places as a result. That was to be a regrettable oversight many years later.

The bottom line is, the house is makeshift, and neighbors that built homes within 1/3 mile of us have complained about it eroding their property values. At the same time, the community, over 42 years, went from the boondocks (nowhere) to an upscale community with 5-10 acre lots. A golf course and a country club went in to our west, which overlooks the lake. An upscale cul-de-sac of 5,000 sq ft homes went up to our east. And our taxes shot up from just $92 in 1966 to where they are today.

The paradoxical thing is that I can’t get my valuation lowered any more than it is. If there was a normal home here, the tax would be $5,000 more than it is now. The board of assessment review actually commented that they thought my taxes were low for the area.

So to summarize the problems of sale:

Environmental issues

House structural issues

Temp electric service (still)

unapproved septic system

nothing to “code”

In short, it’s such a disaster from the perspective of those who do things legally by the book, that no one –not even a contractor—wants to have anything to do with the property. In short, I’m stuck with it, and the taxes, with the only option being to stay and pay, or walk away and abandon and move somewhere out of the jurisdiction that they never catch me and hold me financially responsible for things. And let’s fantasize for a moment that I WAS able to sell it. Guess what? The town would take their tax off the top and chances are that would leave me with a couple thousand, if anything, not enough to buy more than a down payment on an apartment. Ugh!

That said, it’s been my home for 42 years. I was here before anything else was (except the radio tower) and people pretty much can pound sand when I play my stereo, because I was here first.

I went through the whole ‘stay or leave’ thought process, writing pros and cons down on a lined pad. The reasons to stay far outnumbered the reasons to go. I know the house—I built much of it, with occasional help. This place has and will always be ‘home’ to me. I looked at the Carolinas in 2005 and realized I didn’t like it there, or in Florida. I’ve been in California too and I couldn’t wait to leave. Simply put, I’ve got roots here, in addition to the issues cited.

So why did I risk my life and health trying to rebuild this house, you wonder? Because I realized that to do nothing would be a slow, agonizing defeat. The wife and I would have had to close off a room at a time, as the roof rot progresses and as sections started to collapse in on the rooms. The bathroom was like that for the longest time, as was the spare bedroom. You could look up and see the sky through gaping holes in the roof. That room was sealed off in 1999 and the heating system disconnected. I rebuilt it in 2004-2005, so my daughter would have a nice room.

I’d already talked to some contractors and had two estimates which were ridiculous. That’s when I realized it was me doing the work, or watch the house collapse until it becomes so bad that the wife might leave.

I figured, if I die of a heart attack while repairing the roof, then so be it. Damn the torpedos. I took it easy, worked slowly and steadily. You’d be surprised how much you can do, as long as your legs still can carry you. Of course, I’m not that steady and I get dizzy spells, so I usually crawled on all fours when working near the edge of the roof. I hated every moment of it—it was both terrifying and extremely physically exhausting work. But over many weeks, I slowly reached my goals for a certain amount of roof completed.

When you have that much blood, sweat and tears into your home, it can’t be compared to a contractor-built home that you purchased with a mortgage and can easily say goodbye to. It’s a part of you—your life, your body, your spirit went into it. A part of you has been consumed in the construction of that home. It is irreplaceable. That is the other reason why I cannot sell it, even if someone would buy it.

I always hold out hope that something will avert the coming conflict. But plan B is to send the wife and kid to live with her aunt in Cali, while I face my “lion.”

[Inspector]

You've dug yourself in pretty deeply there. If you can't find a real estate agent to sell it, could you sell by owner? Do you know exactly what you might get versus what you owe in taxes? I ask not because I'm suggesting you should choose to do so, but because they may force you to do so and you need to be aware of your options for an escape plan.

I also notice you didn't list any western states in your list of places you've looked at. Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico... all these have cheap land and houses if you're far enough out into the wilderness... as well as local governments a lot less ornery than Connecticut.

I don't know... personally, I'm the sort of person that, when I see a confrontation like this coming down the road, I get the hell out of dodge. I've had a number of situations in my life where I saw the writing on the wall and got out before things got ugly. It looks like you should have done so 10... perhaps 20 years ago.

Is there any one person who represents "the city" in your situation? Someone who can be bargained with? Your attitude has so far been, "I'm not going anywhere and I can't pay." But perhaps they would be more open to negotiation if you said you would be willing to sell and leave if they cut you a deal. An option that would let them have some money and also be rid of you for good might be appealing to them. Coming for you with the SWAT team is "the hard way." What "easy way" can you offer them, bearing in mind that staying and not paying isn't in the cards? Currently, you don't (from what you have said so far) offer them any alternatives.

You don't have any room here for sentimentality. Yes, you've invested a lot into that house. But it turns out that it was a mistake to do so. Accept that you've made a mistake and get on with the business of living. Don't let that mistake be your final one. Salvage what you can, financially, while it is still possible (if it is still possible).

[mweiss]

You've dug yourself in pretty deeply there. If you can't find a real estate agent to sell it, could you sell by owner? Do you know exactly what you might get versus what you owe in taxes? I ask not because I'm suggesting you should choose to do so, but because they may force you to do so and you need to be aware of your options for an escape plan.

I also notice you didn't list any western states in your list of places you've looked at. Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico... all these have cheap land and houses if you're far enough out into the wilderness... as well as local governments a lot less ornery than Connecticut.

I don't know... personally, I'm the sort of person that, when I see a confrontation like this coming down the road, I get the hell out of dodge. I've had a number of situations in my life where I saw the writing on the wall and got out before things got ugly. It looks like you should have done so 10... perhaps 20 years ago.

Is there any one person who represents "the city" in your situation? Someone who can be bargained with? Your attitude has so far been, "I'm not going anywhere and I can't pay." But perhaps they would be more open to negotiation if you said you would be willing to sell and leave if they cut you a deal. An option that would let them have some money and also be rid of you for good might be appealing to them. Coming for you with the SWAT team is "the hard way." What "easy way" can you offer them, bearing in mind that staying and not paying isn't in the cards? Currently, you don't (from what you have said so far) offer them any alternatives.

You don't have any room here for sentimentality. Yes, you've invested a lot into that house. But it turns out that it was a mistake to do so. Accept that you've made a mistake and get on with the business of living. Don't let that mistake be your final one. Salvage what you can, financially, while it is still possible (if it is still possible).

My god man, you speak as if you were speaking to a 20 year old who still has a life ahead of him!

I continue to work on as many options as I can. But a legal advisor strongly recommended abandoning the property and leaving the country to a country with no extradition treaty with the US because if they discover certain things, they could come after me for a lot more than back taxes. As long as I'm here and things are kept quiet and there are no inspections, there is no problem. We're talking enormous fines and maybe prison here. It's more complicated than you could fathom. It's also enviro- bullshit, because everything is perfectly safe.

Finally, if I lost my home, I would not want to live anymore. I don't have a million dollars where I could start over again somewhere else. I'd be on the street because the taxes in demand are probably more than the place could ever sell for. But nobody wants to buy Pandora's box. It's a legal mess of epic proportions. A Catch 22 situation, because I'm damned if I prove to the town that the property is worthless for certain reasons, and damned if I don't because of the taxes owed.

I've already identified that the only way out of this mess is to make a lot of money and pronto.

[Inspector]

How about declaring bankruptcy? I don't know if it would help you, but have you explored that option?

My god man, you speak as if you were speaking to a 20 year old who still has a life ahead of him!

I could throw that back at you. If you want to live, you have to plan for living, not the venue by which you will die. People can and do live to 100. But not people who are focused on death rather than life.

I'm sure it is a damn sight more complicated that I will ever know; on that you have me convinced. I do highly suspect, however, that you have been walling off your escape routes for quite some time. If the bottom line is that you've dug yourself in so far that you will make that place your tomb, then so be it.

By offering these suggestions, I'm not trying to pretend I know the detail of your situation well enough to be of meaningful help to you. Hey, there's an off chance of it, I guess. What I more want to do is provide you with the thoughts and actions of a man who is alive and means to stay that way. I think if you had this attitude, you might not be in the mess you are in today. Intuitively, it seems to me that your main problem is that you planned to die and got what you planned for. I could be completely wrong about that. As a wise man once said: if you have a gut feeling, then how do you know it isn't gas?

What I want is for you to live that long (and happy) life that you don't seem to think is possible. Call me an optimist; I've endured worse slanders. If my supposition is true and that death-seeking attitude is what got you into this mess, then perhaps removing it will allow you to open your eyes to a solution that you hadn't considered before.

So please consider a final plea from the living:

You say that if you lost your home, you would not want to live anymore. Are you absolutely sure about that? What about your wife and daughter? Are they the greater value to you, or is going down with your ship the greater value?

Edited February 5, 2007 by Inspector

[Inspector]

post edited... extensively.

[mweiss]

How about declaring bankruptcy? I don't know if it would help you, but have you explored that option?

I could throw that back at you. If you want to live, you have to plan for living. People can and do live to 100. But not people who give up trying.

My most recent bankruptcy was in 1986. Bankruptcy does not clear tax debts.

Well, you can say that, but when you take away everything that makes life worth living, life in a miserable state is not worth living. People, when they get old, don't wish to be fighting battles like this. We want to retire and enoy the few years we might have left, in peace.

[Inspector]

People, when they get old, don't wish to be fighting battles like this.

I don't think anybody does.

I don't think I've mentioned it yet, since it is so obvious, but it's horrible what they've done to you. I hope you find a way out.

[fatdogs12]

Wow that situation sounds pretty bad. It leads to a few questions though, A) why didn't you pay your taxes prior or when they were due? If it was due to a lack of money why not work a regular job? If the job doesn't pay well why not go to a 2 year college and get a degree? or move to a different area that pays better?

Not wanting to live if you lose your house? That really sounds like depression. Not that it doesn't make sense to a degree but to not want to live?

Just an FYI I used to think all my problems were psychological myself, I would spend 3-4 hours a day trying to figure out why I wasn't motivated to fight my problems. I figured I had an abnormal fear of something. I spent over 2 years trying to figure it out but I realized I felt not very good even when things were going my way. After that I changed my diet and exercised and my whole outlook changed. Even though I had a lot of tough times I actually had fun roughing it.

I'm not trying to say this applies to you just that maybe it's possible.

[Inspector]

I'm not trying to say this applies to you just that maybe it's possible.

From his description of the work he's done on his house, it sounds like he gets plenty of exercise...

[fatdogs12]

From his description of the work he's done on his house, it sounds like he gets plenty of exercise...

A lot of people who are in construction or other jobs which require a lot of physical exertion are

in terrible shape. Many jobs require low level out put of just certain muscle groups over a small

amount of time.

Even when I was in bad shape I would play basketball everyday for a few hours, sometimes

very hard. What I didn't know though was due to sitting all day for years I didn't use my lower

back very much. My lower back was actually almost numb and I really wasn't aware of it. Once

I started stretching and getting in better shape I actually felt much better. My tolerance for

stress greatly increased.

[simonsays]

I have an idea. It would be a HUGE risk but I don't see what options you have left.

Talk to your day trader millionaire neighbour or another rich neighbour. Explain to him your exact problems, just as you have done here. It might be better to send him a letter. Explain to him in detail about your tax problems and your environmental problems. Explain to him that with this knowledge he could have you thrown in jail for environmental regulation violation. Hand yourself over to his mercy and let him know that you have handed yourself over to him.

Tell him that you would completely understand if he had you thrown in jail, that you have dragged down the property prices in the area and risked everyones health. You are totally ashamed of yourself for this and that you are sorry from deep within your soul. Ask him for his advice, since he is more well versed in financial matters than you, if he thought there was any possible way that you could leave CT and move to a cheaper state while preserving your self respect in old age by not being sent to jail.

There would be 2 possible outcomes to this gambit. a] you get your ass hauled to jail. b] your neighbour helps you either financially, or with some great advice on how to solve your problem, or both.

Your neighbour is rich, intelligent, and successful. He might have access to a vast network of people and resources that could solve your problems. Honestly appeal to his sense of benevolence and compassion and you might find a way forward.

Just my thoughts. Good luck.