Approximately six weeks ago I had the intention of getting a new phone. I had started vlogging some months earlier and one of my major constraints was the video and audio quality of my phone. So getting a better phone was the best investment I could make. I had no money, just steem. Fortunately, @markkujantunen saw me whining about it and he introduced me to @neoxian and I was able to get the loan (about $260). I purchased a midrange smartphone with decent specs and some other accessories that improved my both vlogging and blogging experience.
So it is one thing to collect a loan and another to pay back. I have always dreaded borrowing money. I have seen how debt has crippled the finances of many people. It is always a case of one debt leading to another and before you know it you've lost control of your finances. Although I have been taught debt financing is one of the cheapest ways of investing in your business as you're simply using other people's money to make more money, and given the fact that what I intended to use the money for will generate income for me, I thought it was worth the risk. Although I was kind of projected that my earnings will increase by a significant margin when my content improve, that hasn't really happened. In fact, my earnings kind of dwindled this month. I guess maybe it was because I was powering down to pay back the loan, and you know steemians feel about people who power-down. Plus I fell ill at some point which stretched for over 3 weeks. This affected how much content I created.
What did I do wrong?
- Let's start from the terms of the payback clause. I think I should have chosen something more flexible and for a longer period.
- I took on another project during this period. So during this, I went for my university clearance which cost me a lot too. I had to take on another loan from somewhere else. So basically I have been paying two loans for the past two months.
- I did not do my research. So I was hoping to pay back part of the loan with some fiat I had (which later was used for hospital bills). The major problem was converting fiat to steem. That was a seemingly impossible task. I tried all the exchanges I knew, they were not offering their services in my region. The only one I was lucky enough to find charged a high fee and I could only buy bitcoin.
The next time I would consider taking a loan I will factor all these things. I hope there isn't a next time anytime soon.
My deadline is on the 14th of this month and giving my calculation I would be short by $40-$50. I don't know what penalties I might face but I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I do not regret my decision. I think I leveraged on what I had and if this only tangible thing I get out of here then I'm fine with that.
After sorting this out (hopefully) I will be going back to growing my account. I should be around 3,000 SBD by now. My overdependence on my steem earnings has mitigated my growth. However, things might change soon. I don't want to let too much out of the bag just yet. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed. Hopefully, on my one year anniversary, which is about a few weeks from now, I would have some great news to share with you guys.
I hope this helps someone who plans on getting a loan with their crypto asset as collateral. Please do your research, take as much time as possible and don't take on more than you can handle.
It's currently raining here. There isn't much happening on my timeline currently and I am done with my tasks for today. Might be going to bed soon.
©nonsowrites