Usually, when bad stuff happens to me, I just grit my teeth through it and whether the terror 'till the situation subsides.

Lately, however, when bad stuff happens to me, it paves the way for a blessing I didn't expect.

Anyone who knows me personally is aware that I'm bad with money. From the very first job I ever got as a teenager, I have been directed on what to do with my money. People in my life were upset when I wanted to do what I wished to do with my own money. However, I still spent my money on what I wanted — leading them to accept that it was my way or the highway.

My freshman year in college introduced me to the mighty credit card. They were being passed out on campus like free ice cream. No one taught me about credit before. All I knew was I now had a free $500 card! 'Till the statement came. Once I paid the cards off, I cut them up and learned not to depend on them (for a few years, anyway).

As a young adult, there came checking account miscalculations. I'm not a mathematician, so balancing a checkbook was too difficult a task. As a result, my checking account was always in the hole and coupled with the fact that I spent my money on whatever and whenever, that account was closed. This fiasco paved the way for me to do away with dealing with banks altogether and stick to prepaid accounts.

For the last 10 years, I've been under the spell of the payday loan. I took out small ones at first — $176 every paycheck. I couldn't get enough of having an extra $125 every paycheck! When I was starting to go overboard, I stopped the small loans, and then left the job I was at.

I had a couple of opportunities to maintain a second job which helped me immensely financially. Then I ran into a nightmarish roommate situation where I needed to get out ASAP. This is where the big loans came in and saved me.

I was a loyal customer to CashNetUSA for years. They gave me sizable installment loans without the runaround and worked with me when new jobs or medical emergencies messed up my payback schedule.

I kicked my payday loan habit for two years, and then I wanted to get another one. However, when you drop the habit and come back, your rhythm gets disrupted. So now, until I pay them back and take another break from payday loans, I'll be in the clear to start again.

Currently, I've been trying to find another payday loan place that is as good as CashNetUSA because I'm hurting since again I've been denied to finish my last semester. No school = no refund check = no bills are getting paid again. Then my boss asks me to work extra hours since I'm not in school. This means the 30 extra hours I'm working every two weeks will pay the bills I'm behind on.

Bad financial predicaments happen to me often. Yet somehow something out of left field comes along and changes my situation for the better. Often, the new way requires more work on my part. Hard work doesn't bother me, as long as I can overcome a setback because of it. I don't know if it's fate intervening at the last minute for me or a Guardian Angel looking after me, but I'll take it.