Momi shares her pawning experience at Cebuana Lhuillier
It was April 4, 2002. I got a call from my boyfriend. He told me to dress my best, and we will go somewhere.
I obliged and waited for him. He arrived at our house a little late than his promise. My mom just left so I wasn’t able to tell her I will be off somewhere with my boyfriend.
We traveled to Marikina City Hall. He explained to me on our way to the city hall that we are scheduled for an 11 am civil wedding. But when we arrived at the court, the judge who will officiate our union was already out for lunch. The assistant told us to be back by 1 pm. She also reminded us to ready our wedding ring.
The wedding ring
We didn’t have a ring. What we had was the childhood ring my father gave me when I graduated from elementary. It has a letter B design which stands for my name Berlin.
We went to the nearest pawn shop and checked on some wedding bands. We cannot afford two rings, thus bought only one for my boyfriend. I used my ring instead to symbolize the union.
The challenge
Last two weeks was one of the most challenging days of my life. My husband had difficulty moving around. He can’t stand up even for a few seconds. He walked crawling with his hands and knees. It was a painful sight to behold.
He relayed to me it happened to him once when we were in college. His condition is called potassium paralysis. It is when he experiences muscle cramps and spasms. It occurs when the potassium level of a person is low in the blood. From my readings, I learned that when blood potassium levels are low, the brain cannot relay signals as effectively. This results in more prolonged contractions like muscle cramps.
The struggle
Timely, too, that on those weeks that my husband had difficulty moving, our three boys are about to take their first-trimester examination. And just like most schools, students cannot take up their examination without first settling the tuition fee balance.
That perhaps is the struggle of a large family. Even though the parents are too industrious, the bills payment, school obligation, and household needs are just too many.
With a paralyzed husband, I didn’t know where to get funds for the boys’ monthly tuition fee. I didn’t want to bother him with money concerns. He was having heart palpitations. His heart was beating hard and fast. I know that when one has some heart palpitation, it is commonly linked to anxiety. And I don’t want to bother him anymore. So I tried to solve the need to raise funds ASAP.
The answer
I cried, clasped my hands, and prayed. Then I saw the wedding ring we got from the pawn shop 16 years ago.
It was my first time to pawn something. I didn’t want to ask for help from my mom or friends. I understand that monthly obligations like school tuition fee should be given a budget. We need to pay the school monthly, so the tuition fee isn’t something that comes as a surprise. But my husband just can’t go out to collect payment from his clients. The money he will get is what he intends to pay for the bills that month.
I went back to the pawn shop where we bought the ring 16 years ago. I pawned the ring to them and gathered the savings I kept at home. When I amassed the amount I needed to pay the tuition fee, I headed to the school and paid to the cashier.
The discovery
Before heading to the familiar Cebuana Lhuillier Pawnshop, I went to two other pawn shops. I had our ring appraised and discovered that among the three, Cebuana Lhuillier had the highest appraisal. I went back to Cebuana Lhuillier to pawn our ring.
More than the high appraisal, I opted for Cebuana Lhuillier because I felt safe doing my transaction with them. For one, they have a shop with a door and a security guard. The first pawn shop I went to only has window grills. Second, with Cebuana Lhuillier, the staff are in complete uniform, giving me the confidence that they are indeed working for the company. Likewise, the Cebuana Lhuillier appraiser has a full set of equipment to check the jewelry. Which points out why they have the highest appraisal. They have a diamond detector which distinguishes a real diamond from a fashion stone only. Given this, they include the value of the diamond or stone, unlike the two pawn shops that only can detect the value of the metal.
Pawning My Wedding Ring
The answer
My husband can now stand and walk but with support. He still has some difficulty carrying our two little ones, but at least, he can move.
Last Monday, he went to the construction site he is overseeing. He relayed to me that a client also paid the balance for the building construction he designed a month ago. Though late, we have the money to pay for the boys’ October tuition fee and can even pay on time for the November billing. That also means that I can return the savings I borrowed and even get back the wedding ring I pawned.
The struggle
Our life isn’t a bed of roses. We had experienced energy bills built up and got disconnected because of a power cut. There were many times we weren’t able to pay for school service and house rental payment on time. Many times, too, that I feared my boys wouldn’t take the examination because we haven’t settled the tuition fee yet.
The challenge
I guess those challenges will be with us for a few more years. We have three high school boys and two toddlers. It’s only my husband who brings income to the family though somehow, I manage to bring a little from the writing and blogging gigs I was able to close.
I am confident, though, that such test will not be forever. By God’s grace, we will surpass all these challenges. And if there is one thing I learned from our recent struggle, it was not to be afraid to do what is right.
The wedding ring
That day when I cried, clasped my hands and prayed, I saw the answer to my immediate need for money – pawn our wedding ring.
Pawning My Wedding Ring
From my recent experience, I know that in a perfect world set up, I wouldn’t dare give up the only wedding ring we have. I don’t consider a defaulted pawn loan and in the process, a lost wedding ring as well. But with tight finances and in times we need quick money and I am confident we can pay the loan back within a few weeks or a month, pawning is an easy way to get that much-needed cash. It is a decent quick solution and something not to be ashamed of.
Momi Berlin Directory
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Kht ako nagsangla ng wedding ring nmn ng asawa ko nung aalis sya para may pag gastus sya,,that time tlga.kapus kmi tas kmi naiwan nmn utang nlng ng pagkain.
I hope your husband is feeling better now. Jewelry are good investments talaga.
I hope he is okay now. May mga alahas din akong tinatabi in case may emergency at wala akong agad agad na cash na hawak. Gold jewelries are better talaga than Pandora kasi pwede maisangla kahit halos same price lang sila.
I also had a bad impression of pawning growing up but I’ve come to learn that there are many benefits to it. And you’re right Cebuana has one of the best appraisal rates.
With God’s grace, family always overcome trials in life. It’s nice to know that you can rely on a good pawnshop for quick money you need for your family.
hope the hubby is ok now. Prayer is indeed very helpful in times of crisis 🙂
I have not tried pawning anything ever, but when I was younger i would see my mom pawning her jewelries to make ends meet.
Awww hope ok na po si hubby/boyfriend nyo po. Kaya maganda din paminsan mag invest ng gold para kapag emergency merong pwedeng isanla. Mahirap din kasi minsan mangutang sa mga kamag anak at mas mahirap pa bayaran ang utang na loob hehe… buti na lang may mga pawnshop tulad ng cebuana na maaasahan at talagang secured ung sinanla mo. Tapos mababa pa ang interest nila.
I hope your husband is okay now. You can really rely on pawning during emrgencies but you also have to choose which pawnshop to go to. Cebuana Lhuillier gives the highest appraisal.
Glad your husband is okay now. Take.care
Natakot ako while reading bout your husband mommy huhu glad he is safe na and praying na totally recovered sya.
Sanla is my way of coping up in times of difficulty and emergency cases instead of making UTANG “.
I have my fair share of sanla story Mommy and am glad Cebuana is to the rescue.
So here’s my story..Si hubby noong bf/gf pa kami mas nagbibigay ng gift na magagamit ko daw, di nawawala o nauubos at may purpose. He used to “bribe” haha me FOOD talaga pasalubong niya pag nagkikita kami sa school. He’s not into spending flowers, pero love letters or funny cards na may notes niya. So on our anniv he handed me a necklace 14k but i rarely wear it takot ma snatch lalo na ung daanan ko from school may area na maraming loko. Fast forward, we are a couple and blessed with a kid, na super likot. On his 2yrs of age, an accident came. He fell down sa stairs siguro mga 4 steps and it went really bad. I hurriedly run towards him and saw nakalaylay na ang elbow nya. As starting palang kami, we don’t have enough money. We even opted to hilot and we regret so we went to a clinic daming xray ginawa then ni refer kami to RMC, sin-smento muna ang elbow temporarily until we get a sched of his operation and the cost? Almost 30k for his fractured bones. We dont have that amount but we’ll do anything for him. Luckily, his boss, called informing we should make a visit to Phil Orthopedic the soonest as they already notify someone there. Btw, my husband that time works as a govt employee. We arrived there and mrami tao, so bawat galaw need money. I remember my necklace and brought it. Mahirap kumilos pag walang pera byahe palang from Taguig to Banawe Qc and need lagi magtaxi. No hesitations, we went to a nearby sanlaan, not to mention basta may ginto sa name nya nakikita din everywhere. Ang liit lng daw sabi ng asawa ko so hanap kami. We saw Cebuana and we believe na matutulungan kami kasi trusted na ito, i cant go on details kasi lutang ako that time. Hubby just went to the counter, handed my necklace they checked, weigh it and i remember php8k din and necklace ko malaking bagay na para makakilos kilos unlike doon sa other pawnshop plus di pa mabigat ang bayad di ka kabahan na baka di mo matubos malayo pa maturity date. Npa wow ako. BLESSING sya. Pirma na and we’re off to go. Matagal kami nagstay and kami lang talaga ang dami procedures before operation kahit sabihin na public may gagastusin ka padin plus food pa namin everyday..Sa katapat na fastfood kami kumakain kasi salitan kami sa pagbantay kaya magastos talaga. So after that unos na successful ang operation need pa namin pabalik balik kasi may followup checkup pa sa healing etc. Buti nlng sinagot ng govt (where hubby works) ang mga bakal na ginamit that time so mga gamot lang sa amin, travel amd food expenses. Natubos ko siya haha and masasabi ko SALAMAT CEBUANA✋ After that he gave me another necklace(21k) and a ring. Im keeping it as an investment too.