The last few months I have been so focused on getting out of debt and everyone around me has been doing the same; so I forgot we are all weird. This past week with the many new readers that Lifehacker has brought me, I have been awakened and re-inspired to continue to be weird.

I am reminded that many people have bought the lie that debt is their friend. This is true for so many in our society that have never heard of or practiced delayed gratification. Others believe that other peoples’ money is the “sophisticated” way to make money. It is a very “sophisticated” way for other people to make money and you to be broke!

It doesn’t matter what your net worth is, debt equals risk. If something happens to your cash flow and you are late on your payments, the usury of the banks that you signed up for will rapidly chip away at your net worth. The only way to build wealth that is truly secure is to do it without debt. Walgreens and Harley Davidson are a couple of businesses that have not used debt and seem to do just fine.

It’s okay to be weird. Remember, normal is?broke. You don’t want to be normal!

I have?a quick update on the US Foodservice and Sysco potential lawsuit. I talked to the attorney’s legal assistant today. Things sound promising, but she was going to have to wait for the attorney’s return on Monday and discuss it further with their “clients.”

I tried to contact US Foods and Sysco directly as well to see if they would agree to any type of repayment plan. US Foods is at least talking to me. I am hopeful maybe we can work something out without their attorney.

Also I need to thank my wife for helping send 5,502 people to my site today. That is a record, in case you were counting!

You may recall one of the keys to financial peace I earlier wrote about is absolute integrity. Integrity is back in the news again. Read here about the Coca Cola?scandal and how Pepsi handled it.

Many people still believe that corporations and the wealthy have attained their success by stealing from those of us who are not so fortunate. This?could not be further?from the truth. When you study millionaires, the quality that is consistently found in each is a high level of integrity. If you want financial freedom, you must have absolute integrity!

Today I did the inevitable; I resigned my position as a Sergeant at the Greene County Sheriff’s Department. This was an extremely difficult decision; however, morally I was to the point that I felt it was wrong for me to do anything else. I know that I have to do something different to have the income I need.

Currently I have two strong opportunities and a couple of others that are still in the running. Active duty Army makes the most sense and will likely pay the?best in the long run. I also am a finalist to be a Training Instructor for the United States Capitol Police, a very good paying job in a city that I love. Then there is a possibility of working for Dave Ramsey in another city I love, Nashville. (If you have even a loose connection to Dave or one of his employees, please contact them and tell them how great an addition I would be to their team!) There are a couple of other jobs that I have not been eliminated from the running yet, but am not as interested in, although their salaries are pretty incredible!

The past five years I have made professional accomplishments that I never dreamed possible. It was not so much me as it was a group of four of us. My best memories will be of Sarah Everett, Tom Martin, Jack Merritt and the changes that we made between 2001 and 2004. Sarah’s straight forward attitude and honesty about everything, and her refusal to allow anything to remain the same that needed changed is something I really miss. There were others that contributed, and there were many who fought our changes (always will be if you are making change), but on a daily basis I saw the four of us work together and do things that many people thought impossible.

The biggest accomplishment that I am proud to have played a part in is the increased DWI enforcement efforts. In those first few years we lowered injury and fatality DWI accidents in Greene County by 42%. During that same time, the population increased, calls for service dramatically increased, and there was no additional manpower. DWI arrests were up over 2000%, and over 98.5% were convicted of DWI without an SIS (suspended imposition of sentence). The Springfield Police Department’s DWI unit, which was disbanded after two city council members were arrested for DWI, also played a large part in this success.

Most of all, I will miss the access that I had to the Sheriff and Chief Martin. It was amazing to have two guys that think the same way I do on almost every issue concerning law enforcement. Anytime I saw something in the agency that I felt needed changed, I always had an open door to talk to them. They didn’t always agree, but they always allowed me to explain my opinion and in return explained theirs’.

I am going to miss working with a lot of people down there. Hopefully there aren’t too many that are excited to see this day. I will always be proud of the last nine years that I was fortunate to have the title of deputy. I can with a clear conscious say I have no regrets.

After months of threats to file suit, demands of payment in full, and an absolute reluctance to accept any repayment plan no matter the amount; out of the blue I received a letter from American Express’ collection agency, GC Services. The letter states that they will accept a payment of $150 monthly, payable by the 9th of each month. It goes on to state that if I am ever late they will immediately consider me in default, and be forced to take “further actions.”

I immediately made my July payment today in order to be in compliance. In previous conversations, I always advised them I could afford $125 per month, and have been sending that amount for five months now. $150 is a very reasonable amount, and I must say that I am totally and completely shocked.

Of course the trip to the post office couldn’t be all good. I received two letters from a law firm in Kansas City that represents both US Foodservice and Sysco. On a side note; I find it very ironic that Sysco and US Foods are represented by the same law firm and send me joint correspondence. The whole time I was preparing for and running The Lazy Susan, the two companies were daily lying about the other, speaking more negative about the competition than positive about their company.

The letter stated that while they were thankful for the payments that have been received monthly for the previous five months, the payments were not sufficient and they would have no choice but to file suit. I tried to call, but of course they were taking an extended holiday weekend. It is funny they mention the payments are unacceptable, yet have never said what an acceptable payment would be.

I am very hopeful that I will be able to establish a repayment plan and avoid a suit. When I spoke with them in January when they just represented US Foods, they seemed easy enough to work with. If they do go ahead and file suit, at least I know I can hold it off for about two years with the SCRA (Servicemembers Civil Relief Act). By the time I am back from Afghanistan and complete my terminal leave after deployment, they should be paid in full. I will update you Wednesday when they come back to work.