Good Morning Den Members and All My Den Friends!
I have been asked repeatedly by many to write my testimonial in regards to what has occurred to my family and me since Monk helped us out of what seemed to be a hopeless situation just 16 months ago. I have promised to write this since December 2009 which was immediately after the first Monkinar which we coined LA1.
So allow me to take a little of your time to share my story in the hopes that anyone out there in a similar position may actually get a sense of opportunity and the assistance that Monk and the Den has so kindly shared with my family and me.
My Ihub story actually began almost four years ago while my life still had some normalcy to it. I owned a small masonry construction company with employees that numbered anywhere from 20 to 45 depending upon the size of the projects at any given time.
I found Ihub back in 2006 and began to dabble in the pennies. My very first penny stock was one in which I made 300% with over a hold of less than 10 months, and WOW! had I figured out the road to riches, lol. That luck, and I stress luck, didn't last for long though as my world began to unravel gradually over the next two years.
In July of 2006, my mom had a major stroke. Three hours later, I called my dad to see if he had heard anything about mom. He said no, the doctor hadn't called yet. Ten minutes later,my mom's doctor called me and informed me that my mom would only recover to approximately 20% of what her lifestyle used to be. He told me he had just spoken to my dad about it. I called my dad, and no one answered. Since I lived two hours away, I asked my brother to check in on him to see how dad was doing. My brother called back 15 minutes later to let me know dad had passed away in his chair but just seemed as if he was napping. My dad had some problems with his heart, and after 55 years of marriage, I guess my dad's heart just couldn't take it.
My mom and dad had been caring for my grandma (mom's side) as she was suffering with years of dementia. So with mom now unable to ever care for herself anymore, the care of my mom and grandma became the responsibility and joy of my wife, Francine, and me. The cost of their private care, up and above their Medicare and social security, was just over $6,000 per month which at that time we could still afford. No way was I going to place them in a Medicare facility if I could financially afford it. Had we know what was about to occur over the next few months, it still would not have made a difference in caring for my mom and grandma.
My grandma passed away in October 2008 and my mom in June 2009. Quite a few other family tragedies, but these were the toughest and nearest to Francine and me. I still think about my dad, mom and grandma everyday!
Into January of '08 my business was still going fairly well, but suddenly between February and June, I found more receivables were becoming delinquent by 30, 60 and 90 days. During July and August virtually every one of my lenders reduced my credit lines down to the levels that I owed, and in effect leaving me with no working capital. Over the next three months, the 17 projects that I won were not being funded by the various construction lenders, and they were all cancelled. No worries though, because I still had almost $200,000 coming to me from a number of general contractors for work performed. Wrong! Bankruptcy notices and my project liens were all wiped out through foreclosures. I lost my company, no jobs for my employees, no receivables, no work and almost no money left by November 2009.
Keep in mind, while this was occurring, I was chasing every penny stock coming across my screen from 2007 into 2008. Win one, lose 3. Win one, lose 4. Nothing worked and once the almost $200,000 in receivable was unrecoverable, I was left with very little funds and those funds were in my last two "Hope" stocks. Desperation sets in quickly under these circumstances. Francine and I couldn't sleep and didn't know what to do as we were facing possible homeless. How quickly lives can change for the worst.
During the months of this financial and personal collapse, I had come across many individuals in Ihub and everyone had the "Life Changer" stock as many of us have probably held at one time or another. One of the boards I was reading, but not really investing into their picks, was a board where Monk was an assistant moderator, the WU board. One of the stocks that that board followed was FESI which had fallen from over $1.00 to .30. A lot of excitement and talk about it, so I purchased it because it was a lot cheaper now then when they first recommended it. I PM'd this Monk fellow to let him know that I finally bought one of their picks.
He immediately answered and told me to sell at once as the chart looked very bad. What's a chart but mumbo jumbo. But I listened and sold it. Within days, the stock was selling sub penny! Wow! What a lucky call that guy made. I continued to PM with him and let him know of how bad things had become for my wife and me over the previous few months. Monk sent me his phone number and asked me to call him, which I did.
Explaining to Monk about the drastic situation I was in, he told me to take the last of my funds and do exactly what he said. His exact words were, "Do exactly what I tell you, and you won't have a job in Dec 2009." I remember myself breaking out in a laugh. Monk asked me what was so funny. I answered that he doesn't understand and that I'm in debt over $350k, no work, and only one hope stock left.
Those of you that have already met Monk personally can imagine the look on his face (no smiling, no laughing, just a bland stare as in, "So?") as he said, "I'm not going to tell you what to do with your debt, but do what I tell you to, and you won't have a job in 12 months." Almost like my grandkids would say, "Like Duh! Don't you get it grandpa?!"
This is now December 2008. I took the last $2,122 to our names, sold CDCH and did exactly what Monk told me and others to do. My wife and I didn't even have enough to pay the Jan '09 rent, and I informed my landlord that I would be late with the rent. Personally I was not believing that I would be able to pay any rent in Feb either. After all, I've heard about these 'To the Moon' stocks before, but something about this Monk individual who gives you his number, takes more than one hour of his valuable time to listen to one's sob story, something gave me a feeling that was completely different that all the others who had "helped me" previously.
By June '09, just six months later from my initial contact with Monk, my wife and I had witnessed our account grow to over $200,000 with a number of Monk stock selections. Those in CDIV at the time realize that the stock shot to .13 from the original call at .0007. I did not sell one share during that run and watched the account dwindle quite a bit as the PPS retraced. In addition to having pulled out $7-$10k per month for expenses, I only sold what was needed to pay the bills. Initially, I was only able to invest in one and two Monk picks at a time, as I didn't have enough to trade the many, many chart plays that he also called during this time. I count well over 20 ten baggers that Monk called last year, and I didn't play one of them.
As Monk had predicted back in December 2008, I wouldn't need a job twelve months later. I officially became the Ex Blockman during Monkinar LA1. I was going to pay for Monk to visit me at my home and train me in day trading, swing trading and with chart studies. That was set to happen at my house for Dec '09. I mentioned it to a friend, then another, and the next thing I knew, I had six friends who wanted to sit in. My wife said, "Too many for my house. Can you do it at Monk's hotel?" That became our first seminar which I termed a Monkinar, and the rest is history.
I believe I have personally met Monk now more than any Den member other than his flight instructor. I will be attending as many Monkinars as possible in the future to meet as many Den members as possible while honing my trading skills. After all, we are getting approx 15-20 years of experience crammed into a two day Monkinar. A lot to remember but a life changer for me and my family.
Those of you in similar circumstances, please don't lose hope. Things will get better but it does take time and patience. Never in my wildest dreams did I think things could turn around as quickly as they collapsed. You have truly found the best board on Ihub along with fantastic group of core members working to help you. And Monk! What can I say that hasn't been stated many times already. The smartest and most capable trader that I have every met. But more importantly, the most unselfish person who is paying it forwards to as many people as possible. You are all ultimately responsible for taking charge of your own futures, but the help is here in the Den for those how truly wish to take the assistance of a great team.
From the hearts of Francine and Harold..... Monk, you are a true friend and a very special person!......
AI
