I had been working for many months to try and pay off a significant amount of credit card debt. I was making progress, but it was slow going month by month. Also, I knew that my car was getting old and I knew I’d have to start a car payment soon. I was starting to be discouraged, but I remained optimistic and hopeful that a solution would present itself.

I had an old Martin guitar that had belonged to my Dad. It had sat in a closet gathering dust for about 10 years and a musician friend urged me to get it appraised for insurance value.

I took it to the place he recommended and I was floored when they offered me $40,000 dollars, actual cash dollars, on the spot for it. Turns out it was a very rare instrument and quite valuable. I ended up with enough money to pay off all my bills, buy a wonderful new van that I had been wanting for years and even put some extra money in the bank. My dad would have been so thrilled!