A caring mom, with the bills to prove it

A sudden accident changed things…

My family came to me for help and like a good mother I helped. One day my son-in-law got injured at work and he needed help. Meanwhile, I also had my own business and I would buy products with my personal credit card. I would try to pay my monthly payments but the interest would be too much and it seemed like I never made a payment.

Debt was mounting…

My partner passed away in 2009 and I felt I had to do something about my debt. I didn’t want to claim bankruptcy but it was getting out of hand. I knew I was getting older and I didn’t want the debt to be with me when I retired. I was $75,000 in debt.

An advertisement changed everything…

I tried dealing with this on my own by making payments but I was getting nowhere. One day I was watching TV and the Consolidated Credit ad came up and it was the answer to my problems.

Consolidated Credit’s payment schedule kept her on track…

The best part about Consolidated Credit was knowing I had to meet the payments every month – I didn’t want to see a letter that said “Non-Sufficient Funds” so I kept making my payments. I made sure to keep a small amount of savings to ensure I had enough money to keep up with payments.

Lessons learned along the way…

I know not to help out my family with my credit card. If I need to help them, I use cash only. Also, nowadays I really know how to budget.

Being debt-free has its perks…

I am now able to go on a holiday when I want to and I’m able to work when I want to. I am able to take days off for special occasions. I have a Tax-Free Savings Account for my retirement and now that I am debt-free, I am saving for only me. This program has taught me to stick to what I started. Go high and low to make your ends meet. Work, work ,work and keep your eye on the prize of being debt-free!