Client Case Studies

Brian and Sarah

Brian and Sarah both worked full time and had saved enough money to buy a home. Two months after they moved into their new home they found out Sarah was pregnant. There were many things to buy before the baby was born. Unfortunately they used all their savings for the down payment on their home, and buying appliances and furnishings.

Sarah became very ill 2 months before her delivery date and her doctor advised she quit her job and stay in bed as much as possible. Brian and Sarah proceeded to use their credit cards to buy the baby's necessities. The day finally came and their beautiful baby boy was born. Three months passed and Sarah struggled to go back to work. She hated the idea of leaving her baby and the cost for daycare was about the same as Sarah's income. They decided it was best for their family if Sarah just stayed home. Their figures showed they could meet all their monthly obligations except payments for their newly acquired credit card debt. They needed an additional $125 per month to break even. They decided to call a Credit Counselor for advice.

The Credit Counselor evaluated their situation and recommended they enroll in a debt management program. The creditors they owed all offered lower payments and interest rates while participating on a debt management program. This allowed them to meet all their monthly payment obligations while providing a plan to become completely free of credit card debt in approximately 48 months (as long as they didn't continue to use credit or obtain any new loans) in addition to saving them approximately $14,000 in interest.

Brian and Sarah were on track to have their debts paid in full in 24 months when they found out Sarah was pregnant again. Brian recently received a promotion and salary increase at work They applied as much money as they could to get their debt paid off sooner than anticipated. They also put a little money in savings for emergency purposes. With Brian's raise they paid off all of their credit card debt one month before the birth of their second child. This time it was a girl so they used some of the money they saved to buy clothes for their new baby.