Success Stories
This Story is from Kristen:
Whether you call it coincidence, fate, destiny, or
divine intervention, sometimes the timing of events is eerie. I met with
George and Martha in September of 2003. They had had a few years filled
with turmoil. George retired from his job of 25 years and 'took to the
road' with a musical group. George had cashed in his retirement funds
of approximately $60,000 and purchased a plush motor coach for the group
to use as it traveled from coast to coast for their various engagements.
After two years, George and Martha decided that the
gypsy life was not for them. They returned to their condo in Rapid City
with the motor coach and $30,000 in credit card debt. Although George
was able to return to his previous employer, it was not to his previous
position.
Money was very tight. They could manage their basic living
expenses but fell short the $700 necessary to meet their obligations on
credit card debt. At this point, George was quite distressed - until I
pointed out that had he left his funds in his retirement, they would likely
have been cut in half due to the stock market plunge just after his purchase
of the motor coach. Then, the couple's eldest son said that he would make
the monthly DMP deposit until the motor coach sold. An aggressive sales
campaign was underway. Six months passed without a nibble. Last month
the son announced that he could carry his folks for two more months, but
that was it as he was getting married and was purchasing a home. George
and Martha were in a panic.
Today George called-he had good news. He said 'there's
a reason the coach hasn't sold! I need to live in it!' He was hired
for a job that pays twice what he is making now, and will be moving to
Sioux Falls in two weeks. He has an apartment lined up, but it will not
be ready until this fall. Then he received a call from a person in Aberdeen
who was wondering if the motor coach was still for sale. He had been thinking
about it for a few weeks and had not seen it in the parking lot when he
was here last. George explained the new circumstances. The person gave
him three or four different phone numbers to be sure that he could be
reached - and stated the timing was perfect, as he would not be ready
to purchase the coach until the fall.
With the increase in salary, George and Martha are
able to handle all of their obligations on their own, the motor coach
will no longer be a burden, and they will now be only 75 miles from their
grandchildren. George said it was a blessing to find CCCS and Credit
When Credit Is Due to get them on the right track. I say that's not
the only blessing in this story!
Today I had the pleasure of hearing another "rest of
the story" account. 'Carmen' came in over two years ago with a host
of problems. At that time, she had been evicted from her home, as the
property had been sold and the new owner was going to occupy the house.
As the single parent of 6 children, it was difficult for her to find alternative
housing. Carmen was also in a rehabilitation program and was expecting
her seventh child. She related incident after incident of approaching
landlords only to be declined due to the size of her family. Eventually
she moved into a motel, and was able to live with relatives periodically.
Yet, despite these obstacles, she told me then that she was determined
to turn her life around and break out of homelessness.
Carmen is still full of willpower today. Not long
after our first appointment, she began to file voluntary wage assignments
to clear up her (and her ex-husband's) past debt She was accepted by
Habitat For Humanity for a home. As part of the pre-purchase process,
Habitat required her to come through CCCS for a budget and credit analysis.
When she stated that she had already had an appointment some time ago,
it was recommended that she come in again. As part of our H.E.R.O. grant,
I was able to give her a scholarship Credit When Credit Is Due book, and
also a Make Your Move book through the SD Realtors Association grant funding.
Carmen commented that she feels blessed. She said
that without the encouragement of our agency through the information and
education we provide; the support of her employer; and the help of family
and friends - she probably would not be moving into a home of her own
within the next month. We both were teary-eyed when she left.
Last month I was on a team participating in the United
Way Day of Caring. Our team (comprised of members of the local Society
for Human Resource Management) was selected to help with a Habitat For
Humanity home. We built a mailbox stand, power-washed siding and sidewalk,
washed windows, installed closet shelving and towel racks, and built a
pantry. We had a lot of fun, and completing each task was very satisfying.
We learned toward the end of the day that the family was scheduled to
close on the house the following day and would be moving in over the weekend.
Up until that time, the family had been making the round trip to work
and school from Scenic each day! Gary, the general contractor, mentioned
the name of the family - and it sounded very familiar to me. Upon returning
to the office the next day, I looked up the name on the appointment system.
Now I realized why the name sounded familiar - I was this person's counselor
for her pre-purchase housing appointment about a year ago when she first
qualified for a Habitat home. She is a graduate of Credit When Credit
Is Due and Make Your Move. I thought it was very cool to have come full
circle this way. Incidentally, it was great fun to participate in a Day
of Caring team and I would encourage everyone to consider doing so next
year.
Christine
has been through some tough times in recent years. She has struggled with
addiction, homelessness, and unemployment. A little over 2 years ago Christine
made some changes in her priorities.
She sought the appropriate professional help
she needed and began the journey to wellness. She found employment that
allowed her a flexible schedule. Last fall she was able to secure housing
and custody of her daughter was restored to her. It seemed as though everything
was going her way. In January she purchased a vehicle and less than 3
weeks later it broke down. For six months she relied on family and friends
to "cart" her around to her job and wherever else she needed to go. Now
the flexible schedule was not such a good thing.
In July the Family Financial Independence Loan Program
emerged. Christine read the newspaper article with interest and made an
appointment right away to see if she qualified for a vehicle repair loan.
She came to her appointment prepared with everything but the funds for
Credit When Credit Is Due, and an estimate on car repairs. She was already
a member in good standing of the local Federal Credit Union. The maximum
loan amount allowed under the program is $500. She completed CWCID over
the weekend and was approved for her loan. The car repair estimate came
in at $500.03.
I consider Christine's story a success already.
I just spoke with my new client. He told
me that he is learning a lot from CWCID and has already saved $300
per year by re-evaluating his insurance. He said he and his wife have
begun to take a close look at the money they are spending, and the next
thing to go will be some dental insurance for which he is paying over
$800 per year that duplicates some that he gets free with his pension.
He said until he started reading CWCID, he never thought about
those types of things. Thought you'd like to know.
Pat
CCCS of Central NY
Thank you for all your help in getting
us through our financial crisis. We have finally managed to get a hold
on ourselves, and I am pleased to announce that we are a mere $150 in
credit card debt. So, we would like to be removed from your (DMP) program.
We only met with a counselor once, and he was a great help, but the most
wonderful part of your program was the opportunity to complete the Credit
When Credit Is Due course. I plan on keeping it close on hand. In
addition to finally keeping a positive balance in our checking account,
we have managed to set aside money for immediate savings, as well as a
retirement account, and a college savings fund for each of our children.
You really helped us get our priorities in order, and I am glad there
are companies like you out there to help save us from ourselves. Thank
you again
This Story is from Bonnie
M.:
Jim came in for his appointment with a
box full of statements. Jim is 20 years old, and wants to get his debts
taken care of before he gets married. Jim did not complete his General
Information Form. He was kind of overwhelmed by his stack of bills. Since
his appointment was already scheduled, I went through all of his statements.
With everything organized, Jim only owed $800 to creditors, one being
$425 to a collection agency for a medical bill when he was 14 years old.
The evaluation of his income, living expenses and his debts revealed on
a Debt Management Program he would be paid off in 4 months. Jim decided
not to use the DMP, but rather to handle his debts on his own with a financial
map. He wanted to take control of his own finances and follow a plan so
he could learn from his mistakes. We discussed CWCID and the value
it would have in his life. Jim's first words were, "This course is like
Drivers Education. I can use all the help there is for me." Jim handed
in his tests within one week.
This story is from Kristen L.:
Bob and Janet have been married for almost
thirty years. They relocated to the Black Hills from the East Coast in
order to provide a better quality of life for their growing children.
They were not prepared for the drastic reduction in wages that prevailed
in our area. Bob and Janet are educated professionals with years of experience.
They were mystified, as well as shocked, by the low salaries that were
being offered compared to the credentials required for positions they
qualified for. They turned to their credit cards to get them "over the
hump." It did not take long before the "supplemental" cash advances on
the credit cards grew to be unmanageable. They came to us for help.
Janet enrolled in the Credit When Credit is
Due classes through her employer. Bob received his Credit When
Credit is Due book during our counseling. They will be attending a
combination of the classes offered at the hospital and the ones we hold
at our location. They expect to begin a Debt Management Program within
a month. They are very enthusiastic supporters of our education programs.
Becky came in for an appointment a few
years ago. She had recently completed her PhD and was anxious to live
the "good life" and put her past behind her. Much of her debt was of the
medical variety and not covered by insurance at the time. Domestic conflict
and several relocations were also contributing to her difficulties. She
continued on with her DMP for nearly 18 months before deciding to take
charge of her financial affairs and to handle them on her own.
Last week Becky came back in. She had paid off
all of the debt from her previous DMP, but had new debts threatening legal
action. Finding herself in trouble again embarrassed her. (But she knew
where to come for help!) We put together a new plan and Becky should be
out of debt in less than 2 years. She set a new goal for the completion
of Credit When Credit is Due, and was encouraged by the increased
incentives offered by lenders. She stated that she was pleased that our
counseling sessions were totally non-judgmental.
This client is well educated, has a great job,
and is very articulate. However, she also is in need of the financial
guidance and knowledge that Credit When Credit is Due will provide.
Here's what Mary had to say about her community
marketing program with CWCID:
I also want to share with you what I've been doing. I offer CWCID
as a one day training. Don't make anyone read it first. I've done it three
times and it's been wonderful. I don't get the audience. I leave that
up to the non-profit that sponsors it. They provide drinks all day and
a very nice box lunch. I just show up with my books. We take the tests
together at the end of the day. I tell them to invite as many as they
can. With the first contract I told them if they had 25 in the group I'd
teach it for just the cost of the books - $50.00. But now that it's been
so successful I'm going to market it at $600 ($100 an hour for my time)
and the cost of the books. I had my first taker with the $600 this morning!
This one is from long-time counselor Bonnie M:
I was counseling with a former DMP client
this morning. They were rejoining the program. They had dropped in May
because they had just had it. They had decided that the answer to their
money woes was to file for bankruptcy protection. They told me that all
they did was struggle. They contacted an attorney to find out what their
options were. They paid him $800, and learned that all they could do was
file a Chapter 13 bankruptcy. And even so, they would have to give up
a lot of the assets that they have. What's more, they would not have any
control of their finances each month.
Here's where the story really gets interesting.
Because all of our clients get Credit When Credit is Due, they
said they went back to the book and reviewed Lesson 11 on Bankruptcy,
Lesson 12 on Rebuilding Credit, Lesson 1 on the Facts of Life, and Lesson
9 on You've Got Trouble When... After reading through these Lessons, they
decided against Chapter 13 because it would be a lot worse than paying
through the DMP. With a Chapter 13, they really felt they would lose total
control of their finances and their credit would be shot. Another victory
for Credit When Credit is Due, and another example of why credit
education needs to be part of every DMP program.
This story is from Kristen L.
A gentleman I counseled last May left me
a voice mail message last week, telling me that he felt obligated to return
the 'scholarship' money for CWCID. He has relocated and has landed
a job that pays him $10,000 more than he was making here. He said that
Credit When Credit is Due is an excellent part of his "recovery".
I left him a voice mail stating that he was under no obligation to return
the money, but if he wished, he could contribute to our scholarship fund.
Today in the mail we received a check for $50 ! :-)
From Ames Iowa:
In May of 2001, I had a college student
who contacted me for help with her past due bills. She was referred to
our office by one of her friends who was a client of mine. She told me
the story that her friend had come to see me earlier and had taken the
Credit When Credit Is Due course. Her friend went to one of our
local banks for a loan, and she was about to be turned down when the loan
officer noticed that the Credit When Credit Is Due program had
shown up on her credit report. Because she had completed the course, he
decided to approve her loan request. Now, my new client is excited to
have someone who can take her through the personal finance and credit
process with understanding as well as provide her with a valuable tool
that she needs to help her handle her future finances.
Tony La Rosa
Manager
CCCS - Ames, IA
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