by Kory Krauss, Financial Health Services Manager
Is debt holding you back?
Many individuals and families caught in the trap of debt and driven to the edge of poverty can learn strategies to manage their resources through Catholic Charities’ Financial Health Services.
This program also assists those struggling with complex problems, such as rebuilding credit, facing foreclosure or eviction, or a need for bankruptcy.
There is hope and help. Here is one of our recent success stories.
When Randy came to Catholic Charities, he had already made progress on his financial goals. However, money was always tight each month and progress felt slow. He began meeting with Kory Krauss, Financial Health Services Manager at Catholic Charities, in hopes of improving his financial future.
Much of Randy’s income was committed in a car loan, credit card negotiated payoffs and other living expenses.
Kory helped Randy get a sense of his financial circumstances and his monthly budget, and then presented all the available options.
Randy chose a hard plan, but one that would create the best results.
- He moved in with a relative to remove his rent expense.
- He met regularly with Kory and drafted a monthly budget, detailing exactly where his money would go from each paycheck.
- He put all of his extra money toward the highest interest rate debt (car loan) and paid off bills to keep them from collections.
The result was spectacular! In six months, Randy had paid off his car loan completely and decreased his total debt load by over $9,000. He had also built a small emergency savings fund and moved his credit score from 655 to 730.
In just six more months, Randy will have paid off all his credit card debt and built a $1,700 monthly surplus to aim at his student loan payoffs. His original three-year debt payoff plan will be finished instead in just one year and he will have saved thousands of dollars in the process!
Great work, Randy — the success is yours!
To learn more about Catholic Charities Financial Health Services, or to refer a friend, visit catholiccharitiesgb.org/personal-finance.