How I Paid Off $8,000 in Credit Card Debt as a Single Mom
Here is yet another testimonial of how someone paid off their credit cards through a Debt Management Plan with LSS. Debt can happen to anyone at any stage in life. Debt doesn't care about your age, marital status, income bracket, etc. And similarly, being debt free can happen to anyone as well. All it takes is commitment to change and the right tools!
Tiffany's story
"I was 23 and just starting out in the professional world. I was also a single mom with a baby working full time and living paycheck to paycheck. So in my mind, credit cards gave me “freedom” to buy things like work clothes. After opening up some credit cards/store cards, I found myself with $8,000 in credit card debt. This might not seem like much, but at my age $8,000 seemed like $80,000.
"I used my cards for pretty much everything…clothes, entertainment, groceries, gas and even some bills. I was trapped in a vicious cycle and kept using the cards, even though I knew I couldn’t keep up on all of the payments. Something had to give ,because I couldn’t take the stress of being in debt and not being able to make payments.
"My manager told me about LSS Financial Counseling, and I figured it couldn’t hurt to check it out and meet with a counselor about my finances. I met with a counselor who helped me set up a budget. I had never set up a budget before, and it was really eye-opening to me to see my current expenses and credit card payments compared to a budget with some changes in spending and the Debt Management Plan (DMP) payment.
First off, I had no idea that the DMP even existed – let alone that with the plan, my interest rates and payments could be reduced. I was excited and relieved to start, even though I knew it wasn’t going to be easy because I had to make some sacrifices as well.
I moved back in with my mother and cut back on a lot of spending. Again for me the DMP was a no-brainer because the length of time it would take to pay off my credit cards was CUT IN HALF – from eight years to four years. And my financial counselor did the math and told me that it would literally save me THOUSANDS of dollars in interest. Although it was a little scary knowing that my cards would be closed, this turned out to be the best part of the plan…because I couldn’t use them.
"During my financial counseling session I even cut up my cards and it felt AMAZING. I felt like weight had been lifted off my shoulders. Without the DMP, my finances would have gotten worse and worse."
"I would have kept using the cards, and likely my credit would have been ruined when I couldn’t make payments. I also really liked the fact that I could send in one payment each month to LSS, and they would take care of getting the payments to my creditors. This saved me a lot of time and energy.
"I learned the hard way what happens when you carry over balances month to month on credit cards. Now I pretty much stay away from credit cards unless I’m able to pay off the balance in full after using them. I completed the DMP in four years, which was huge for me because I was debt free before I turned 30. And shortly afterward, I got a mortgage and my credit has never been better. I highly recommend the DMP for anyone trying to pay off their credit cards. Without a DMP I would still be in debt!"
Our goal at LSS is to work with people like Tiffany as they take control and begin to build a life without debt. Give us a call at 888.577.2227 to see if a Debt Management Plan will work for you. Whether you have $8,000 dollars or $48,000 in unsecured debt a DMP can consolidate your monthly debts into one tidy payment--- often with a lower interest rate--- so you can start paying off those debts and return to financial health faster. Start building a life without debt today!