When Maryrose came to Money Mentors, she was struggling to survive on $23 a week after paying rent, power, water, and some of the debt she owed. Like many people in her situation, her financial security had been stolen by a couple of challenging life events.
“When you find yourself deep in debt, you’re totally trapped,” says Maryrose “There’s no way out. Trying to sort your finances becomes way too disheartening and so you wind up shuffling your debt around just enough to keep the debt-collectors off your back. It’s incredibly stressful and time consuming. Coming to Visionwest provided the most amazing lifeline.”
When Maryrose talks of meeting her Visionwest financial mentor, she mentions the unexpected respect and dignity she was treated with. Arriving with the
fear that she might be judged for not being able to manage her money, she was met instead with the calm assurance that she had nothing worry about, it could all be sorted.
Organising Maryrose’s finances began with Maryrose bringing all debt-related paperwork to Tracey, her financial mentor. When spread out it covered the entire floor of Tracey’s office and it was obvious, unless something was done, Maryrose could be trapped in this cycle of debt for the rest of her life.
Tracey was able to work with Maryrose’s creditors and negotiate significantly lower interest rates and arrange for some debt to be wiped. Today, Maryrose is just a few payments away from being completely debt free.
When asked about where she would be today without help from Visionwest Money Mentors, Maryrose is totally candid, “I doubt I’d have been able to cope mentally. Living in poverty is soul-destroying and stressful especially when you have been forced into it by events and people outside of your control.
“But that’s in the past now. Because of Visionwest, I’ve got a spring in my step, that anxiety has been washed away. Today, when I meet anyone who needs
help with their finances, I quickly recommend that they come along to Visionwest and tell them, ‘Be prepared – when you step inside that door, your life will change forever!’”