Paying for several small emergencies, including a medical incident, put David on a downward spiral. As he explains, “It was just those little things popping up where you don’t necessarily have that cash lying around and it’s really easy to watch that debt kind of spiral out of control. Once the interest started coming through, after a number of years, it just becomes unmanageable.
You feel that even if you’re still making payments, you’re chipping away, but there’s no goal. And there’s a lot of shame that people will judge you if you have all of this debt. It was definitely a mental and emotional hardship as well.”
A heavy weight on his shoulder
David’s turmoil affected more than his financial well-being. It weighed on him mentally as it consumed his thoughts every waking moment. He considered what he could do differently to help alleviate the situation. But once the pandemic hit and he got laid off, his financial situation fell completely out of his control.
When David met his now husband, he was transparent about his situation. While it didn’t directly affect their relationship, it put a strain when they discussed planning for the future. “Having to think about this horrible elephant in the room where we’re trying to make plans to buy a house or move and we can’t really do that yet while we still have all this debt,” explains David.
Chipping away, not getting anywhere
David tried a few different budgeting strategies and cut his expenses, but it always fell short. As he says, “Even if you get your budget down to a place where it’s bare bones, sometimes you’re still in a place where that’s not enough.”
Even when David thought he was making progress, sometimes life came along to throw a wrench in his plans. “I was just solely focused on trying to get this paid down. There are times where you’re more on top of it and you get to a place where you’ve reduced your debt a lot. And then something else will happen and all that work you’ve done just goes out the window.
It gets to a point where the interest payments are so overwhelming, you’re not making any progress against the principal amount of the loan and you’re chipping away at nothing,” describes David.
David was initially dealing with his debt on his own. But when it also involved his partner, who was counting on him, he realized something needed to change.
The moment of decision
The last straw for David was getting laid off during the pandemic. He thought to himself, “This is a moment where I’m not gonna be able to keep managing this on my own.”
While researching debt relief companies, National Debt Relief came highly recommended, so he decided to give them a call. “I immediately felt taken care of. I felt that they were very professional. From that first phone call, I was pretty sure that I had made the right decision. Once that first settlement came through, I was sure I made the right decision.
The relationship with the folks that I spoke with was always positive. I never felt judged. I always felt like they were in my corner, and they wanted to help me as much as I needed help. It felt like they cared about me to a point where even the last person I spoke with when I was graduating the program, she offered to reach back to me after all the approvals went through,” says David.
Staying the course
Like many NDR graduates, David found that having a plan mapped out for him and staying the course played a huge role in helping him reach the finish line. As he explains, “I think the biggest thing that helped me feel hopeful was when the program was all finalized. I had an end date, there was a goal and if you can make these payments for this amount of time, then you’ll be good. And that was a much more manageable thing for me to try to accomplish.
I knew that it was going to be difficult going in. Even though we were able to reduce the debt by a lot, it still was going to be several large payments monthly to try to get this resolved. I was very confident in my ability to do it.”
Walking a little lighter
When the first settlement came through, David felt like it was too good to be true. And when he had a small amount left on the program, he was able to pay the rest off in one fell swoop using money he had socked away. As David recalls, “After that, they said that I needed to wait about a week or so for everything to be finalized. Then I got the email, it said, congratulations, you are now debt free.”
I still was in disbelief about it because it’s been such a part of my life for so long. And then to go check my account on the National Debt Relief website and see balance zero, program paid off. It increased my own confidence. Because you were able to identify a problem, set a goal, make a plan, and then achieve the goal.”
Resolving his debt wasn’t the only positive outcome. David now feels confident that moving forward, he has the strategies he needs to keep his debt in check. His loved ones have noticed that he is walking a little lighter since he graduated.
“My family and friends around me knew that I was struggling in this way, and they’ve mentioned several times since I’ve graduated, how different my air is now. There is this entire stress that is completely gone from the relationship,“ exclaims David.
Now that David has taken back control of his financial life, his big plans for the future include a new house. “You just feel this weight off of your shoulders and you feel much more powerful because you’re able to use your finances to your benefit rather than trying to pay off debt.
I graduated the program a couple months ago and I got a new phone and I’m looking to move in a couple of months. I really just feel like I can finally start to live the life I want to because I have the power back,” affirms David.
Words of Hope
“I feel great about National Debt Relief, I feel very confident in their services. The entire time I was working with them, we never had any sort of hiccup or issue. I even called in one time saying that my monthly payment was very cumbersome, and they were able to reduce that for me a little bit.
Give ’em a call, see what they can offer you. Once you speak with them, I’m sure that you would be able to feel the professionalism that I felt,” David recommends.
Let the people at National Debt Relief help you write your success story. We have supported over 500,000 people nationwide every step of the way to help them resolve their debt, regain financial independence, and adjust their spending habits to remain debt free.