Yana and her husband were in bad financial straits.
She had just received her degree as a dental hygienist but couldn’t find a steady job. They’d made a bad property investment that wasn’t panning out, and with the real estate market in free fall, they weren’t able to sell. And when her husband lost his job, their credit card debt began to pile up. Fast.
Month after month, they’d figure out a way to squeak by. Yet every month they were delving into deeper debt from their high interest credit cards.
Yana saw an ad for a free financial planning seminar put on by Hebrew Free Loan. She had gotten a loan from Hebrew Free Loan years before – and paid it back – for dental school. She went to the seminar and was happy to learn that they also offered credit card debt relief loans.
On first glance, her situation was so bad that it seemed like a loan of $15,000 (maximum loan amount for debt consolidation) wouldn’t be enough to help. But after a long meeting with the staff, things looked different. Yana explained her strategy and they listened and asked questions.
Yana would combine a low-interest loan from a friend with the interest-free loan from Hebrew Free Loan to take care of the high interest credit card debt. Relieving that, and with some careful budgeting, she and her husband could pay back their loans and start saving.
“Getting the loan from Hebrew Free Loan was like a weight being lifted off my chest. It was emotionally very difficult to be in this situation. I’d never been in debt before.”
The repayment schedule is convenient for Yana, and is making it possible for her to get her life back on track. Even though she’s still repaying her loans, she has donated to the agency*. “Who knows? There might be someone like me out there who could really use the help.”
*Hebrew Free Loan has created the Full Circle Club to give special designation to those individuals who have received a loan from Hebrew Free Loan, and have gone on to donate to the agency. To become a Full Circle Member, individuals must donate an annual membership fee of $54 or greater.
