Angela turned to the Polk County Financial Empowerment Center to build her credit score and create foundational financial habits to recover from some bad experiences with payday loans. “I came because my financial circumstances and credit were in disarray. I was also a victim of predatory lending as I made some poor choices using payday loans. The payday loans came into the picture, because I started robbing Peter to pay Paul.”
After a few sessions with her counselor, Angela took actionable steps to improve her credit score, pay down debt, and increase her savings. “I was able to reduce the number of delinquent accounts and reduce my credit utilization by paying down my credit card debt. This resulted in a credit score increase from 564 to 645. I also increased my savings balance.” Angela was able to manage her financial situation and remedy her credit issues. After repairing her credit, she was able to start the process of buying a house. “I want to get through the process as I was just able to secure financing for a new home which will close next week. I would not have been able to do this without working on my credit score and budget.”
Angela raves about her financial counselor and now recommends others also seek out FEC services.
“I was able to freely talk to Kent, my financial coach, without judgment. He listened, empathized, and walked with me through the necessary steps to improve my overall finances. He encouraged me and let me know that this process of buying a home will take some time. He was honest with me. They walked with me every step of the way.”
Angela plans to continue working with her FEC counselor to continue to stay on track with her financial plans. “I would like to maintain what I’m doing financially as it’s been a long road and I want to stay with it. I would like to improve my credit score even more, over 700. As long as I continue with the discipline, I will be able to do this. The FEC can help me with monitoring my progress to achieve this goal and helping keep on track.”