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Our journey began when my husband and I realized
our bills were beginning to pile up and our
income was less than our expenses. We contemplated filing bankruptcy and
went as far as to visit with two different
attorneys. It was a frightening way to turn and by
many nights of praying and talking we decided to
give the “Loving Help Budget Program” a try.
What did we have to lose, our pride? Asking for help and admitting our
financial mistakes was difficult, as both my
husband and I work at good jobs. We soon came to realize everyone
struggles with finances from time to time,
regardless of their annual income.
The second week of the program was the hardest
as we had to give total trust to the Lord and
give up all financial control. We were asked to hand over to our
assigned budget mentor our checkbooks, all
credit cards, and our debit cards. From this point forward we would write
out our bills and get approval for spending
cash. We were asked not to go to the bank for
money or borrow any money while participating in
the program. The first weeks were tough. Our budget mentor was awesome though and
offered us many suggestions and we put them to
work with much success. Over the course of the year we were able
to reduce our outstanding debt (which started
out huge) by 38% and were able to work out a
plan to be debt free within four years.
We have
experienced first hand God’s love in action. Now that our journey has come to a close with
the “Loving Help Budget Program”, we will
continue to utilize the tools put before us and
continue to trust in the Lord. The success came from God, our hard work,
the loving help of our budget mentor, Love INC
staff, and the numerous volunteers that helped
make the program a success. We may have never seen those windows open
up without their support and guidance. Thank you and God bless each and everyone
of you. |
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