Starting to See the Light

Dark Tunnel by Russell Bradshaw

A year ago this month I was in a dark tunnel.  No end to this tunnel in sight. I was lost and unsure what to do and thought that financially, I was at the point of no return.  Okay, that was a bit dramatic because there is ALWAYS a way out but I wasn't sure which was that route began.  This is when I wrote into the Suze Orman show.

That was a whirlwind.  I found myself physically on the show, talking to Suze on camera. It was completely nerve wracking and one of the best things I've done.  That episode aired on December 1, 2012 and garnered much attention from family and friends. Many of them saying how brave I was to tell my story on the show.

While on the show, Suze talked about being honest with people about who you are and what you can afford and can't afford. She also gave me some advice that I took.

Some of the advice was to:

• Stick with a budget
• Pay my student loan payment regularly
• Learn to say no to friends and family when it comes to spending money
• Take in a roommate
• Refinance my home
• Quit bowling and going out on the town
• Enroll in a debt management program

I am happy to report that I have done all of these things since my appearance on the show with the exception of quitting the bowling league. The final piece of the puzzle was the refinancing of my home.

Having debt and a bad FICO score didn't make it easy for me to get the refinancing.  I tried the traditional methods of attaining a loan and was always turned down because of my credit score. Note to my readers, if you don't take that score seriously  YOU SHOULD!

The refinancing of my home came out of the blue. My loan company sent me a overnight letter stating that I might be eligible for a streamlined refinancing program where the company would pay all fees associated with the refinance. Of course, I thought this was a hoax so I called the company to verify that they did send me this information. They did indeed send it and after answering a few questions I was eligible! Woo! Hoo!  The big question was, "How?".  The mortgage consultant stated that since I had a strong payment history with them that they wouldn't use my credit score to determine if I'd get the loan or not.  It pays to pay on time and regularly.

After nearly 3 weeks of back and forth with paperwork, I was ready to go to closing.  This was such a simple process. I met with my closing agent at Starbucks and brought with me a check for $980 to cover escrow payments for two months.  The total savings on my monthly mortgage payment is $212! I lowered my interest rate 2% over the life of the loan. I pay far less for this house than I could have ever imagined.  Honestly, I would not be able to find a studio apartment in the area for the amount I pay for this mortgage!

In the past year of following Suze Orman's advice, I've been able to reduce my debt, pay my bills in full and on time each month and no longer rely on having a roommate (currently I am without a roommate).  It feels AMAZING to have made it to this point.  Now I must stay on my plan to completely pay off my debt - but in the meantime I am enjoying the light that I am seeing at the end of this long tunnel.

One year down. Two or less years to go.

Educate. Empower. Economize.