If you are in debt up to your eyeballs, this story can inspire you to take control of your money. The Hildebrandt family of Wisconsin was able to successfully get rid of $106,000 in personal and credit card debt over 5 years.
The family had over $89,000 in credit card debt and $17,000 that they owed to a family member. They had been current on all of their payments, but their credit card companies started to raise their interest rates. That’s when the Hildebrandts decided to get to work. They struggled with covering monthly payments and realized they needed to alter the way they lived.
When many friends were telling the family to declare bankruptcy, Russell and Kandy Hildebrandt determined it would be better to bite the bullet and pay back their debts. They began by meeting with a debt manager, that was able to help the family come up with a five-year proposal that would help them eliminate their debt completely.
They hadn’t lived a lavish lifestyle when they went into debt. They rented a 1,000 square-foot townhome and only took trips to visit family members in the Midwest. Over some years, the family had slowly accrued debt because of unexpected expenses and medical bills. After some time, the family decided and committed to save and reduce their bills although they maintained that they would pay a 10 percent tithe on their income to their church.
By eliminating optional spending, buying generic foods, purchasing necessities at thrift stores, and cutting gift exchanges the family was able to send $2,000 each month to their debt management company and, in turn, to their creditors.
This amount was about 50 percent of Russell’s net pay, so Russell took on a second job. The family even made do with one car for a year until the family received a used van from Kandy’s family. Even though money was stretched, the family continually saved and, while their balances didn’t seem to be decreasing much, they kept their objective in mind to be debt-free.
By 2008, the family only had one more year of payments to go and Russell began looking for a new home. They found a three-bedroom rambler on a rent-to-own contract and moved in. The family is now free of debt and working on paying off their mortgage. Even though the debt is gone, Kandy remains a bargain shopper.
The Hildebrandts, through their extraordinary actions and devotion to repay their debts, won the Professional Achievement and Counseling Excellence (PACE) 2009 Graduate Client of the Year Award.
This family showed that through determination anything is doable. They accepted their debts and agreed that they needed to make some changes and they got to work. The Hildebrandts deserved to win the award, because they were accountable and took care of themselves. Well Done!! If you’re up to your eyeballs in debt, you can do it too.
The author enjoys writing about politics, classes online, and online education. Diane Johnson graduated in Political Science from the University of Utah.
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