On Our Way to Debt Free: How InCharge is Helping our Family

Rebecca Brady didn’t do anything extravagant to get into debt. It was just everyday life.

“It was just our own stupidity, really,” Rebecca said. “It’s not like we were out charging for vacations or expensive jewelry.”

Brady, a wife, and mother of three grown children, got into debt the way millions of people do, and “stupidity” has nothing to do with it. Living real life has everything to do with it.

“I’d go out for groceries, and I’d just put it on my credit card,” she said. “My youngest is in college and that means using a card to buy books and other necessities.”

And then there were the medical expenses. Rebecca’s husband tore his Achilles tendon and then developed kidney stones that put him in the hospital.

“Then he was playing kickball and he tore his ACL,” Rebecca said. “The insurance is terrible and that was expensive.”

Next thing the Brady family knew, they had over $14,000 in debt spread over five different credit cards. They were paying five bills every month, never making a dent in the total debt. The interest rates were so high that every payment dollar went to pay for that.

If Rebecca didn’t have to do anything extravagant to amass the debt, she didn’t have to look far to find help. Her mother had success with InCharge Debt Solutions.

“I actually tried a couple of other places first,” Rebecca said. “None of them ever called back. My mother told me about InCharge, and they called back right away.”

This is where things got a little tricky. InCharge set up a plan that allowed Rebecca to make one monthly payment. InCharge distributed the money to the cards, and the interest rates were greatly reduced.

There was a problem, though — one of the cards wasn’t actually part of the program.

“The company was accepting the money every month,” Rebecca said, “but all of the sudden, the sheriff’s office was at the door with papers. The credit card company was suing us!”

This is where Rebecca’s praise for InCharge Debt Solutions hit a higher note.

“We called them,” Rebecca said. “Our counselor, Omar Landrau, called back the next day. We had it straightened out right away. The company was getting paid every month, but they didn’t have a record of it. Omar worked hard on this. He told me, I’m your person here. Whenever I call, I ask for him. He always calls back right away.

“Everybody there was helpful, but it’s easier to deal with one person who knows your situation and you don’t have to explain everything to. That has been Omar for us.”

Now the Brady’s are 16 months into what is expected to be a five-year process to erase their credit card debt. Everything is right on schedule, Rebecca said, and nobody is suing anybody.

What would she do differently?

“I tell my kids not to make the mistakes we made,” Rebecca said. “I told them to get a card, maybe two, to establish a credit profile. Never charge for everyday things, and never charge more than half your credit limit, less if you can.”

It is easier to avoid debt than it is to deal with debt as it grows despite your payments. But just in case, it’s easy to contact InCharge Debt Solutions and find a solution to the problem.