After attempts to negotiate with creditors, Jeff found Way Forward who could negotiate on his behalf
“I had so many sleepless nights and it was really stressing me out. I was really down. Now, I know exactly where my money is going. It’s manageable for me and it just makes me feel happy and relieved. I feel like I’m in a much better position and enjoying life again. It’s a big relief.”
Jeff’s debts slowly added up on him. He first took out a personal loan, and then borrowed more money on top of that in order to pay the bills. Then, his wife lost her job. They were down to a single income.
“The bills just added up and kind of crept up on me. Before you know it, I’m struggling.”
“It was only in the last six months that I realised that I’m in a bit of trouble.
“I couldn’t see a way out and I ended up just asking for help, which is the last thing I wanted to do.”
Before asking for assistance from Way Forward, Jeff was going through a lot of sleepless nights.
“I was feeling quite down. It was hard battling on my own.
“You’ve just got to swallow your pride. There are people out there to help you and it can make your life easier.
Once you realise that you got a problem or you’re struggling, then you need to you need to ask for help. And the sooner the better.”
Jeff says since he has been working with Way Forward, he now has a better hold on his finances.
“I had so many sleepless nights and it was really stressing me out. I was really down. Now I know exactly where my money is going. It’s manageable and it makes me feel relieved.
“I just feel like I’m in a much better position and enjoying life again. It’s a big relief.”
Jeff said that he found it difficult dealing with banks and finance companies.
“I was getting passed around. You have to meet a certain criteria sometimes and you just fall through the cracks.
“I found it difficult to deal with them. I just I really struggled.
“And there was like a few loans I had, and it just was hard to put together because when you get onto one of the lenders, they’re only looking at their situation and not another loan you may have. I found that hard.
“I couldn’t seem to manage to get myself out of it on my own.
“I just found it really difficult to come to an agreement with the lenders.”
That changed when Jeff contacted Way Forward and started working with Paula, Financial Hardship Advocate.
“Paula was very understanding and very, very helpful anytime anything’s popped up.”
“I haven’t been I haven’t had to run a rat race of put onto this person and then on to of each person, it’s been dealt with very efficiently.”
Struggling to pay for the essentials such as food and rent and want to know more about your options? Our emergency funding page lists some of the available free emergency services and funding if you live in Australia and find yourself in financial difficulty.
