Lorraine is Debt Free!

When Lorraine came to the Financial Empowerment Center at South County, she thought it would take her 15 years to pay off her debt — 2.5 years later, she is Debt Free!

UPDATE, March 2020: Lorraine proudly announced to us recently that she made her FINAL credit card payment in January and is now DEBT FREE! We congratulate Lorraine for sticking with her plan and reaching her goal.

When we first met Lorraine in 2017, she thought it would take her 15 years to pay off her credit card debt. When she recorded the video above, she had been working with the dedicated staff and volunteers at the Financial Empowerment Center at South County (FECSoCo) for about a year, and was excited to find that if she stuck to the plan she had developed, she could be debt free in two years.

“Now I see the end in sight,” she said. “With their encouragement, I made a commitment, I stuck to it, and I’m half way there.”

Lorraine worked hard to get to where she is today. When she was first referred to FECSoCo by another organization, she attended a budgeting class and then had a free financial coaching session. She and her coach worked together to develop a budget and a plan that would allow her to pay off her debt in two years and start putting savings toward unexpected emergencies. In the last two-and-a-half years, Lorraine has come to FECSoCo regularly to review her plan. She had some setbacks, but she never lost focus of her goal. She met with a financial coach eight times and attended 16 classes and workshops.

Lorraine said that she found hope and encouragement at FECSoCo. She learned how to take control of her spending and gained the confidence to pay down her debt without bringing stress to her life. At the end of January 2020, she proudly informed us that she made her final payment and is now credit card debt free! We are so proud of Lorraine for sticking with the plan and reaching her goal.

The Financial Empowerment Center at South County is a free and trusted source of financial coaching and classes, workforce development, tax preparation assistance, and small business services to help community members improve their financial futures. Located at the South County Government Center in Alexandria, Virginia, it is sponsored by the United Way of the National Capital Area and Fairfax County, with Britepaths serving as the lead non-profit. Visit FECSoCo.org to schedule a coaching session, view upcoming workshops and learn more.

Britepaths regularly offers free Financial Coaching Clinics and Budgeting Classes to community members. Additional offerings include Financial Mentoring, Workforce Development consulting and Network Up short-term mentoring. See our Financial Literacy page to learn more. We are grateful to the Foundation for Financial Planning for supporting our one-on-one Financial Literacy offerings at Britepaths and FECSoCo.

We Welcome Volunteers! See our Financial Literacy Volunteer page to get started.

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