Spotlight on Success – Katie’s Story

Life Happens

Katie had spent years saving and planning to make sure that her two children, Taylor and Jordan, would not have to worry about paying for college. Her parents had always stressed the importance of a good education. So, when it came time to raise a family of her own, Katie wanted to impart the same values on her son and daughter by allowing them to choose whichever school they were interested in without worrying about taking out loans and going into debt. As Taylor started her junior year at Michigan and Jordan his freshman year at Notre Dame, it looked like everything was going to go as planned. Until nature struck!

A severe winter storm hit her hometown of Dearborn, Michigan that left her and neighbors without power for three days. With the temperature inside her home dropping well below negative thirty degrees, her pipes froze and then burst, flooding her home and causing thousands of dollars worth of damage.

Katie had done everything the right way financially to put herself in the position to be able to pay for her children’s education. But now she was being confronted with an enormous, unexpected expense that could put that plan in jeopardy.

Dipping into the funds reserved for her childrens’ tuition was not an option to Katie. She had made a promise to her family and did not feel it was fair to pass these expenses on to her children. Because of this, Katie started putting the repairs and certain living expenses on high interest credit cards. She thought that she was going to be able to juggle the balances and begin paying them down over time, but it became clear that she was dealing with a large amount of debt that was only growing.

“The minimum payments just kept creeping higher and higher each month,” Katie said. “I needed to make a change fast because my financial situation was starting to interfere with my childrens’ education.”

Katie researched a number of different debt relief options before finding Century Support Services through a recommendation on Trustpilot. “I was overwhelmed by the options at first but after reading the reviews and speaking with the Century representatives, I knew I had found the right option for me.” Century designed a personalized program based on Katie’s needs and budget, allowing her to both resolve her mounting credit card debt and maintain the plan that she had laid out for her childrens’ education.

“I work as a customer service manager, so my expectations for service are pretty high – and Century met them every time,” said Katie. “They are always reaching out to let me know what is happening with my debt and what the next steps are. It has been great.” Katie stated she likes the different options she has for being able to manage her account, whether it be over the phone, through live online chat or through the MyCentury Portal. “I have used them all and I think it’s great I get to choose.”

Katie only has a few months left on her program and is thankful for Century’s help in getting her financial plan back on track. “My youngest graduates from Notre Dame this December and I will have completed the program by then. Debt free and my kid’s college paid for, just like I planned.”