From Below-Average Credit To Dream Home

The first time we had our finances assessed by a
professional, he had absolutely nothing to recommend. We had suffered by
having a sudden loss of employment and had debt that we could not bring
down. Our final net worth was well in the negatives. With three school
age kids, we did what we could to make sure our needs were all met and
then paid every penny we could to manage those never ending bills. The
thought of owning a home of our own was laughable at best.

When
my husband found a new job we had been at least three payments behind on
our bills and many ended up forwarded to collection services. After
nearly 12 months of struggling, we finally were getting a steady
paycheck. We also had a collection of ways to live cheap. Sure, we
splurged on a few things once money was coming in. I could actually buy
disposable diapers now and then, and I could even allow myself to buy
brand name cereal in the event it was on sale! We kept the momentum of
living cheaply until we finally caught up our finances.

It took
about a year of shuffling every penny on bills before the collections
were paid. Another few months to catch up to the arrears on our vehicle
payments. Suddenly, we didn’t have a constantly ringing phone or
disconnection letters in the mail. We were both earning good incomes I
will admit we went a little overboard with spending. As opposed to
building our savings, we bought stuff. A lot of stuff. Everything we had
looked at or seriously considered over the last few years was able to
find a way into our shopping carts. Deprivation has some nasty effects!

We
still wanted a home of our own but were afraid to attempt it. The hard
work of saving our down payment and getting a mortgage, when it could be
lost so easily, much like every thing else we’d given up before. One
particular piece of paper can take away your livelihood and neither of
us were willing to risk losing a property. We had two vehicle payments
to look after, which were ridiculously high as a result of our bad
credit past and being no where near paid off added to the compounding
interest that happened whenever we couldn’t pay on time. Somehow, we
figured out that all the extra money we had been meting out to creditors
could possibly be doing more for us. We started over paying our vehicle
loans. Every little thing we sent in that was over our regular payment
amount was put on the principal. We were sure to check for penalties
before we started focusing on this debt. Sometimes early repayment can
actually hurt.

Now, a couple of years later, we have savings. We
now have vehicles that are covered in full. We have the way to pay for a
mortgage, even on only one income. We are no more afraid of losing
everything and have excitedly started our hunt for our dream home. We’ve
contacted an Edmonton REALTOR and are experiencing and enjoying the
process so far, she is lifting the remaining stress out of our home
buying adventure. And knowing our situation, she is finding some very
practical homes that truly seem to fit our lifestyle.

I never
dreamed that I could be a homeowner, it seemed like the cards were never
going to be in our favor. But a consistent and determined effort will
invariably pay off, and we will never develop the kind of debt there was
before. Lesson learned, now about the dream home!