Stand By Me program helps Dover woman reduce debt, buy home

April 30, 2024

Like many of our neighbors who reach out to the Stand By Me program, Julie was faced with the impact a low credit rating had on her life. So, she reached out and connected with Stand By Me coach Marilyn Ramirez.

Stand By Me is a free, private, one-on-one financial program that offers coaching through phone or video counseling through a partnership between United Way of Delaware, the State of Delaware and nonprofit organizations across the state.

Julie was aware that she contributed to her financial problems. “I had too much going out, mismanaging, and I wasn’t focused on savings. I had the money, but I wasn’t spending it correctly,” said the mother of three.

Success – one step at a time! “She pulled my credit, and we started working on a budget,” said Julie. Last year, her credit score was 510; now she reports a respectable 718. “She pulled my credit, and we started working on a budget. I make good money, but I needed counseling,” she explained.

Ramirez notes that since Julie had sufficient income,  she did not qualify for programs offering additional support. But this client was focused and determined to meet her goal of home ownership. “I worked with her for under a year. When we started, she had a lot of payments, a lot of cards, and most were over 30 percent usage. She wanted to pay all of them off, so I taught her the ‘snowball effect’,” she said.

The snowball effect is a strategy of debt reduction based on focusing on one card at a time, and making minimum payments on the others. In addition, she took on a part-time job in order to build up her savings.

Julie is no stranger to challenges. “I’m 17 years into recovery. I have fought really hard; I’m a single mom with three kids. I got my bachelor’s degree, started my masters. Very rarely do people in recovery get to this level,” she said.

She praised Marilyn for her support and for her process. “When I started off, I had low money to live off because of the credit cards. It’s a hole you never get out of.”

Julie continued to work on getting out of debt, and she credits – pun intended – Marilyn. “She helped me refocus. I’ve paid off $10,000. I had high credit utility, but I had a goal and she assisted. I’m getting a house, one acre and no HOA. ”

With Marilyn’s guidance, she was able to pay off credit bills; she also put in extra hours of at work. “She was helpful and attentive. Marilyn is a good person, focused and professional,” Julie added.

Next step: creating a small farm at her new home, complete with goats and chickens. “It’s my self-care. I know I can call her when I need her.”

Need financial coaching? Stand By Me coach Marilyn Ramirez (New Castle County) is at (302) 292-1305, ext. 266 or mramirez@fbd.org.