Home » About us » Client Stories » Shedding the Shackles of Debt with a Consumer Proposal

Today we paid off our consumer proposal, and freedom from financial slavery truly feels good.

When we met Benjy Houser at 4 Pillars Consulting Group/Debt Victoria we were paying close to $4000/month in interest alone on money we owed on various credit cards and lines of credit and Business lines of Credit. As a professional self-employed couple, we managed to service our debt and keep up to date on our monthly living expenses for close to 25 years. However, the relocation of our business caused an unexpected drop in income, which pushed us into a negative tailspin.

Within one year, we had maxed out on all our credit lines and credit cards to cover salaries and corporate monthly expenditures.  At this point, we owed a total of $213,000!

In the past we remortgaged our home and drew on this equity to finance what I have come to view as irresponsible lifestyle choices: holidays, toys, etc. Regretfully, we never considered saving up for a legitimate emergency; one thinks one is invincible!

After we had completed the humbling and overwhelming consumer proposal process with Benjy Houser at 4 Pillars Consulting Group/Debt Victoria, our creditors settled on a $72,000 debt payback over 5 years which lowered our monthly debt payments to $1200/m.

Our debt was reduced by $141,000!

Today we are able to save money for the first time in our lives. We take VERY small holidays, mostly at home. And, we are not afraid to tell our children that we don’t have the money for something they think they need because their friends at school have this particular item.

Throughout this process we involved our children every step of the way so that they can learn from our mistakes. We are now proud to model what it means to be responsible fiscally.

Benjy is a true professional and treated us with respect, and we are so happy we chose to work with him and his office to break free from the Shackles of our Debt.

Donna & Ben (Professionals in the Medical Field in Victoria B.C.)