How WeMoney helped Katie bring almost $1,000 a fortnight down to one repayment

Katie's story at a glance

• Member: Katie, 38 (VIC), a homeowner on a single income in Melbourne's western suburbs, working full time from home
• Before WeMoney: two medical loans, a travel loan and buy now pay later balances, coming to close to $1,000 a fortnight alongside a mortgage that had climbed for four years
• What she consolidated: the loans and the buy now pay later balances, into one loan through a lender matched in WeMoney
• How WeMoney helped: brought everything into one view and showed her matched lenders with their rates
• Her experience: she checked us on Google and the App Store first, then found the application seamless
• After: around $430 a fortnight, and sleep
• Still true: she is not finished. In her words, not out of the water yet, but able to see the end

Before WeMoney

Katie is 38, owns her home on one income in Melbourne's western suburbs, and works full time for a health insurer. When she took the mortgage out, rates were in a good spot and it was manageable. Over the next four years they went up, and up.

On top of that were two medical loans, a travel loan she had consolidated once before through her bank, and buy now pay later balances that had accumulated. Between them she was paying close to $1,000 a fortnight.

Her tracking system was a handwritten list each week, which had a flaw she is frank about.

"I'd pay all my bills and be like, oh yes, sweet. And, hang on a second, can't fill up my car, can't pay for my groceries."

It got to the point where she had started selling her own belongings, and was working out whether she would need to take in a lodger or move back in with her parents.

"When you start having to sell your possessions to buy groceries or to make sure you're meeting your home loan requirements, that's up there with concerning."

Asked what that stress looked like day to day, she did not soften it: no sleep, and something close to a breakdown every second day.

How she found us

WeMoney came past on Facebook, more than once, over a couple of months. Several similar companies were advertising to her at the same time. Ours was the one she kept coming back to, and she is candid that she cannot fully explain why, except for one thing.

"There were the verbatims in there and it did reference other people's experiences. It gave me that real life example. This has helped other people, so maybe it can help me as well."

What it did not do, she says, was push her.

"I didn't feel like I was being forced into anything. It made me feel like I could make the choice."

Before signing up she did what she calls a sneaky Google, checked the App Store reviews, and satisfied herself that we were legitimate.

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How WeMoney helped

What Katie wanted was to stop reacting.

"I wanted to be more proactive rather than reactive."

WeMoney brought her balances and repayments into one place and showed her the lenders she matched with. She chose OurMoneyMarket because it was the lowest rate she was offered. There were a couple of calls to work through her eligibility, and then it was done.

"It was so seamless, if I can be honest."

The lender remained responsible for the credit decision, the contract and the payout. WeMoney's role was to show her the matched options and the rates so she could compare them.

Her one piece of feedback is about the lender rather than us: they run a web portal rather than an app, and she would rather track her repayments in an app.

She remembers exactly where she was when the approval came through, on her couch, on her phone.

"It felt like a weight had been instantaneously lifted off my shoulders."

After WeMoney

The loans and the buy now pay later balances became one repayment of around $430 a fortnight, against close to $1,000 before.

Katie is careful not to overstate it, and so are we. She is not finished. An emergency since settlement meant she used buy now pay later again, so for a couple of fortnights she is back around $700 before it drops to the loan repayment alone. The mortgage is still the mortgage. The consolidation did not clear the debt, it restructured it.

What it changed is the room to live.

"I'm able to sleep at night. I'm able to go out and buy some groceries. I'm able to breathe again."

And the part she said most plainly:

"I don't have to cry in the shower anymore."

She can go out to eat occasionally, or to a movie, without the running commentary in the back of her head about whether she is going to keep her house. Asked to describe WeMoney as a person, she landed on a friendly voice in your ear giving you reassurance and direction, and said what she wants from that is to not slide back into the old habits.

"I can see light at the end of the tunnel."

Start with the whole fortnight, not one bill

If your repayments are technically affordable but there is nothing left for petrol and groceries, the problem is usually the whole picture rather than any single debt. Connecting your accounts in WeMoney can show your loans, buy now pay later and repayments together, and you can then review consolidation options you may be eligible for and compare the repayment, rate, term, fees and total amount repayable against what you are paying now.

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Katie's figures, rate and timing are her individual experience. Consolidating restructures debt rather than removing it, and a lower repayment does not automatically mean a lower total cost. Eligibility and outcomes vary by member and lender. If you are struggling to meet repayments, you can also speak to the free National Debt Helpline on 1800 007 007.

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