How WeMoney helped Luche consolidate her debt into one repayment

Luche's story at a glance

• Member: Luche, 33 (VIC), works in admin for a family-run blinds, curtains and shutters business in Mildura, a regional town in Victoria's northwest
• Before WeMoney: a credit card she'd barely used, then a rush of debt from a car bought on credit, dental work and buy now pay later, all taken on in the year after a breakup left her starting over with $800 to her name
• What she consolidated: her credit card balance and the cost of the car, into one loan matched through WeMoney
• How WeMoney helped: matched her with three lenders; she chose Latitude for a $24,000 loan, mainly because it could get her the money fastest
• Her experience: relief at getting everything into one repayment, and honest regret that she didn't compare the rate before signing
• After: one repayment instead of several, buy now pay later accounts closed down, and a credit score she's watching climb
• Next: a second income stream, and a plan to refinance once she's a year into her new job

Before WeMoney

Luche is 33 and works in administration for a family-run blinds, curtains and shutters business in Mildura, a regional town in Victoria's northwest. She moved to Australia from the Philippines three years ago, largely on her own, and is now a permanent resident hoping to become a citizen.

A year before this interview, a relationship breakup became the turning point in her finances. She had opened a Citibank credit card almost two years earlier, on a friend's advice to have something "just in case," and had barely touched it. When the breakup happened, she had to find a bond and advance rent on a new place with just $800 left in her account, after also covering her share of her sister's wedding back in the Philippines.

"I don't have anyone that I can really ask to borrow money because I get to the point that I'm ashamed to ask for help. I'm too independent growing up. If I have a problem, I wanted to solve it by myself."

The credit card became how she got through it. A friend was selling an old car for around $4,000 to $5,000, and she bought it to have something reliable of her own; with servicing, window tinting and the driving lessons she needed for her provisional licence, the total climbed to almost $6,000. Three root canals, only partly covered by her separate dental insurance, added more again.

"I'm trapped for how many years now because of this impulsiveness."

She's candid about the toll it took beyond the numbers.

"It didn't really occur to me how painful if you are in a mental situation."

Buy now pay later balances built up alongside it, on the everyday things she needed to set up a life on her own.

How she found us

Luche found WeMoney through finance content on YouTube, watching creators she'd followed for a while, and then started seeing it come up in her Instagram feed.

"They were talking about how easy it is to budget and to put everything in one place, because you are adding to cart your financial stuff in one place and you can see everything from there."

She didn't take it purely on trust. She'd already built some confidence in the creators she watched, and checked further before downloading the app.

"I also check with AI, and WeMoney is for some reason you're always top in terms of AI."

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How WeMoney helped

WeMoney matched her with three lenders. She chose Latitude for a $24,000 loan over seven years, and by her own account the rate wasn't the deciding factor.

"I think they gave me three and it was Latitude who is most likely can give me the closest. I was just dumbfounded about interest at that time. I think it was my mistake."

The loan cleared her credit card balance and paid off the car, plus around $7,000 to $8,000 her uncle needed at the time. He offered to be part of the loan, and now contributes around $220 of the monthly repayment; the rest, a bit over $400, comes from her own pay, on a total repayment she remembers landing at close to $690 a month.

Latitude remained responsible for the credit decision, the contract and the payout. WeMoney's role was to show her the matched options and let her compare them before continuing, and she's straightforward that comparing wasn't where her attention was at the time.

"I didn't really check on the approval. I think at that time the main goal is who can give me the money."

The rate she ended up with was 29%. She didn't clock how high that was until months into repaying it.

"I would say it was an honest mistake that I didn't really think about it."

She's clear that the mistake was hers to own, not WeMoney's, and it's now the thing driving her next move: a refinance to get away from that rate.

After WeMoney

What had been a credit card, a car cost and buy now pay later balances became one loan repayment. Seeing all of her buy now pay later accounts listed together in the app, she says, was part of what pushed her to start closing them.

"I like the fact that you can see I have a lot of accounts, and some of them is just like a temptation."

By WeMoney's records, her credit score has moved from 631 when she applied to 674 since.

She's not finished. She's picked up DoorDash for extra income, is looking at a second job, and is working through the last assessments of a business certificate she's been studying part time. The plan is to hold her new job for about a year and then refinance, or otherwise ask her uncle, who earns more than $100,000 a year, to take the loan over from her.

"I'm thinking to refinance next year just to get out of that interest rate."

She also wants an AI feature built into the app so she could ask it questions about her own spending, something she currently does by hand in ChatGPT and Claude.

Compare the rate before you sign, not after

Getting several debts into one repayment can bring real relief, but the rate you're offered is worth comparing properly before you commit, even when the money is needed fast. Connecting your accounts in WeMoney can show your debts and repayments together, and you can then review consolidation options you may be eligible for and compare the rate, term, fees, repayment and total amount repayable before deciding whether to continue.

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Luche's figures, rate and timing are her individual experience. Eligibility and outcomes vary by member and lender, and her story is not a promise that another person will receive the same result. If you're finding it hard to keep up with repayments, you can also speak to the free National Debt Helpline on 1800 007 007.

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