Eileen* had been working with a financial mentor for around 18 months, who had helped her consolidate several small debts to make them more manageable. She was working 12-hour shifts for a very low wage, while caring for her disabled daughter. Due to her low income and debts, she had to sell her car to pay for food, so had resorted to riding a bicycle to work. While going to work one day, she fell off her bike and broke her arm.
When her arm healed she went on to a better job, but had to move on from her Housing NZ house, because her new home needed to be within biking distance from work. Eileen tried several sources for the required bond money, with no luck.
Desperate to move into a suitable house that she had found, she applied to Ngā Tāngata Microfinance for an interest-free, fee-free loan. Because she had been seeing a financial mentor for a number of years and had demonstrated her strong desire to manage her life and take good care of her daughter, her application was successful and she was offered a GetAhead Asset Building loan.
Eileen was able to move with her disabled daughter into secure, affordable accommodation that has provided stability for them both. Eileen repaid the loan as per the agreement, which has improved her credit rating, increased her confidence in her financial abilities and above all, helped her to get ahead financially.
*Note: all names including those of the loan companies have been changed. Any re-publishing of these case studies need the permission of Ngā Tāngata Microfinance Ltd.