Real Stories Ep 31: Kristin – Financial Stress Comes in All Shapes and Sizes

Today’s episode features Kristin, a loyal listener of our podcast. As she reflects on her experience with GreenPath, she noticed that she had a smaller amount of debt than many of our guests. Despite this, her feelings of financial stress were just as great. In our conversation, Kristin talks about how she ended up in a cycle of debt with payday loans before she eventually got things under control.

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Key Moments

2:36 Kristin describes how she ended up trapped in a payday loan cycle.

6:28 After seeing she had a negative bank balance of nearly $1000, she explores options to regain control of her finances, but struggles to find a solution she’s comfortable with.

9:49 Kristin discusses the fear and shame she felt when she talked to GreenPath for the first time.

13:15 She shares how her GreenPath experience inspired her to make changes to her spending habits.

21:20 Kristin talks about what it was like to tackle her debt as a single person.

27:31 With her debt repayment complete, she looks towards her goals of building up her emergency and retirement savings.

29:00 After listening to this podcast, Kristin signs up for the Financial Gym to help her with her financial goals.

32:10 She reveals that she’s still uncertain about trusting herself to stay on her desired financial path.

33:46 Kristin shares how her $7500 in debt may have been less than that in other podcast stories, yet the amount still felt very big to her.

Practical Tips

44:14 The value of still talking to GreenPath if you don’t think your situation fits the typical mold

45:42 Overcoming the fear around taking steps to address a debt problem

46:31 Alternatives to avoid getting trapped in a payday loan cycle

49:01 How GreenPath’s empathetic approach differs from other interactions in the financial services industry when seeking out debt support

50:40 The power of believing in yourself to facilitate positive money changes

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