Graduate Exclusive! Diana N. Buys Her Own Condo, Plans Trips to National Parks, and Finally Feels Stable

ByStella Martin

We interviewed Diana — longtime professor, book club member, and knitter — to learn how she took on her debt in recovery, and how she went from deciding which groceries she could afford to moving into a condo of her own.

  • Debt Amount: $35,523
  • Started: September 2022
  • Graduated: October 2025

Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

I live in Gainesville, Florida. I’m originally from the greater Cleveland area up in Ohio, and I came down here in 1992 to go to graduate school, and I stayed.

I ended up becoming a professor. I worked for 25 years and then retired, and then decided that that was okay, but I wanted to come back part-time. So I am teaching again, just one class. It’s nice. I enjoy it.

I’m a voracious reader and I belong to a book club, so that’s something that I enjoy doing. I also like doing different kinds of crafts, like knitting and crocheting.

How did you find yourself in debt?

I’m an alcoholic in recovery. I have 13 years of sobriety. At the time, I didn’t take care of my finances, so I got behind.

I had lost the house — I lost so much stuff, and the finances were not any better. Addiction really does that to you. It makes you not think straight. After I stopped drinking, I realized I needed to do something about my finances.

It was so overwhelming. It was just terrible. I just didn’t know what I was going to do. I could barely pay my bills and get my medicine.

How did you find Beyond Finance and what was your experience like with us?

I saw an ad on Facebook for Beyond Finance and started looking into it. It was almost instant relief just seeing that there’s something out there that I could do that I didn’t know about.

I didn’t want to be criticized or anything like that. None of that happened at all. I felt understood, and I felt like I was being helped. I felt like a real human being.

The first call was kind of scary, because I realized that the debt was something that I got into on my own, and I didn’t want to be judged. I made some mistakes, certainly — but, I didn’t want to be criticized or anything like that. None of that happened at all. I felt understood, and I felt like I was being helped. I felt like a real human being.

The lower payments helped me so much, because I had money to get groceries and pay my electric bill. It got me back on track.

And getting my first offer was a relief! I was telling myself, “Look, this might work.” (laughs) There’s always something in the back of your mind. I felt like I had done my research well, and it seemed like it was going to be okay, but then that was the proof that, yes, it was going to be, because things were changing.

What was graduation like and what’s happened since?

Oh, my gosh. Graduation was such a relief. And things started changing for the positive right away.

Recently, I found out that I could qualify to buy a condo, and I did. It was just like a miracle. I couldn’t believe it!

So I actually just moved in in May to my own condo. Now it’s mine and I’m not paying rent! I’m paying a mortgage, which is less than the rent that I was paying, even with the homeowners association fee. It’s just been the most wonderful thing ever.

Before, I couldn’t do anything extra. I couldn’t go out to eat. I couldn’t go out with my friends.

Now, I have a good income coming in besides my Social Security, and having developed some good habits going through the program, I’m okay! I can get the groceries I need. I can pay for my prescriptions. I have a little extra money to go out every once in a while to see a movie or something like that — nothing earth-shattering, but it’s not something that I was able to do before.

I did learn a little bit more about budgeting, and I’ve been much more attentive to my finances. I’ve learned some good skills along the way.

Diana picking up the key to her new condo.

I am planning to do some traveling. I want to get to some of the national parks, and I have friends and relatives scattered around the country that I want to go see.

The program just made my life so much easier and so much better. I’m stable now, and it’s the first time in years.

We have a saying in my AA program: “Don’t quit before the miracle happens.” And I feel like that can apply to Beyond Finance as well.

Real client compensated for a real story. Individual results may vary.

IAPDA-Accredited Product Marketing Manager and Senior Financial Wellness Writer

Stella Martin is a Product Marketing Manager and Senior Financial Wellness Writer with Beyond Finance, where she writes about debt payoff strategies, financial wellness planning, and the behavioral side of building long-term financial health. A former contributor at tastytrade, her work on behalf of Beyond Finance has been featured in MarketWatch, AOL, and WFMZ News. She is AFCPE-trained and holds an IAPDA debt specialist certification. When she's not writing about personal finance, she's reading, catching a show at the theater, or spending time with her cats.