Graduate Exclusive! Maryann R. Trades Debt Stress for Travel Goals and a Retirement Plan
We interviewed Maryann — artist, home cook, and resilient spirit — to find out how she reclaimed her dignity from “crushing” debt and how she’s finally planning the retirement and travel she thought were impossible.
- Debt Amount: $14,411
- Started: November 2021
- Graduated: January 2025
Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
I live in New Port Richey, Florida. It’s a sleepy kind of town on a river, and I’ve been here about 25 years since I moved down from New York. I work from home as a telephone operator for an answering service.
I’m also an artist of sorts; I love to paint. I’ve done everything from Winnie the Pooh for friends’ kids to a painting of Ariel from The Little Mermaid recently. I also love to cook. I make my own frozen “TV dinners” that are all homemade — no preservatives, no nonsense!
How did you find yourself in debt?
I left my husband 10 years ago and literally left with nothing — just the clothes on my back. I had been living with my mother, and it’s difficult when you’re approaching 60 and you’re living in the guest room with your clothes in a garbage bag.
I was anxious to get on my own again and bought a very small mobile home. But I needed so many things — groceries, shoes, even paying utilities with credit cards. I had no help from anyone. It got to the point where I was paying over $680 a month just on the minimums for six credit cards.
I had sold my engagement ring, pieces of jewelry — anything you can imagine, I sold. I was out of things to sell.
What was your experience like with Beyond Finance?
In November of 2021, I realized I only had about two more months of being able to make those minimum payments. I had seen ads for Beyond Finance, but being from New York, I’m always suspicious!
But I spoke with a gentleman from Beyond and he was so supportive and explained everything in detail. I remember asking him, “Why are you helping me?” because I didn’t have people in my life I could turn to. He told me he could see I was going to follow through. He gave me so much faith.
With Beyond, my payment went from $680 to about $335 a month. It was like the sun came out that month. It changed my whole outlook. I felt like I finally had the right tools to do the job.
As I went through my program, every time I made a payment, I got to take my little red Sharpie and cross off a payment on my homemade calendar. It was a visual representation of what I accomplished. I kept that on my refrigerator as a weekly reminder of the break I got!
What was it like when you graduated and what’s your life like now?
It was life-changing. To finally complete it— man, I can’t tell you. I feel like I can breathe.
I’m a walking testament to this program. It’s not just about the money; it’s a sense of dignity and pride. I felt like such a loser before, and having someone say, “We’re going to give you a chance, kid,” saved me in a lot of ways.
Now that I’m debt-free, there’s just an ease. I actually have money left over in my checking account at the end of the month — maybe $175 or $200. That’s a big deal! It’s nice to have steak instead of hamburger once in a while.
The biggest thing is that I’m actually able to consider retiring at 64. I did the numbers this weekend, and because I don’t have this debt anymore, I can start to semi-retire and look into my social security benefits.
I also have goals now. I want to travel! I want to see the Grand Canyon — there’s a train ride with “dastardly varmints” that do a shootout and rob the train; it sounds like an awful lot of fun.
I also want to go to Italy and maybe see a concert in Berlin. I even have the 2045 solar eclipse marked on my calendar — I’ll be in my 80s, but I plan on being healthy and being there to see it. Five years ago, this would have been unheard of. I thought I’d just work until I died. Now, I have a future to look forward to.
Real client compensated for a real story.