Alex Mares explained. My wife and I have a somewhat unique situation even though we're in debt and we haven't been able to save too much money, we have managed to maintain a good credit rating and a clean record. But, no matter how hard we've tried to get our finances under control, something always comes up. You know a leaky faucet, a broken water heater or an auto repair. It never ends. We just can't seem to get out from underneath having to spend whatever little savings we have. Then when we saw that applications were being accepted for the Savings Challenge, it was a sign. When things happen, they happen for a reason and we knew this was going to be the answer to our prayers.

How did we get to where we are now? Lilian said. Two years ago when Alex became a Park Ranger, we moved to Taos, New Mexico. That meant giving up my job as a school teacher and using our savings and borrowing from my retirement account to supplement our income and make ends meet. Since then we've made some different choices. My husband transferred to a position closer to El Paso, I'm teaching kindergarten again and we're committed to changing how we spend and save. Even if we don't win the $10,000, we've won simply because we've learned from the experts how to improve our finances and make the right choices.
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Sean said. I'm not a betting man, but after our final interview, I bet Candace $100 that we'd be participating in the savings Challenge. He was right, Candace admitted, I owe him $100, but I don't have enough saved up to pay him what I owe and that pretty much sums up why we need a financial makeover.

We had just gotten married 3 months ago and like all newlyweds, Candace went on to say, We're excited and hopeful for the future. However, we've also entered into our marriage with quite a bit of debt, individually and jointly. Instead of enjoying each precious moment and milestone of our marriage, we're juggling mountains of debt with no relief insight. After the mortgage, utilities, car and personal loans and credit cards are paid each month, we're left with little to invest or save for an emergency. We want to open our own business some day and hope GECU can help us put our finances in the black so we can enjoy our newlywed years.
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Cecilia said. But after completing GECU's Savings Challenge application we realized that our debt is out of control and financial freedom seems to be an impossible dream at our age. Add to that blessing of having just adopted our granddaughters, Destiny and Vienay, and preparing financially for their future educational development, I'd say we are in definite need of an extreme financial makeover. Life is getting shorter and my husband and I would like to spend our retirement years in comfort, enjoying our children and grandchildren.
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