Using Home Equity to Pay Off Debt

About 10 years back, we were in a great financial situation, but when we took a big chance on a new venture, we found ourselves stuck with a lot of high-interest debt.

Even though we were in a great position, had great jobs, things got really tight around that time. We wanted to get rid of this debt so badly but just couldn’t get ahead. We found that our local financial institutions didn’t want to work with us, despite our good jobs and financial history.

Then we met Virginia at UW Credit Union.

While helping us with a car loan, Virginia went out of her way to review our finances and come up with a plan to eliminate our credit card debt by leveraging our home equity.

At first we were skeptical, but when our HELOC became a reality, it was like an enormous weight was lifted off our shoulders. We finally felt some relief from the emotional stress surrounding our finances. Even though we were finalizing the HELOC details during the pandemic, the process went smoothly, and Virginia was always accessible and a pleasure to work with.

Now, our credit rating has already increased more than 100 points! We’ve finally gotten rid of the high-interest debt and can see a clear path to saving for our future – retirement, our children’s college expenses, all our big plans. We feel empowered to continue reducing our debt, and the time frame for our plans now seems realistic.

We’ve always appreciated working with UW Credit Union. Forrest first opened his account during grad school in Madison, and we’ve continued to bank with UWCU now for many years, even though we don’t live in the Madison area. While we’ve explored our local financial institutions, we’ve always preferred UWCU, thanks to the great online presence and digital experience that enable us to bank from a distance.

Thanks to Virginia and UW Credit Union, our financial trajectory has completely changed in a very positive way. We couldn’t be more grateful, and we’re truly forever members.