Finances change during each stage of life, but Leona Fitzgerald rests assured she is always prepared. As a self-proclaimed “typical consumer,” Leona says she has never been good at managing her money. But with Financial Freedom’s PayAccel program, she has taken control of her finances, stayed out of debt and improved her credit over the past five years.

“My husband and I are retired, and it feels wonderful to be financially stable,” says Leona. “Once you are a part of the PayAccel program, you’ll want to use it for the rest of your life. It’s amazing how much it has helped us get ahead.”

PayAccel first taught Leona and her husband, who live in Orem, Utah, how to organize their money. They participated in financial training and then put a predetermined amount of money into an account each month. Then Financial Freedom uses that money to pay their bills. They can use the rest of their income to meet their wants and needs, knowing the bills have been paid.

“I love waking up and not worrying about how I’m going to take care of the bills. After a few years on PayAccel we are out of debt and simply use the program to pay our few remaining bills like the mortgage and utilities.”

Leona says she and her husband have always loved to buy things. She believes they would be in debt without the PayAccel program. But thanks to Financial Freedom’s help in organizing their finances, they have a nice home and a lot of nice things, but without the credit card bills.

“Without PayAccel, we would probably still have nice things, but we would be in debt,” says Leona. “My husband and I both love to spend money, so we never balanced each other out very well in that area. This program helps us live within our means and has eliminated disagreements about who spent too much money on something.”

When Leona started using PayAccel, her credit score was very low. Now, she and her husband have a great credit score, which was one goal they had when they began the program. She says they don’t make a lot of money, so having good credit and staying in control of their finances is essential to their happiness.

“Some of our friends have also joined PayAccel and we all agree - having peace regarding your finances is a wonderful thing.”

Consumers are tempted to use credit almost everywhere, and many have grown up in a culture of “buy now, pay later.” There seems to be a popular belief that living beyond one’s means is a normal lifestyle. But this trend has turned almost every individual and family in America into debtors with all of the pressures and burdens of debt.

Proof of the pitfalls of “buy now, buy later” is all around us. Loan defaults and bankruptcies are everywhere. Nearly everyone has felt the pressure of “over-extending” themselves sometime in their life. Compulsive purchasing leads to compulsive debt and endangers personal and family well being, peace of mind and security.

There is always a place for the proper use of credit in our society. Carefully managed credit is a powerful and useful tool. When used wisely, credit can be very effective in building businesses, cities and creating new jobs. But unmanaged credit quickly becomes out-of-control debt. When it reaches this point it can become harmful and even devastating.

Although at times it can seem impossible to eliminate the burden of debt from your life, there is hope. Your desire to be debt free must be strong enough to overcome the pain of tightening up and sometimes going without.

You do have the power within you to make those financial changes necessary to establish new habits based on proven, successful money management fundamentals. It may seem like too big a change, too big a challenge. But big things often have small beginnings, and the best time to begin is right now.

The Financial Freedom PayAccel program will help you pay off various types of debt and then remain debt-free. You can also purchase the 9Steps2Wealth system to get back on track financially.

Last month, U.S. Comptroller of the Currency John C. Dugan unveiled two new Public Service Announcements aimed at encouraging delinquent mortgage borrowers to get help by contacting their lenders or a trusted housing counselor in order to avoid foreclosure.

“As these ads so powerfully underscore, doing nothing is the worst thing a delinquent borrower can do,” Dugan said at a symposium on preventing foreclosures. “The sooner borrowers reach out for help, the more options they have, and the more likely foreclosure may be avoided.”

Dugan noted that in half of all foreclosures, lenders say borrowers did not make contact with them. Yet, more than one-third of those who reach out for assistance are successful in finding alternatives to foreclosure.

“All of this means that many of the 1.26 million borrowers who entered foreclosure last year might have been helped if they had acted earlier to contact their lender, or consult a trusted housing counselor,” said Dugan.

Dugan encourages homeowners experiencing financial difficulties to call 1-888-995-HOPE, a toll-free hotline staffed by 85 qualified housing counselors from agencies approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Affairs.

“We have learned that it is not enough to achieve homeownership,” said Dugan. “We - all of us operating in our respective roles - have to work hard to sustain homeownership.”

Financial Freedom can help you avoid foreclosure and get your finances on track through PayAccel, the 9Steps2Wealth program, and the PayAccel HELOC (Mortgage Eliminator).