Being in debt sucks. I’m sure you’d agree with me that dealing with debt and enduring financial losses are an incredibly painful and challenging situation. If your family is struggling with job insecurity, looking for work, facing unemployment or underemployment, it can really put stress on your relationship and a strain on the whole family.
Living in debt can bring up tremendous feelings of shame, guilt and loss. The fear and uncertainty of not knowing how to cover your expenses can lead you into a state of depression. I understand that only too well.
I also know from personal experience that long-lasting and loving relationships can crumble under the weight of financial stress. Marriage counselors agree that financial challenges are the single biggest cause of divorce.
Why A Loan from A Bank or Lending Institution May Not Be Your Answer
When your family is up against the financial wall and doesn’t have the money to pay rent and bills, you may think that taking out a loan is a good idea. But any bank or accredited lending institution will require you to have a good credit report and a source of collateral.
Collateral is something that you pledge as security for repayment of a loan. Let’s say you own a home and your credit is good. But you need fast cash to pay a tax bill. To get a bank loan, you would sign a waiver to the deed naming the bank as the new homeowner in the event you default on your loan. What that means to you is if you can’t repay the loan or miss any payments, the bank can take away your house. Bingo! You’re homeless.
If your credit has already taken a hit from being in debt and making late payments or defaulting on financial commitments, a traditional loan is out.
Asking to borrow money from friends or family stirs up a lot of uncomfortable issues and emotions. Being at your most vulnerable, you may cry or stammer at the prospect of being so vulnerable and ashamed to reveal just how bad things really are.
In 2020 when Covid swept through the United States, it wiped out millions of jobs and left many people unable to pay their rent and bills. That happened to me. Almost overnight I lost all my clients. And all of a sudden my husband and I went from a very comfortable 2 income family to a 1 income household and we couldn’t afford to pay our rent and bills.
Terrified of eviction I followed a friend’s suggestion to do research to find out if grants could help us. As an author, coach and online course instructor, doing research is in my bones. I was thrilled to discover that grants really could help us out of a very tight financial spot.
Grants are free money programs provided by the U.S. government for the purposes of providing financial assistance to people, their families and their businesses. Here is a small sampling of the help available:
- free debt counseling assistance
- loan forgiveness
- free legal assistance
- rent or mortgage relief
- free job training
- free or low-cost medical care
- free business counseling
- free and low cost pet care
And there’s so much more.
My first research stop was to go to YouTube and there I found videos from Matthew Lesko whose books I used to purchase in the 90’s. Matthew is a 5 time New York Times best selling author and he has been in the business of helping people to get grants for over 50 years. I began to watch Matthew’s videos and followed his guidance.
The more I watched Matthew’s videos the more I learned. I discovered that the United States government is in charge of ⅓ of all money in the U.S. And the government pays experts in private businesss, non-profits, charities, foundations, state, city, local and regional agencies and organizations to provide financial assistance and resources through free government programs and services for the purpose of helping people in need.
Grants Are Not Advertised
You won’t see any of this advertised, because the government has already paid for the services. People are sent to the experts through an internal system of referral. The referrals come from local politicial elected officials who are responsible for serving their constituents.
The whole reason for this system is to circulate the American economy helping people and their businesses to more financially stable so they can pay their income taxes.
Since beginning my pursuit of seeking out grants to protect my family from eviction, I’ve gotten over $45K in grants and helped others get over $31K. Sadly also my beloved husband passed away last year because our precarious situation with debt eventually killed him by escalating his diabetes and causing a heart attack one day while working.
Since October 2020 when I got my first $1800 rent relief grant from Catholic Charities thanks to the assistance of my local New York State Senator Sue Serino, I’ve been dedicated to teaching others how to get grants.
Every week in my Grants Made Easy with Andrea Amador Facebook group I hold Zoom webinars teaching my Grants Made Easy system to empower people to get out from under their financial burdens.
Sadly I’ll never be able to turn back time and get my husband, Angel back with the grace of knowing that financial relief for us is right around the corner. But I can help you and your family by teaching you how to use grants.
My life and my families’ lives have transformed dramatically since I learned about grants and I know that by learning my Grants Made Easy system can help provide so much financial relief for you and your family too.
If learning about grants is of interest to you, check out my Grants Made Easy with Andrea Amador Facebook group.