Lawrenceville woman pays off $60,000 in credit card debt

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. — Household debt in America topped $17 trillion at the end of 2023. Credit card balances make up $1 trillion of that amount.

Lawrenceville resident Suzanne Laisney told Channel 2 her debt snowballed to over $60,000.

Channel 2′s Linda Stouffer spoke with the woman on Channel 2 Action News This Morning who explained how she was able to pay off this debt.

“Debt is one of those things that accumulates slowly and you don’t notice it,” Laisney said once she realized she was in over her head she did something about it.

The retired teacher turned court report went to Clark.com and searched for debt counselors.

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“I found one and just made and appointment right away,” Laisney said.

The organization she found is a non-profit called Money Management International or MMI.

Counselors work one-on-one with clients to reduce interest rates and create a payoff plan.

“Nobody wants to talk about the fact that debt exists,” Tara Aldrete the director of enterprise learning from MMI said. “We’re drowning because of interest rates. that’s where most of our money is going.”

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Alderete told Channel 2 MMI clients can see interest rates drop from around 29% to 7%.

After a small setup fee, the plan costs $25 a month and most people are completely out of debt in less than five years! The average client sees a credit score increase of over 80 points.

Laisney paid off her $60,000 in just over four years.

“Just call and make an appointment,” Laisney said. “That’s the first step.”

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