Courtney earned more than $100,000 a year as an employee benefits consultant, yet in 2025 she was still living paycheck to paycheck. The Massachusetts mother of two had spent years covering expenses for her own children and, during a past relationship, for a second family too. The credit card debt from those years stayed with her long after the relationship ended.
National Debt Relief gave her a path to credit card debt relief. By 2025, she had paid off four credit cards through the program and was working to finish by 2027. Her story was also featured in The Wall Street Journal in September 2025, in an article about Gen X borrowers and student loan debt.
It wasn’t the first long goal Courtney had committed to.
A Degree Earned Over Nearly a Decade
Courtney spent nearly a decade working toward her college degree. She went back and forth to school while raising her children, recovering from an injury, and getting through financial hardship. Each time she stepped away, she came back.
In 2018, she finally earned her bachelor’s degree in business administration. It was a personal triumph, one she had pursued with determination, and she remained proud of and grateful for it. The degree also came with $40,000 in federal student loans.
Supporting Two Families on Her Own
Through those same years, Courtney was raising her children without child support from their father. She carried the full cost of two kids on one income.
At one point, her responsibilities grew even more. In a previous relationship, she also supported her partner and his child, paying for two cars, insurance, and rent. For years, she was financially responsible for two families.
Massachusetts is an expensive place to live, and one income only stretched so far. Credit cards filled the gaps, and the balances kept climbing until she was deep in debt.
When the relationship ended, the debt it left behind didn’t go with it. Her two children, now young adults, still lived with her, and she supported them completely. Even with a six-figure salary, her past debt kept her living paycheck to paycheck. Her income looked comfortable on paper, but between her household and her old balances, little was left at the end of each month. She needed a way to deal with it that still left room for her family.
How Her Credit Card Debt Relief Program Worked
That’s where National Debt Relief came in. Courtney enrolled a little over $50,000 of debt in its debt settlement program and was paying $840 a month toward it.
The program started with a free call with a Certified Debt Specialist, who listened to her situation and explained her options. There was no pressure. Debt settlement was a good fit, so she chose to move forward and picked which debts to enroll, including her credit cards. Each month, she made one deposit into a dedicated savings account in her name, an amount designed to fit her budget. That account paid for her settlements and program fees, and no fees were charged until a debt was settled.
As money built up in her account, National Debt Relief negotiated with her creditors to settle each debt for less than she owed. She saw every offer and how much she would save, and nothing moved forward without her approval. Once a settlement was paid, the creditor marked the debt as settled, and she got written confirmation.
For Courtney, that meant one monthly payment in place of several credit card balances, and a team working with her creditors.
Four Credit Cards Down
Courtney’s program moved one debt at a time. Each time her savings grew enough, National Debt Relief reached a deal with a creditor, she signed off on it, and another balance came off her list. By 2025, she had paid off four of her credit cards that way.
After years of watching her balances grow, she was finally gaining control of her debt. Each card she paid off was one less balance left over from the years she spent supporting two families.
Looking Ahead to 2027
Courtney’s priority was her unsecured debt. She wanted to finish what she started with National Debt Relief and close out the credit card balances from those years for good. Once all her enrolled debts were settled, she would graduate from the program.
The same determination that carried her through nearly a decade of school was carrying her through the program. With four credit cards paid off and a 2027 finish in sight, she was making steady progress toward credit card debt relief while continuing to provide for her two children.
Courtney’s debt built up over years of taking care of the people around her. Now she was taking care of it.
