Malayo pa, kaya pa ba?
Hi, 29M here. At a very young age, medyo napa-waldas talaga ako because I got blinded by credit cards, luho, and loans. Umabot sa almost half a million yung utang ko.
Dumating sa point na na-suspend yung isa kong credit card and eventually napunta siya sa collections. Mas lalo tuloy naging mahirap bayaran.
For the longest time, interest lang halos nababayaran ko and hindi talaga siya umuusad. Mas lalo lang lumalaki yung balance and mas nalulubog ako. Kaya ang goal ko sana was to get a personal loan para ma-consolidate lahat ng utang ko into one manageable payment. Thankfully, dahil sa current work and salary ko ngayon, alam kong kaya ko nang bayaran nang maayos.
So I tried applying sa iba’t ibang banks — UnionBank, EastWest, RCBC, BPI — pero lahat rejected. Most likely because of my delinquent status sa isang credit card. To be fair, good payer naman ako sa ibang accounts ko. Minsan advance pa nga magbayad or full payment agad.
Nagkaroon lang talaga ng phase na napapaikot ko yung pera and napupunta lang lahat sa interest. Honestly, medyo nawawalan na ako ng pag-asa.
Then one day habang nagso-scroll ako dito sa Reddit, paulit-ulit kong nakikita pangalan ni Sir Genesis from SB Finance. Napunta ako sa rabbit hole ng mga posts and ang dami kong nabasang success stories from people he helped. Sabi ko, “Sige nga, susubukan ko na rin. Wala naman mawawala.”
May 2 (Saturday) — I messaged Sir Genesis and explained my whole situation. Grabe, very accommodating agad. Sinend niya lahat ng requirements and ako naman, sinend ko LAHAT. As in kahit may nakalagay na “or,” sinend ko pa rin pareho hahaha. He also asked about the banks that declined me and why na-suspend yung card ko. I explained everything with full transparency since wala naman akong reason magsinungaling. He asked for my salary and tenure sa work, then na-encode niya agad application ko the same day. Take note, Sabado ito ha. I honestly expected na Monday na ulit siya magre-reply, pero customer service ni Sir Genesis ibang level — responsive kahit weekend.
May 4 (Monday) — I messaged Sir Genesis para ibigay yung exact contacts for my employment verification. Same day, confirmed agad employment ko and Security Bank even texted me right away regarding the verification.
May 5 (Tuesday) — Nag-follow up ako kay Sir Genesis and he said okay na lahat. So ayun, waiting game na.
May 6 (Wednesday) — Nag-ask ulit ako for updates regarding my application. Hindi agad nakapag-reply si Sir kaya medyo kinabahan na ako dito hahaha. Bandang hapon wala pa rin update so inisip ko baka declined na naman. Hindi ko na rin siya kinulit.
Then came May 7 (Thursday) — Biglang nag-message si Sir Genesis that my application was APPROVED. Halos mangiyak ako sa tuwa. Slight lang naman hahaha. Right after, tumawag si Ms. Jeaneth to assist me for the signing.
Good news: approved ako.
Bad news: mas mababa yung approved amount kaysa sa expected ko.
To be honest, naging hesitant ako if itutuloy ko kasi hindi niya totally maco-cover lahat ng debts ko. So before signing, tinanong ko muna lahat kay Ms. Jeaneth — approved amount, deductibles, monthly amortization, and kung magkano talaga yung actual na mare-receive ko.
Habang kausap ko siya, naka-open spreadsheet ko computing everything kung anong debts yung kaya kong tapusin and if kakayanin ko yung monthly payments.
Thankfully, enough siya para ma-fully pay yung delinquent CC debt ko and yung SLoan ko. I’ll also be paying my GLoan and GGives in advance. Please don’t judge me hahaha.
At that point, sabi ko sa sarili ko, “Sige, push na natin ‘to.” Hindi na ako aarte hahaha.
May 8 (Friday / Today) — Morning pa lang, nag-download na ako ng Zuki App and nag-email agad si SB Finance confirming the transfer details. The whole day, kinukumusta pa rin ako ni Sir Genesis and he kept reminding me to check around lunch or after lunch kasi gusto niya talaga ma-make sure na pumasok yung funds.
Then around 6:00 PM, nag-reflect na finally yung amount sa account ko.
Grabe. In a span of 6 days, I got approved for a loan I honestly wasn’t expecting to get. And today, fully paid na yung delinquent CC balance ko and SLoan ko.
Yes, technically nadagdagan pa rin utang ko because of interest, but at least consolidated na siya into one manageable payment. Ang laki ng nabawas sa mental burden ko knowing na wala na yung malaking CC debt na iniisip ko araw-araw. Unti-unti ko na rin mababayaran nang maayos yung ibang remaining debts ko.
Thank you ulit, Sir Genesis and Ms. Jeaneth!
And for all the early 20s young professionals out there: please don’t fall into the “healing my inner child” mindset through overspending. Live within your means. Hindi masama i-treat sarili mo, basta may limit.
And for those na struggling financially like me, wag na tayo masyadong tumingin sa nakaraan. One step at a time lang. Makakaahon din tayo.
And syempre, for those na may financial needs and may capacity naman to pay, don’t forget to contact Sir Genesis of SB Finance!