After driving by Marine Credit Union’s branch in Racine, WI, Jon Eckblad became curious about the credit union and how Marine might be able to help him reach his financial goals. He wasn’t satisfied with his previous credit union who denied him help after his family struggled with bankruptcy. Jon was interested in working with a financial institution who truly wanted to help its members.
Jon joined Marine as a member in 2019 and initially began working with lender Elysia Mattingly to secure a loan to help his family pay off their outstanding bills/collections and improve their credit, using their truck as collateral. But Elysia saw another opportunity to help Jon and his family long term.
Elysia referred Jon to Marine’s Financial Literacy Counselor, Majel Hein. Majel manages a program through the MCU Foundation called Finding HOME, but also serves as a resource for all Marine members. She excels at helping members create and maintain an ongoing budget, no matter where they are at on their financial journey.
Working with Majel, Jon established a working budget for his household. “If we ever have questions, she always gets back to me in a timely manner,” said Jon. “The budget seemed very intimidating at first, but she explained everything thoroughly.” He continues to follow up with Majel every few months to ask questions about their budget and make sure they are on the right track.
While currently satisfied with the help he’s received from Marine, Jon also knows “if there is anything else we need, you are just a phone call away to help! This is truly what a financial institution should do for its members!” said Jon.
“Marine looks at the individual, not the situation they may be facing and give them a chance to improve,” said Jon. “We couldn’t have accomplished our financial stability without Marine’s help!”
Marine supports any employee who is interested in becoming a certified Financial Literacy Counselor in order to fully serve our members along their financial journey. There are several other team members who are currently working towards this goal!2
