I. Barfe

Ian Barfe was approaching his 50th birthday with trepidation. With a mortgage and mounting credit card debt, he couldn't escape the feeling that he had nothing to show for his years of work.

Working offshore as a chef, Ian was able to bring a good income home to his wife Warunee and their two teenage children, but he felt as though their money wasn't being used effectively.

"I was lying in bed one night and decided something had to change before I reached 50," said Ian.

That was 18 months ago.

Today, the Barfes have slashed $25,000 from the mortgage for their Kingsley home. They have purchased two investment properties in WA and two plots of land in Thailand.

And they haven't won the lottery.

The answer came to Ian and Warunee just as it has come to thousands of other sleepless Australians - in the shape of debt consolidation.

"I had heard of Crown Lending and decided to see how they could help us," says Ian. "We consolidated our debts and learned how to make our money work for us, instead of working for the banks."

"We have been able to afford major renovations at our own house, we landscaped the garden, upgraded the car and have just finished building a house on one of our blocks in Thailand," adds Ian.

With his new-found financial freedom, Ian is looking forward to retiring his chef's apron within five years, and is helping his brother to buy a property in Melbourne.

"Our gross worth has jumped from $270,000 to around $1.5 million in a very short period of time, and is continuing to increase. We now have investments and a lifestyle that we never dreamed we would be able to afford."