Honeymooners Take a Pause to Get Financial Advice | My Member Story

From a young age, Ryan Bennion has been interested in finances. When he married the love of his life, he knew that starting off on the right foot financially would be an important step in their new life together.

Embarking on a new life together Ryan and Rebeca met in college at the University of Utah. Rebeca was an international student from Brazil living with family in the area and he was a pre-med major. After Ryan graduated, they moved to Kansas City and then Visalia, California where he is currently starting his emergency medicine residency at the Kaweah Delta Medical Center while Rebeca works as a nanny.

These two lovebirds recently got married and decided to honeymoon in the mountains around Park City, Utah.

Merging finances Planning their wedding and getting settled in California had monopolized most of Ryan and Rebeca’s free time, but now that they were officially married, they were ready to focus on making sure their finances were set up correctly.

They had some unusual needs that included Rebeca’s U.S. residency status, a car loan that was currently in Rebeca’s father’s name and some credit card debt.

Honeymoon surprise Interestingly, their honeymoon presented an opportunity to get some of these things finalized. Ryan and Rebeca found themselves at a Mountain America Credit Union branch in Park City just two days after getting married—this was a couple with their priorities straight!

Ryan had been a member at Mountain America for 12 years and, based on his past experiences, he knew they could get the help they needed.

Getting it done Isaac Blackburn, a financial service representative at the branch, met with the newly-married couple and learned they were in a bit of a time crunch. Ryan had to be back at the hospital in California in just a few days and they wanted to get everything in order before returning home. Isaac accepted the challenge!

Ryan and Rebeca talked with Isaac about their short- and long-term goals and what they wanted their future to look like. Isaac recommended a plan that included opening joint savings and checking accounts and a joint credit card. He was also able to refinance the car loan to Rebeca’s name. With the vehicle’s equity, the auto refinance provided some additional money to pay down their credit card debt.

After meeting with Isaac, Ryan and Rebeca were encouraged by what they were able to accomplish in such a short time. But they knew there were additional items—like getting signatures from Rebeca’s father—that would take additional time.

Isaac told them to enjoy the rest of their honeymoon and he would take care of everything.

Mountain America delivers On the day before the couple was to return home, Isaac contacted Ryan and Rebeca to let them know that everything had been completed and all they needed to do was come in to sign the paperwork.

Ryan and Rebeca were amazed! They were so grateful they were able to enjoy their honeymoon while trusting Isaac to help them navigate their financial situation. They knew they were in a great place financially and could kick off their new lives with confidence.

When we asked Ryan why he continued as a Mountain America member, he put it like this, “I vote with my dollar. If I have a good experience with a company, I am going to invest in that company by continuing to use them and recommending their products and services to my friends and family.”

Thanks Ryan and Rebeca—we are so grateful to support you in this new stage of life and wish you the best in the future!