In this testimonial, Mary Ann and Sam Sheldon from Kapa'a, Kaua'i recount how they discovered the 101 Financial One‑on‑One program through friends Jay and Corrine Marata, attended a workshop, and enrolled in the system in September 2008. Within six months they paid down $67,000 of mortgage debt, retired, and were able to build their dream home on land they had owned for years. They describe the program’s focus on basic financing fundamentals, credit management, and cash‑flow awareness, crediting it with giving them the knowledge to broaden their goals and envision a larger future. The Sheldons emphasize that anyone can achieve similar results by learning to manage money, and they encourage others to consider the program regardless of their current situation.
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I'm Mary Ann, and this is my husband, Sam. We're the Sheldons, and we are from Kapa'a, Kaua'i. We'd like to share our 101 story and how this all began. My husband, a while back, 5 years ago, bought this property here on Pikake. And we lived in Kapa'a at that time, in a nice little cozy home. And for a long time, my husband and I were trying to figure out how we were gonna build a house on this land. And contemplating for a couple years, my husband driving back and forth every day, and just hoping for a miracle. Then, we ran into my friend's home, which was just right down the road. And that's Jay and Corrine Marata. Hi. I asked my husband to come in, and I said, you know, they're doing this One-on-One program, and they have been inviting us to attend. And I said, I think this is our way out. I think if they can do it, we can do it. And I convinced my husband to go to a workshop, and we did. And the rest after that is history. We got on the One-on-One system with— With Kaua'i. Kareem and Jay Maratha back in '08, September. And it's been an absolutely unbelievable journey. It's allowed us to build our dream home just a couple years later. When we got on the 101 system, 6 months later, we were able to pay down $67,000 worth in debt towards our— the last of our mortgage. And from then, we were able to start our new home. And I think it was one of our best things we ever did together. It's just been an amazing journey, and what we've done and accomplished and the knowledge that we have gained up to this point has been unbelievable. And we're sitting in our dream home. What we planned was something really small at first, and then it started to get bigger and bigger. Bigger. It's just something that we want to share to every single person that we know, that it doesn't matter where you're at or what you're doing in your life, that if you learn how to manage money and you know where your finances are coming and going, So much things are possible. Your goals, your visions, they all start to broaden.
What I really liked about it is I had a chance to retire and still build this home that we dreamed about, or in fact never thought about initially. And it's just a great program. Teaches us the basic fundamentals of financing, and it's— if I could understand it, I believe anybody can.
It's amazing what this system can teach you and what you can do on it.
