Meet Tamara
At 54, Tamara never expected to be starting over. After a difficult divorce, she lost almost everything she had built over nearly two decades.
Not long after, she suffered a stroke and then lost the job she had held for 17 years, going from having enough to cover the bills to suddenly relying on EI and trying to stretch every dollar.
Finding a Home with Skyline Living
During this transition, Tamara moved in with her sister, whose family lived in a Skyline Living community. When a renovated unit in the same building became available, Tamara was able to move into her own home while staying close to the support system of her brother and sister in the same community.
Matching Rent to Her Paycheque
Like many Canadians, Tamara is paid every two weeks, which never lined up well with paying rent once a month.
When her building started offering Zenbase, the ability to align her rent payments with her bi-weekly income felt, in her words, like a “blessing from God.” Instead of worrying about having the full month’s rent ready on the first, she could spread her payments out in a way that matched how money was actually coming in.
The Surprise of a Rising Credit Score
For Tamara, Zenbase started as a way to make rent more manageable, but it quickly turned into something more.
After receiving an email inviting her to check her credit score, she logged in and was shocked: “OMG, it’s going up! It’s amazing!”
Over just 11 months, Tamara’s credit score climbed from around 400 to 660, powered by consistent, on-time rent payments being reported to the credit bureaus.
Feeling Supported Through Life’s Hardest Moments
The financial benefits were only part of the story for Tamara. Each time she reached out to Zenbase, she felt the team was “so good,” describing every interaction as kind, accepting, and focused on “How can we help you?” rather than judgment.
Their tone, she noted, was never condescending; instead, she felt respected and supported, even when talking about late payments or financial stress.
When her EI ended and she began transitioning onto disability, there was another gap and another period of uncertainty. During that time, Zenbase worked with her on payment timing and options so she could stay on track without feeling abandoned in yet another transition.
Building Financial Health, One Payment at a Time
Today, Tamara’s story is one of resilience as she rebuilds after a divorce, a medical crisis, and job loss while slowly regaining control over her financial life.
With Skyline Living providing a stable home and Zenbase helping her align rent with her income and build credit, she has turned rent, once a source of stress, into a tool for financial health.
Tamara’s journey shows how small, consistent steps, such as splitting rent to match paycheques and reporting those on-time payments, can add up to a powerful turning point for residents working hard to rebuild their lives.
Philipp Postrehovsky | Zenbase COO
Philipp is a marketing leader, brand builder and product visionary who has been involved in the fintech scene for over 17 years. In 2013 he co-founded RentMoola, which continues to be one of North America's leading fintech companies with the mission to eliminate the rent cheque and modernize rent collection for the enterprise. Before that, he was a marketing leader for Mogo Technologies, Wonga Canada and began his career at Electronic Arts. Most recently he was SVP, Marketing at Progressa and VP, Digital Marketing at goeasy. He founded Grind For Kids, a program that raised over $1 million for BC Children’s Hospital Foundation and is a mentor to new entrepreneurs.
