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| Have you seen me lately? I may need a makeover. |
Not surprisingly, when you enter anything about black relationships, black men, or black women into a search engine you get flooded with screamfest sites. If you were to search for blogs and websites about getting Black people’s financial house in order, there’s not many voices at the table. Again, this website is about building not tearing down.
We are launching the 100 point credit score challenge.
We are encouraging black people to increase their credit scores by 100 or more points in 4 months. No matter when you find this post, challenge yourself to strengthening your creditworthiness. Credit scores change every month based on current activity so this goal is more than attainable; a challenge but it can be done. This blog will maintain that ownership and wealth creation is the path to real power. For the most part, we are building wealth on our own. (Some of) Our parents had bad habits (I’m an 80s baby) and even our grandparents had terrible spending habits. Many of us aren't expecting much from an inheritance either. We, whoever is reading this, have to break the cycle of poverty and the greatest barrier to poverty is debt. For the most part, most of us will need a loan to open our business-maybe not for all of the start-up but for some/most of it. 
We/you cannot whine about what the bank will not loan us/you with credit scores in the 500s and 600s. They do not owe us/you anything and even if they did, they wouldn’t give it to us/you anyway. Therefore, we must get these credit scores up in order to increase our credit worthiness. We should do it not just to look good in someone else's eyes but it represents how we/you handle our/your affairs. If you can't handle a little of your own money, why should anyone give you more of theirs? Here are just a few things I’m planning to do and you may need to do also:
We/you cannot whine about what the bank will not loan us/you with credit scores in the 500s and 600s. They do not owe us/you anything and even if they did, they wouldn’t give it to us/you anyway. Therefore, we must get these credit scores up in order to increase our credit worthiness. We should do it not just to look good in someone else's eyes but it represents how we/you handle our/your affairs. If you can't handle a little of your own money, why should anyone give you more of theirs? Here are just a few things I’m planning to do and you may need to do also:-Find out your real credit score and report
Get your free credit report and score from the three bureaus. DO NOT rely on the many websites offering you your score. I once used www.freecreditreport.com and they were me telling 50 points less than what it actually was. My sister also used it and it was telling her 50 more than what it actually was. In both cases, our scores didn’t move for months at a time. Not good when trying to seek financing for something. To retrieve free credit reports from the three beureaus:
- Go to AnnualCreditReport.com, which is the only authorized source for consumers to access their annual credit report online for free. -Pay off Credit Card Debt
- Call (877) 322-8228.
- Complete the form on the back of the Annual Credit Report Request brochure, and mail it to: Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281. The brochure, which can be ordered or printed, is available from the Federal Trade Commission. Click here for more information.
A credit report is simply a rundown of your payment history, listing your accounts, balances and your payment behavior for each. It is not a credit score, or FICO, the three-digit gauge of your creditworthiness used by lenders, employers and insurers. But credit scores do use the information on your credit reports in their calculations, so it's important to spot and correct inaccuracies as quickly as possible.
You can get more information here. Get you credit score here.
-Pay Off Credit Cards
Credit card debt is budget leakage. High balances must be cut down immediately. A good amount of credit card debt is considered a quarter of your credit limit. Thus, if you have a $10K credit limit, $2500 is considered acceptable. Now, if all you have on a credit card is $2500 out of a $10K limit, keep paying that card until your balance is zero. We do not want to be acceptable. We want to be exceptional. This may mean that need to pick up odd jobs to pay off your debt. This may mean cutting back on your entertainment choices each month. However, you have to do what you have to do. How much could you save if you paid off your debt completely? How much more could you put in an Individual Retirement account (IRA) or invest in the stock market with money you pay every month to your creditors? The key to deliverance is hating your bondage (debt). If you can tolerate the bondage, you will. If you hate it that much, you will do whateva it takes to get rid of it. This is an easy way to immediately increase your score.
-Pay Off Credit Cards
Credit card debt is budget leakage. High balances must be cut down immediately. A good amount of credit card debt is considered a quarter of your credit limit. Thus, if you have a $10K credit limit, $2500 is considered acceptable. Now, if all you have on a credit card is $2500 out of a $10K limit, keep paying that card until your balance is zero. We do not want to be acceptable. We want to be exceptional. This may mean that need to pick up odd jobs to pay off your debt. This may mean cutting back on your entertainment choices each month. However, you have to do what you have to do. How much could you save if you paid off your debt completely? How much more could you put in an Individual Retirement account (IRA) or invest in the stock market with money you pay every month to your creditors? The key to deliverance is hating your bondage (debt). If you can tolerate the bondage, you will. If you hate it that much, you will do whateva it takes to get rid of it. This is an easy way to immediately increase your score.
-Pay Off Other Debt Quicker.
The car. The house. The student loans. Double your payments on at least one of these items. These are also leaks. They make us complacent with debt. They make hopefully lesser credit card debt seem ‘not so bad’. A car and a house are assets that can be maximized. You can advertise on craigslist or at your church or local library as a taxi service. Maybe you know a mom who needs a ride going in the same direction to work. She can pay you $10-20/day. A week of shuttling the single mom (or you can shuttle a few people per week) for let’s say 4 days a week at $15/day is $60. That is an extra $240 a month just for driving a car.
Those of you with large cars, vans, etc can advertise moving services. I know the movers in my area make $200-300/trip and that’s just for a one bedroom apartment move. They make $1000+ for a house and you can do several jobs a day. Black people, we have to be creative about making more money. Who knows, you could open a moving company with locations all over the country. You don’t know how God is going to enlarge your territory. Get some vision for the love of God. No more limited thinking. We NEVER thought a black man would be the President of the United States. NEVER. Look what God can do.
When Moses went to lead the people through the Red Sea, God said in essence ‘Use what’s in your hand’. He had already given Moses everything he needed to do the impossible. He just had to use it in a different way. This is why the last ‘Principle of Change’ is that we have everything we need and the tools to obtain them if we do not have them. That big old house where you live by yourself or with the huge basement, you can sell as a room or apartment. Tenants can pay every month or every week. Roomers (which is what they’re called in my area) in my area can pay as much as $600/month or $125/week. An extra $4-600 a month could put a nice dent in that mortgage or car note. It could also go into buying another home of which you can rent a couple of apartments and the mortgage could be paid off quite quickly so all the rent payments can go right into a healthy savings account. These properties you could leave to your children. The houses will be paid off by then and they can use the properties for extra income just as you did (and keep going buying new houses or starting their own seperate business). ‘But I’on want any o body coming up in my house’. Neither do I but please get over yourself. You barely know the people who live there now and they’re your family. There are online tools for property owners to do background checks for pennies. Black people, look at what is in your hand. We are such a creative and talented people. We have to use the gifts, assets, and talents we have been given and turn them into cash machines.
Those of you with large cars, vans, etc can advertise moving services. I know the movers in my area make $200-300/trip and that’s just for a one bedroom apartment move. They make $1000+ for a house and you can do several jobs a day. Black people, we have to be creative about making more money. Who knows, you could open a moving company with locations all over the country. You don’t know how God is going to enlarge your territory. Get some vision for the love of God. No more limited thinking. We NEVER thought a black man would be the President of the United States. NEVER. Look what God can do.
When Moses went to lead the people through the Red Sea, God said in essence ‘Use what’s in your hand’. He had already given Moses everything he needed to do the impossible. He just had to use it in a different way. This is why the last ‘Principle of Change’ is that we have everything we need and the tools to obtain them if we do not have them. That big old house where you live by yourself or with the huge basement, you can sell as a room or apartment. Tenants can pay every month or every week. Roomers (which is what they’re called in my area) in my area can pay as much as $600/month or $125/week. An extra $4-600 a month could put a nice dent in that mortgage or car note. It could also go into buying another home of which you can rent a couple of apartments and the mortgage could be paid off quite quickly so all the rent payments can go right into a healthy savings account. These properties you could leave to your children. The houses will be paid off by then and they can use the properties for extra income just as you did (and keep going buying new houses or starting their own seperate business). ‘But I’on want any o body coming up in my house’. Neither do I but please get over yourself. You barely know the people who live there now and they’re your family. There are online tools for property owners to do background checks for pennies. Black people, look at what is in your hand. We are such a creative and talented people. We have to use the gifts, assets, and talents we have been given and turn them into cash machines.
-Dispute old dents and dings on your credit reports
There are several credit repair companies that help consumers dispute negative things on their credit scores. Many banks have so many customers around the world that their systems are not holding as much information as they should. Thus if a creditor cannot prove why something is on your credit report (because their records do not go back that far or they no longer have something in the system), they have to remove it. There are many reputable credit repair companies. I used Sky Blue at one point and my credit score jumped 75 points in only 4 months at $49/month. You can go to bat with the credit bureaus if you want, but it requires much time and effort. Sometimes, it’s best to let the experts handle what they’ve been doing for several years. They were really low maintenance and were honest with me about what they could do and what I needed to do in the meantime. Each credit repair company has its pros and cons. You must weigh those things with what fits your life. Sky Blue worked for me and my situation. You may find another that fits your life a bit better or not to use them at all. Check this out if you're interested in utilizing a credit repair company.
-Live Within My Means. Think, ‘If I can’t buy it with cash without it interrupting my other more important responsibilities, I can’t buy it’, swallow your pride, and move away.
I am becoming more and more responsible the older I get. Do I really need those shoes? Is this the best price I can get on a nice suit? It’s pretty but not for that price. We as a country have been spoonfed this entitlement mentality. We are having to rewire our minds in order to think correctly about money and we are kicking and screaming in the process. NO ONE OWES YOU ANYTHING. You don’t deserve your next breath. We are at the mercy of God when we wake up in the morning. What makes you think you deserve anything you won’t work and wait to purchase? I know this painful for you because it’s painful for me. If you don’t like the feeling of having scrounge around or waiting for it to hit the clearance rack in a week, WORK so that your children don’t have to deal with such things. We are talking about generational wealth. Nothing less will do.
Check Out These Sites Too
Remember, the internet is your friend. There’s tons of great information about this. Get your friends, church group, and book club involved in this.
Success doesn’t have to be a lonely place. Let’s go together.
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