Hello, and welcome
to Dollars and Sense.
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My name is Yvonne Lewis, and I'm
the co-host for this program.
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Our primary host is Ryan
Mack, Financial Literacy expert.
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He's an author, a speaker, and
he has been just schooling us on
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this program. And today we have
Episode 2, Part 2 of credit.
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Yes, exactly. And we're going
to talk about the importance of
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credit, getting
good credit, all of that.
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And you have
such... Part 1 was so good.
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If you didn't get Part 1,
if you didn't watch it before,
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you've got to get it
because it is really good.
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You're going to learn a lot.
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And share it with
your friends and family.
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Tell them to tune in
to Dollars and Sense.
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There's so much
information on this program.
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You're not going to miss it.
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We had a great time.
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And, just a little recap.
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We went over how gentrification
ties into good credit,
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or good credit ties
into gentrification.
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And for those who don't
know what gentrification is?
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Essentially it is individuals
who are of better economic
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means, who are able to move into
a depressed value community.
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And those who are living in the
community might be priced out.
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Because as individuals move
in who could afford to pay more,
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prices start going up.
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They're being priced out.
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Then they have to move out.
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So we talked about how it's
not a black, or brown, or white
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thing, it is a green thing.
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And so as individuals with
good credit having access to
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capital in this economy, we have
to make sure that we understand,
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fully understand
that there's liquidity.
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Having a lot of money and
good credit will allow us to be
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able to purchase property.
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Many people living in
urban areas, and rural America,
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and Appalachia, might
not have a lot of liquidity,
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but they can get good credit.
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So that will allow them to
be able to purchase property,
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stopping gentrification,
and take more ownership
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in their communities.
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And when you see, we talked
about last time how crime rates,
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poverty rates,
substance abuse rates, all that,
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it correlates with credit,
and not necessarily directly.
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But because those practices that
you have in terms of paying your
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bills on time, being able to...
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That translates into access to
capital, being able to purchase
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homes, having bank
accounts, start businesses,
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purchase
businesses, taking out loans.
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All of that translates
into a more wealthy community,
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and it translates
into lower poverty rates,
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lower crime rates,
lower substance abuse rates.
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And so if you look at where a
lot of unrest, economic unrest,
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are in the country, you'll see
many of those communities are
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lower credit score communities.
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So we really
have to focus on this.
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This is bigger
than what people think.
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It's bigger than people believe.
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It's something
that's traditionally,
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by the mainstream,
swept under the rug.
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And we talked about, most
importantly, that it's directly
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related to the word of God.
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It's directly related to Christ.
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We read in Deuteronomy how
the FCRA, Fair Credit Rights,
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their sharing is
directly from Deuteronomy.
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And so, and it's almost as
if they did it word for word
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from the Bible. Uh huh.
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So the influence of faith
and Christian faith on our laws
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of society is inside of me.
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But it's very interesting to
me how they take that principles
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of good credit, and
integrity from the Bible,
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and they
implement them in our laws.
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And so we must
walk by them. Yes.
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We must follow them.
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And so we have a verse
for today, Romans 13:8.
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I love this verse. I've
said this verse a few times.
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But I think this verse
definitely bears repeating.
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It says:
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And that first part of it, Owe
no man anything, and it says,
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I mean the word of Christ,
it talks a lot about debt,
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and being a
borrower, being a lender.
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And one's the head
and one's the tail.
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It talks a lot about that.
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It talks about putting
yourself in a position of power.
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And we talked last
week about righteousness,
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and how in Proverbs it talks
about having righteousness,
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having integrity, and
measuring being either
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wicked or righteous.
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FICO, FIR ASIC Corporation,
is the measure from 350 to 850
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that really discerns how
righteous an individual has
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been, or how wicked they
have been by not paying off.
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By nature, Leroich
is financially wicked.
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Exactly! Right, right.
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And, so, I mean, it just to me,
and I guess I'm a Bible nerd,
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but it just is very,
it's intriguing to me.
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It's very interesting, and
exciting all at the same time,
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how so many things
correlate with the word of God.
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And again, it just continues
to prove how timeless it is,
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and how relevant it is, and how
pertinent it is to being able to
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make sure that we can walk the
path of righteousness within our
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credit and every other
area, but this particular
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program about our credit.
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So it goes from 350 to
850 FIR ASIC Corporation
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and how they measure.
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We talked about that,
but what we didn't say
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was what each rating was.
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So 619 and under is poor credit,
620 to 679 is below average,
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680 to 719 is
average, 720 to 749 is good,
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and 750 plus is
great or excellent credit.
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So, I mean obviously, ideally
we are able to work, continue to
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work our way up, continue
to check our credit scores.
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We talked about Credit
Karma being a great source to...
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I have a lot of friends
who are at Credit Karma.
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And it's free. It's
free; free of charge.
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Totally free.
Yes, so... It's an app.
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Yeah. It is. Just put it on your
phone and you can check your
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credit all of the time.
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And there really is
no excuse now for us to
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not have good credit. Yeah.
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Unless we just don't
feel like being righteous.
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Yeah! Right! Unless
we just intentionally,
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because we can
with so much free help:
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Operation Hope
has free assistance,
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National Foundation of Credit
Councils has free assistance,
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Credit Karma free assistance.
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You can get a free credit report
from annualcreditreport. com
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once a year; free assistance.
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You should never have to
pay a dime on any of this.
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Please, if someone comes up
to you and says, Pay me $600
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and I'll improve your credit.
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Run as fast as you
can away from them.
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Do not pay a dollar
to improve your credit.
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There's too many
free resources out there
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to get your credit repaired.
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So I actually have seven steps
to how to repair your credit.
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Oh great! In addition we talked
about the breakdown last week.
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I guess I'll go over
that again briefly. Yeah.
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35% is the regular
paying your bills on time.
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Now this is how
to raise your credit?
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Yeah, well, this is how
the FIR as a corporation
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calculates your credit score.
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Oh, okay, so this is how
the credit score is calculated.
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35% is the record of
paying your bills on time.
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30% is your balance to
your lending limit ratio.
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Remember, don't cancel accounts.
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It lowers that ratio
and makes it less favorable,
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and lowers your credit score.
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15% is your
length of credit history.
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The more points of
data that you have...
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This why your oldest
credit card is the most
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favorable credit card.
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Because the FIR ASIC Corporation
has more points of data
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to measure how
responsible you've been in that.
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So if you want to cancel any...
If you have to cancel the credit
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card don't
cancel the oldest one.
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Cancel the newest one first.
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Well that's a great tip. Yes.
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That's a great tip.
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If you have to cancel one
don't cancel the oldest one.
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Because they check out your
history; the length of time.
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That is one of the categories
on my Credit Karma thing. Yep.
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The length of time that
you've had the credit cards.
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Exactly. Well, 15%
of your FICO score is
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length of credit history.
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So that measures into points
of data that they can use to
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gather how responsible you've
been in paying off credit cards.
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10% of your FICO
score is account inquiries.
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So every time you fill
out a credit card application
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you essentially will
get 5 to 6 points dinged
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off your credit score, even if
you don't get the credit card.
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That seems so unfair to me.
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Yep. Just because somebody's
looking into your credit,
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you get
penalized for that. Right.
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You apply for a card;
you get penalized for that.
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Exactly. Well, they view that
as you're taking on more risk.
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So as you take on more risk
they're going to decrease your
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financial score in order to
compensate for that additional
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risk that you're taking on.
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That's how they categorize it.
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Now there's a hard
hit, and there's a soft hit.
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The hard hit is
when someone actually...
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You apply for credit, and
you're actually trying to get
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additional lending.
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The soft hit is when someone
gets... sold your information.
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And they want to solicit you
to get a Visa or a Master Card.
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They have a good deal, and
they see that you've taken out
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various things before.
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And they've looked at your
credit report to see is she,
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or he a good candidate?
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Then, you know what, let's send
her an application to see if she
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wants to get this credit card.
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Well that's a soft hit, and that
shows up on your credit report.
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When you go to annual credit
report it will show all the
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individuals who are looking at
your credit report for potential
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solicitation of business.
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That does not impact your
credit card, your credit report.
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So just be mindful of that.
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You know, be mindful of
different lists that you're on.
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I mean we've talked a
little bit about identity theft.
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We'll be
getting into that today.
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So be mindful of all...
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I mean your information
is just floating around.
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There's the onslaught of
information, and access to that
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that we have today is
easier today than it's ever been
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which causes us to have... more
prone be... to have our higher
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information stolen from us.
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But it also, on the positive
side, it allows us to access
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data a lot easier, because
FIR ASIC Corporation has gotten
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a lot when I got into
this in 2003, or 2002 or 3,
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and really started researching
how, and actually created a
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bankruptcy course in 2005.
00:10:50.98\00:10:54.32
So since then the FIR ASIC
Corporation has gotten a lot
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more lenient in how they
are revealing their data,
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and how they're
measuring credit.
00:11:02.72\00:11:04.39
And so, I mean
things are on the up and up.
00:11:04.46\00:11:07.13
But again, that is also
readily available as well.
00:11:07.20\00:11:10.17
So ready for the
seven steps to...?
00:11:10.23\00:11:12.90
Yeah! Oh, absolutely!
00:11:12.93\00:11:15.00
Alright. So step one is
basic housekeeping. Okay?
00:11:15.04\00:11:20.98
Basic housekeeping says
that 75% of your credit report
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has errors on them.
00:11:25.21\00:11:26.55
So you want to make sure that
the first thing you do is go,
00:11:26.58\00:11:30.75
go to annualcreditreport. com
pull off of your credit report
00:11:30.85\00:11:35.36
get your frequent report,
look at it and see if there's
00:11:35.39\00:11:38.03
any errors on them.
00:11:38.09\00:11:39.43
You're going to find
some, more than likely.
00:11:39.46\00:11:41.60
Most reports have errors.
00:11:41.63\00:11:42.96
It could be a wrong name.
00:11:43.00\00:11:44.33
It could be a wrong address.
00:11:44.37\00:11:45.70
It could be, Oh, now
those are trivial, or maybe not,
00:11:45.73\00:11:50.54
because they might not be able
to get access to send you a bill
00:11:50.57\00:11:53.07
that is late, in
terms of the credit bureau.
00:11:53.11\00:11:54.78
So it may or may not be trivial.
00:11:54.84\00:11:57.48
But for those, if when
you get that data correct it
00:11:57.51\00:12:01.18
as fast as possible.
00:12:01.22\00:12:02.55
Dispute all items
that you want to remove.
00:12:02.58\00:12:05.75
Those small
balances, you'd be amazed;
00:12:05.82\00:12:09.32
on those small
balances you might have owned,
00:12:09.36\00:12:12.49
or you had a gym
membership from two years ago.
00:12:12.53\00:12:15.60
And it was $20, or $30 that
you owed on that gym membership.
00:12:15.63\00:12:19.27
Or a cable bill, or
something that was very trivial.
00:12:19.33\00:12:22.27
And it's still on your report.
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Go ahead and pay it down.
00:12:23.91\00:12:25.77
Pay it off. It
gets off your report.
00:12:25.81\00:12:28.01
It raises your
score up very quickly.
00:12:28.04\00:12:30.21
For those larger accounts,
and again it all depends on the
00:12:30.25\00:12:33.92
subjective and what is
large for you and what is not.
00:12:33.98\00:12:37.35
But maybe it's a $100 or
more, or maybe $500 or more.
00:12:37.45\00:12:40.76
But for those larger accounts
you want to start to organize.
00:12:40.82\00:12:43.49
We're going to have a
segment on debt as well.
00:12:43.53\00:12:45.26
On how to organize your
debt and pay it off in the
00:12:45.29\00:12:47.66
most responsible way.
00:12:47.73\00:12:49.03
And that's when you want
to put it into that category.
00:12:49.06\00:12:51.13
But for those small things,
go ahead and pay those off.
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So that's Step 1.
This is basic housekeeping.
00:12:53.50\00:12:56.20
Step 2. Pay bills on time.
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That's automatic bill payment.
00:12:58.84\00:13:01.38
You know, make sure that
you are setting up a budget
00:13:01.41\00:13:05.85
within your household.
00:13:05.88\00:13:07.22
Automatic bill payment can
be very dangerous if you don't
00:13:07.25\00:13:09.45
have a budget, and you
don't know what your balance is.
00:13:09.48\00:13:11.95
So I've seen many individuals
who they've over drafted various
00:13:11.99\00:13:16.46
accounts because they just
didn't know that they only had
00:13:16.49\00:13:18.99
$10 or $30 left in their
account, and they allowed a
00:13:19.03\00:13:22.36
$50 charge come through
through automatic bill payment.
00:13:22.40\00:13:25.63
So let's just make sure that
if you set up automatic bill
00:13:25.67\00:13:28.84
payment you have a
budget, a working budget in your
00:13:28.87\00:13:31.14
household, and
you're using it, okay?
00:13:31.21\00:13:33.74
Step 3. Pay down old debts.
00:13:33.78\00:13:36.38
Carrying balance
serves no purpose.
00:13:36.41\00:13:38.68
And avoid being
seduced with special offers.
00:13:38.71\00:13:41.88
There's a lot of various offers
that are always floating around.
00:13:41.92\00:13:46.82
There are different ways,
and as a matter of fact Google,
00:13:46.86\00:13:50.49
AdSense, and all these
organizations have ways
00:13:50.53\00:13:52.69
that they sell your
information to these debtors.
00:13:52.73\00:13:54.93
This is a way they make money.
00:13:54.96\00:13:56.30
So you might be, you can
go and you purchase something
00:13:56.33\00:14:00.04
with one thing, and they'll say,
Wow, they're using that credit
00:14:00.07\00:14:02.80
card at this store, that store.
00:14:02.84\00:14:04.54
Let's send them this
credit card for that store.
00:14:04.57\00:14:07.18
And the reason that they sent
these, credit cards work so well
00:14:07.21\00:14:11.05
is that we have a propensity
to spend an additional 35% more
00:14:11.08\00:14:14.88
money with plastic
than we do with cash.
00:14:14.92\00:14:17.02
And it's the same thing.
00:14:17.09\00:14:19.05
And, like for
instance in most casinos,
00:14:19.09\00:14:22.86
they want to
take all your money.
00:14:22.89\00:14:24.39
They want to give you plastic,
and they want to give you chips,
00:14:24.43\00:14:28.36
because it doesn't feel
like you're spending money.
00:14:28.40\00:14:29.80
There's little tricks they give.
00:14:29.83\00:14:31.40
The more chips they give you,
you're just spending all this
00:14:31.43\00:14:34.24
money, and that's the same
concept with a credit card.
00:14:34.27\00:14:37.47
It doesn't feel like
you're spending money.
00:14:37.51\00:14:39.11
You're taking that
and you're swiping it,
00:14:39.14\00:14:40.48
and you're spending money.
00:14:40.54\00:14:41.88
By the end of the day you don't
know that you've spent 2 to $300
00:14:41.91\00:14:44.65
at the store or what have you.
00:14:44.68\00:14:46.58
So we want to make
sure that we are not being
00:14:46.61\00:14:49.78
seduced by these offers.
00:14:49.82\00:14:51.15
And every time we get a credit
card we're getting them with a
00:14:51.19\00:14:54.22
lot of thought behind it.
00:14:54.26\00:14:55.59
And there is an do
you need that card?
00:14:55.62\00:14:57.63
Is it adding to be a component
of your emergency fund?
00:14:57.66\00:15:00.86
Are we going to be
able to use it wisely?
00:15:00.93\00:15:03.16
All those things are being,
should be thought as opposed to,
00:15:03.20\00:15:06.40
Oh wow, this happens to be
a good offer at the particular
00:15:06.43\00:15:08.97
time, so let me get
this credit card. So!
00:15:09.00\00:15:11.64
Now 4. is don't
cancel old accounts.
00:15:11.67\00:15:15.98
Again, 15% of your FICO Score is
your length of credit history.
00:15:16.01\00:15:20.02
The points of data on your older
accounts are more plentiful
00:15:20.05\00:15:24.19
than the newer ones.
00:15:24.22\00:15:25.55
So they're more valuable in
terms of calculating what your
00:15:25.59\00:15:28.56
FICO Score is, and 30% is
your debt to lamellate ratios.
00:15:28.59\00:15:32.53
So as you cancel accounts you're
actually lowering your FICO
00:15:32.56\00:15:36.43
Score because they're
viewing you as having less
00:15:36.46\00:15:39.37
ability to take on risk.
00:15:39.40\00:15:41.00
Then you have Step 5.
Don't fear credit counselors.
00:15:41.04\00:15:45.71
Now free ones, free credit
counselors, for the paid ones
00:15:45.74\00:15:51.28
again, run as far
away from them as possible.
00:15:51.31\00:15:53.98
But everyone, I
use credit counselors.
00:15:54.02\00:15:56.89
I go to Operation Hope.
00:15:56.95\00:15:58.29
And I just go by and I say, Hey,
you know what, Crystal Nixon
00:15:58.32\00:16:01.56
who I've worked with, I say,
Listen, pull my credit score up.
00:16:01.59\00:16:07.23
Pull my credit score up.
00:16:07.30\00:16:08.63
Make sure I get a
free credit report.
00:16:08.66\00:16:10.00
And she pulls it up on the spot.
00:16:10.03\00:16:11.83
And I check out my identity.
00:16:11.87\00:16:13.54
If I have any identity theft,
which we're going to talk about,
00:16:13.57\00:16:15.87
and she says, Nope,
Ryan, everything's good.
00:16:15.90\00:16:18.17
And I walk away.
It's just that simple.
00:16:18.21\00:16:20.11
So there really is no
income level for you having them
00:16:20.18\00:16:23.55
check your credit
scores, especially if
00:16:23.58\00:16:25.08
it's a free service.
00:16:25.11\00:16:26.45
So, I mean, Operation Hope,
Green Pass, National Foundation
00:16:26.48\00:16:29.75
Credit Counselors, all these
are offering free services that
00:16:29.78\00:16:32.99
we should be utilizing.
00:16:33.02\00:16:34.36
They're there.
They want to use them.
00:16:34.39\00:16:36.32
They have to get numbers.
00:16:36.36\00:16:37.73
I mean these, they're
being paid by their funders,
00:16:37.76\00:16:40.43
based upon the numbers
of people that they serve.
00:16:40.50\00:16:42.60
Meanwhile we're not using them.
00:16:42.63\00:16:44.40
So I think that especially
in those communities where the
00:16:44.43\00:16:48.64
average credit scores are very
low, we should definitely be
00:16:48.67\00:16:51.51
having our own campaigns to say,
You know what, hey let's go to
00:16:51.54\00:16:55.41
this church, let's go to
this business, let's go to this
00:16:55.44\00:17:00.18
community based organization.
00:17:00.25\00:17:01.58
And then make sure all of their
members, all of their employees,
00:17:01.62\00:17:04.75
know about these
services in this community.
00:17:04.79\00:17:07.49
So we can all use and take
access to these services. So...
00:17:07.52\00:17:12.39
And then we have Step 6.
Steer clear of bankruptcy.
00:17:12.43\00:17:16.50
Again, as it said from the
onset, Romans 13:8, Owe no one
00:17:16.53\00:17:21.10
anything except
to love each other.
00:17:21.14\00:17:23.20
For the one who loves
another has fulfilled the law.
00:17:23.24\00:17:25.87
I believe in this principle.
00:17:25.91\00:17:28.71
I think it's one that when ever
you're thinking about whether
00:17:28.74\00:17:31.75
that you want to pay back a
debt or not, just look at Romans
00:17:31.78\00:17:35.52
13:8. I think it's pretty
clear, owe no one anything.
00:17:35.55\00:17:40.36
If you owe it, even if
they say, You know what, Ryan...
00:17:40.39\00:17:44.03
Now if they say it's forgiven,
okay, that's one thing, okay?
00:17:44.33\00:17:49.36
But if you owe it pay it.
00:17:49.40\00:17:52.47
And that's just
one way of integrity,
00:17:52.50\00:17:54.20
again, as we
walk with integrity.
00:17:54.24\00:17:56.07
Then we'll be able to,
and the Scripture talks
00:17:56.10\00:17:58.64
about that as well.
00:17:58.67\00:18:00.11
And then lastly,
this is important,
00:18:00.14\00:18:01.91
we've got to be patient.
00:18:01.94\00:18:03.28
Because a lot of time we're
looking for, and we can in many
00:18:03.31\00:18:06.88
instances get an instant
response if we dispute items,
00:18:06.95\00:18:10.22
and remove
items from our report.
00:18:10.25\00:18:12.42
But we've got to be patient.
00:18:12.45\00:18:14.92
And I've seen a lot of
individuals get succored into
00:18:14.96\00:18:18.39
paying $600 on this paid for
services just because they can
00:18:18.43\00:18:21.66
promise, falsely promise that
they're going to do something
00:18:21.70\00:18:24.40
more than what these
seven steps are doing.
00:18:24.43\00:18:27.27
If you just do these seven
steps, this is exactly what
00:18:27.34\00:18:30.24
any paid for service
is going to be doing.
00:18:30.31\00:18:32.64
They might be able
to write some letters.
00:18:32.71\00:18:35.08
Like you can get from free
letters written on your behalf.
00:18:35.11\00:18:37.15
They might write a
letter on your behalf.
00:18:37.18\00:18:38.68
They might make a call on
your behalf to a creditor.
00:18:38.71\00:18:40.95
And to a certain extent it does
mean something to have a credit
00:18:40.98\00:18:45.25
counseling agency that is
accredited advocate on your
00:18:45.29\00:18:49.19
behalf as opposed
to you advocating.
00:18:49.22\00:18:50.83
Because if you're late on some
debt, there's really no reason
00:18:50.86\00:18:53.93
for them to believe you over...
00:18:54.00\00:18:55.43
If you're late and you hadn't
paid, so what are they going
00:18:55.46\00:18:58.27
to believe you for? Right.
00:18:58.30\00:18:59.63
Now you have this credit agency.
00:18:59.67\00:19:01.24
They're saying that they
have a budget put together.
00:19:01.27\00:19:04.27
They're saying that
they've been talking to you,
00:19:04.34\00:19:06.61
they're working with you.
00:19:06.64\00:19:07.98
And that gives a lot more weight
for them, the credit agent,
00:19:08.01\00:19:11.58
for the debtor to say, You
know what, okay we'll go with
00:19:11.61\00:19:14.82
what you're saying.
00:19:14.85\00:19:16.18
They will be
able to work it out.
00:19:16.22\00:19:17.55
But again, call, be forthright,
and be very diligent in making
00:19:17.62\00:19:19.99
sure that whoever you owe,
that you're up front with them,
00:19:20.02\00:19:22.92
you're honest with them, and
you're paying back in the most
00:19:22.96\00:19:25.69
expeditious way possible.
00:19:25.73\00:19:27.03
That makes sense. Wow,
these are some great steps.
00:19:27.13\00:19:30.17
Right, right. These are some
great steps, and if we implement
00:19:30.20\00:19:33.47
them just like you said, a
lot of... There's some places...
00:19:33.54\00:19:36.00
I did business with one where
I wanted my credit score to come
00:19:36.04\00:19:40.58
up and... But I kind of noticed
they were dragging their feet
00:19:40.61\00:19:43.65
like it's a certain amount each
month, and then well they did
00:19:43.68\00:19:47.52
this, but they don't
do that till next month.
00:19:47.55\00:19:51.32
And they're just dragging
it on, whereas you could
00:19:51.35\00:19:53.76
just do it yourself.
00:19:53.79\00:19:55.12
Right, right. And
so those are steps.
00:19:55.16\00:19:57.03
Now let's just, we can
transition into identity theft.
00:19:57.06\00:20:00.50
I think this is
a huge thing. Yes!
00:20:00.53\00:20:03.57
And many individuals, I mean
we have to be cautious on how
00:20:03.63\00:20:07.90
we're using our
personal information.
00:20:07.94\00:20:09.40
By all means please do
not pull up any important
00:20:09.44\00:20:13.64
banking information.
00:20:13.68\00:20:15.01
I can't tell you how
many individuals that I know
00:20:15.04\00:20:17.35
personally got their... because
they went to a Starbucks,
00:20:17.41\00:20:21.58
or some sort of a unsecure
Internet line, and then they
00:20:21.62\00:20:24.89
logged in their bank account.
00:20:24.92\00:20:26.25
I mean that's a cardinal rule.
00:20:26.29\00:20:28.46
You just don't do that.
00:20:28.49\00:20:29.92
They logged in their
bank account from an unsecure
00:20:29.99\00:20:32.19
Internet, and there are people
out there who making a living
00:20:32.23\00:20:36.40
fishing information off
of unsecure Internet sites.
00:20:36.43\00:20:40.70
The know where
every single site is.
00:20:40.77\00:20:42.84
They know they can
monitor when people log on.
00:20:42.87\00:20:45.47
They have data and they
have technology that allows
00:20:45.51\00:20:49.44
individuals to look and
see what people are watching.
00:20:49.48\00:20:52.15
So all this... so much
technology... there's data,
00:20:52.18\00:20:56.35
information out there, there's
something you can even purchase
00:20:56.38\00:20:59.72
on eBay where you're walking
by, and you have a credit card
00:20:59.75\00:21:03.66
in your pocket, they can
take a magnet of some sort
00:21:03.73\00:21:06.90
go by you and pull your magnetic
data off your credit card,
00:21:06.93\00:21:10.63
and therefore stealing your
credit card information just by
00:21:10.67\00:21:13.30
walking in the same
vicinity of you. Wow!
00:21:13.34\00:21:15.47
So, I mean this is...
they've gotten very technical
00:21:15.50\00:21:18.91
with all this stuff here.
00:21:18.94\00:21:20.28
And so we've got
to be very cautious.
00:21:20.34\00:21:22.18
Odds are that we will be
a victim of identity theft.
00:21:22.21\00:21:26.15
I mean you can try as
much as possible to stop it,
00:21:26.18\00:21:29.82
but the, and I'll tell you
this much, the individuals who
00:21:29.85\00:21:34.92
are making millions of dollars
a year by stealing information
00:21:34.96\00:21:38.26
and their investment, and
making sure they can continue
00:21:38.29\00:21:44.27
to make millions of
dollars by stealing information,
00:21:44.30\00:21:46.20
is not as much as the investment
that we're putting in to making
00:21:46.23\00:21:52.11
sure that we can stop it.
00:21:52.14\00:21:53.51
So our law enforcement, our FBI,
which is... We just don't have
00:21:53.54\00:21:58.88
the manpower to keep up with
the amount of the technology
00:21:58.91\00:22:02.72
that they're doing.
00:22:02.75\00:22:04.09
So every single
morning when you wake up,
00:22:04.12\00:22:06.05
I check my bank account online.
00:22:06.09\00:22:07.56
Every single...
We have to do that.
00:22:07.59\00:22:09.66
I'll say that again.
00:22:09.69\00:22:11.03
Please every single
morning check your bank account.
00:22:11.06\00:22:13.73
It takes five seconds. Right.
00:22:13.80\00:22:15.43
You go online, you have a
general idea what the balance
00:22:15.46\00:22:19.07
was for the previous
day, and how much you spent.
00:22:19.10\00:22:21.97
You check your account.
00:22:22.00\00:22:23.37
You see if there's
any fraudulent activity.
00:22:23.41\00:22:25.27
And now also looking
for a small activity.
00:22:25.31\00:22:28.58
Sometimes they've gotten
very good at stealing in small
00:22:28.61\00:22:32.51
increments that you'll
never see:.7,.17, point...
00:22:32.55\00:22:38.25
So 17 cents doesn't seem like
a lot, but if they're stealing
00:22:38.29\00:22:42.39
17 cents from 100,000
people, that's a lot of money.
00:22:42.42\00:22:46.19
And they're
doing that over time.
00:22:46.23\00:22:48.16
And they do it and the
next thing you know it like,
00:22:48.20\00:22:49.66
where this?... And that
actually happened to me before
00:22:49.70\00:22:52.13
where I said,
what is this 17 cents?
00:22:52.17\00:22:54.64
And I looked it up, and I made
a call, and immediately I was
00:22:54.67\00:22:58.14
talking to TV Bank and
they said, You know what,
00:22:58.17\00:23:00.18
we're shutting you down.
00:23:00.21\00:23:01.54
We're shutting
your credit card down.
00:23:01.58\00:23:02.91
You've got to order
a new one, because that
00:23:02.94\00:23:04.35
card's been compromised.
00:23:04.38\00:23:05.71
So I said, Wow, that is
a very brilliant scheme.
00:23:05.75\00:23:09.18
Because I would have never had,
unless I was looking for it,
00:23:09.22\00:23:11.92
I'd have never known
to look for it. Right.
00:23:11.95\00:23:14.79
So these little tricks: checking
your account every single day,
00:23:14.82\00:23:17.66
making sure you're looking
for any small incremental
00:23:17.69\00:23:21.03
amount that are off.
00:23:21.06\00:23:22.56
And they've gotten
good to even changing
00:23:22.60\00:23:24.30
the amount of increments.
00:23:24.33\00:23:26.20
So they go from 32
cents to 15 cents, to 7 cents.
00:23:26.23\00:23:29.37
And most people are
not looking at that. Right.
00:23:29.40\00:23:32.51
And they don't
notice that it's missing.
00:23:32.54\00:23:34.14
So here are quick some steps,
easy steps that we can use
00:23:34.18\00:23:39.88
to make sure we can
avoid identity theft,
00:23:39.91\00:23:41.98
in addition to the ones
I just mentioned, right?
00:23:42.02\00:23:44.65
So the first thing we have to do
if we think that we're a victim
00:23:44.69\00:23:48.72
of identity theft is contact
all three credit bureaus and ask
00:23:48.76\00:23:52.73
that an extended
fraud alert be immediately
00:23:52.76\00:23:56.26
placed on your account. Okay?
00:23:56.30\00:23:58.43
So, again, I'll say
that; extended fraud alert be
00:23:58.47\00:24:02.57
immediately placed
on your account, okay?
00:24:02.60\00:24:04.87
Secondly, we want to close
all accounts that have been
00:24:04.91\00:24:08.84
fraudulently accessed.
00:24:08.88\00:24:10.25
And then thirdly, we want to
file a criminal complaint with
00:24:10.28\00:24:14.38
the local police department.
00:24:14.42\00:24:15.75
That's key because many banks
that you want to go to and say
00:24:15.78\00:24:19.82
that my card has
been compromised.
00:24:19.85\00:24:21.56
They're going to ask you
for that criminal report,
00:24:21.59\00:24:24.66
because that's actually a
scamming of itself to say,
00:24:24.69\00:24:27.73
you know, my
card's been compromised.
00:24:27.76\00:24:29.63
They stole... I'm going to
go to the store and I'm going to
00:24:29.66\00:24:32.10
spend $500, or $2,000,
then go to the bank and say,
00:24:32.13\00:24:35.87
I didn't spend it. Right.
00:24:35.94\00:24:37.27
You know, so that
criminal report adds a little
00:24:37.31\00:24:39.87
bit of validity to it.
00:24:39.91\00:24:41.31
And then 4th, report the theft
at the ID Theft Clearing House
00:24:41.34\00:24:46.31
at 877-IDTHEFT.
00:24:46.35\00:24:49.52
And so these four steps will,
again, just help individuals
00:24:49.55\00:24:53.56
to make sure that at the end
of the day they're doing what's
00:24:53.62\00:24:57.43
necessary to make sure that
they are not being an identity
00:24:57.49\00:25:01.26
theft victim all over again.
00:25:01.30\00:25:02.86
What do you think about
those companies that offer you
00:25:02.90\00:25:07.24
identity theft protection? Yes.
00:25:07.27\00:25:09.67
There's one
particular one I'm thinking of.
00:25:09.70\00:25:11.37
I won't name it, but they
say, you know, we'll protect you
00:25:11.41\00:25:14.21
against
identity theft, all that.
00:25:14.28\00:25:15.91
What do you think about those?
00:25:15.94\00:25:17.65
Well, they
actually do a service.
00:25:17.68\00:25:19.25
They do a service, and again
that service is something that
00:25:19.28\00:25:21.98
you could probably
do yourself for free,
00:25:22.05\00:25:24.39
but will you do
it yourself for free?
00:25:24.42\00:25:26.76
So just like any other service,
we just need to make sure that
00:25:26.79\00:25:30.66
we know what we're
spending our money on.
00:25:30.73\00:25:32.53
And I can probably
guess the name of the company
00:25:32.56\00:25:36.23
you're talking about, but
that one particular company
00:25:36.26\00:25:38.63
does a decent job of monitoring.
00:25:38.67\00:25:41.20
So if you're that type that you
just know, Hey, you know what?
00:25:41.24\00:25:45.41
I'm not going to be
the one monitoring that
00:25:45.44\00:25:48.28
on a regular basis.
00:25:48.31\00:25:49.64
Then I think it might be $15 or
$17 a month, or whatever it is.
00:25:49.68\00:25:53.48
That $17 a month
could be worth it for you.
00:25:53.52\00:25:56.02
It's a service of something
that you wouldn't do yourself,
00:25:56.05\00:25:58.19
that gets you an extra
added layer of protection,
00:25:58.25\00:26:00.32
that makes sure that they're
monitoring any additional
00:26:00.39\00:26:03.22
expenditures that you hadn't
necessarily, didn't have done.
00:26:03.26\00:26:07.30
So again, anytime we spend
money we should be questioning,
00:26:07.36\00:26:11.37
do I need to do this?
00:26:11.40\00:26:13.34
Can I do this myself?
00:26:13.37\00:26:15.20
Is there a way I can
do this less expensively?
00:26:15.24\00:26:18.34
But also I don't want to
compromise the integrity of
00:26:18.41\00:26:20.91
something that can
actually be adding me value.
00:26:20.98\00:26:22.74
Because, for instance, I
want to have a segment of stocks
00:26:22.78\00:26:27.62
on how to select
a financial adviser.
00:26:27.65\00:26:29.68
I do believe that we
should get financial advisers.
00:26:29.72\00:26:32.75
And sometimes we have to pay
for them, either, or depending
00:26:32.79\00:26:37.26
upon the type that we get.
00:26:37.33\00:26:38.66
We'll be talking about this.
00:26:38.69\00:26:40.03
I prefer a registered investment
adviser that has a fee only,
00:26:40.10\00:26:43.13
that doesn't have a conflict
of interest trying to sell you
00:26:43.16\00:26:46.23
investments based on commission.
00:26:46.27\00:26:48.24
So we'll definitely
be talking about that.
00:26:48.27\00:26:51.51
But even with that, questioning,
can I do this myself?
00:26:51.54\00:26:54.88
And do I want to? And do
I have the ability to do it?
00:26:54.91\00:26:58.25
Am I playing myself cheap?
00:26:58.28\00:27:00.25
Because you
don't want to do that.
00:27:00.28\00:27:01.65
And that's going to compromise
the integrity of actually moving
00:27:01.68\00:27:04.35
yourself forward economically.
00:27:04.39\00:27:05.72
So for identity theft
services it could be very good.
00:27:05.75\00:27:09.56
I've seen a lot of people say,
You know what, they work for me.
00:27:09.59\00:27:13.53
It gives me a protection.
00:27:13.56\00:27:15.43
It keeps me sane at night.
00:27:15.46\00:27:17.30
And I check my
account every morning.
00:27:17.37\00:27:20.34
Someone said to me the other
day, Ryan, I check my account
00:27:20.37\00:27:22.97
every single day, but I need to
have that service just to make
00:27:23.00\00:27:25.64
me, just keep me sane.
00:27:25.67\00:27:27.01
And I say, you know
what, if that keeps you sane
00:27:27.08\00:27:28.84
that's, that works for me.
00:27:28.88\00:27:30.25
Cause there's minimal;
the cost is minimal. Exactly.
00:27:30.28\00:27:32.91
And like you said, you have
to evaluate it for yourself.
00:27:32.98\00:27:35.65
Exactly. Well you
have given us, once again,
00:27:35.68\00:27:38.45
some rich information.
00:27:38.49\00:27:40.06
And I know you're going to
give us a dynamite take away.
00:27:40.09\00:27:42.96
Absolutely! Let's go!
00:27:42.99\00:27:44.33
Every successful financial
plan needs to have clean credit,
00:27:47.30\00:27:50.73
and a high Fico score.
00:27:50.77\00:27:52.23
If we are to see more
home and business ownership,
00:27:52.27\00:27:55.00
having good credit is
the first step towards
00:27:55.04\00:27:57.27
accomplishing this goal.
00:27:57.31\00:27:58.64
Too many times I've personally
seen many opportunities missed
00:27:58.67\00:28:01.78
because we have not taken
the time to clean our credit.
00:28:01.81\00:28:04.85
The word says in Proverbs
10:9, Whoever walks in integrity
00:28:04.88\00:28:07.88
walks securely, but
he who makes his way
00:28:07.92\00:28:10.22
crooked will be found out.
00:28:10.25\00:28:11.62
A higher credit score shows
the integrity we must possess
00:28:11.65\00:28:14.79
to turn our communities around.
00:28:14.82\00:28:16.16
As always, be the change, and
remember, the purpose of life
00:28:16.19\00:28:19.73
is a life of
purpose. Be blessed.
00:28:19.76\00:28:21.63