Building, fixing, and establishing Credit

 I did a Vlog of sorts about this on my IG stories a couple weeks ago. It’s so much easier to just talk about it. So I will try to eloquently and elaborately explain what I said. 

I have taken many financial classes as well as taught many. Quite a bit of this may be common knowledge but I am hoping I can provide some helpful information. 

Unfortunately we live in a capitalist society. So more so than any other country, money and credit are very important things. 

Also, right before I wrote this, my credit score jumped by 52 points just by me paying off my car loan. 

I’d like to start with some key credit statistics. 

• 39% of cardholders carry debt from month to month instead of paying their balance in full.
• 49% of credit cardholders have never switched from their most used card or haven’t switched in at least 5 years. 
• 32% of Millennials (age 26-41) have more credit card debt than emergency savings. Which is more than any other age bracket. 
• 32% of Americans prioritize paying down debt over boosting their savings. 
• Americans collectively hold a $866 billion balance on credit cards. 
• Credit card balances rose 19% since 2021
• The average new account credit line is $5021
• The average FICO score is 716 
• The “silent generation” (those born before 1946) tend to have the highest credit score with an average of 729 
• Gen Z (those born after 1996) have the lowest with an average of 634 
• The average home buyer has a credit score of 753

The FICO score breakdown you need to think about is as follows: 

35% of your score is on your payment history (basically pay your bills on time people)! 

30% is on credit utilization (the less credit utilization of your available credit the better  if you rack up debt or carry high balances your credit score may suffer) 

15% is based on length of credit history 

10% is based on a credit mix (such as revolving accounts and installment accounts) 

10% comes from recent credit inquiries 

Okay so I am going to start with ways for people to establish credit  as you saw 15% is based on length of credit history  so many people have a hard time starting out on their own with zero credit. I recommend to parents to open a credit card and put your kids on as authorized users. (As long as you have good credit and know you are going to pay on time). You don’t have to give them a credit card and all it does is whatever credit you build with that card builds there’s as well. Creditors like to have at least 3 years of history before they extend credit to someone. I also recommend teens getting started with a secured card that they put their own money into then use and pay down. This helps them to learn to be responsible and build their own credit as well. 

As far as on time payments, you can request to have your utility bills, rent and even streaming services such as Hulu report your on time payments to the credit bureaus. Some offer to do this otherwise I know many people use Experian Boost. I have never personally used it but they tie your information to those accounts you enter and report the payments to the credit bureaus. Many people have raised their score in this way. 

As far as a credit mix I suggest paying your student loans on time. We still have no idea if any of those are actually going to be wiped off per the government so just continue to make those on time payments. You could also take out an installment loan or a credit builder loan. And then obviously a credit card. 

For credit utilization you may want to open a second credit card or request a limit increase on one you have. Try to keep your balances under 30% of your limits to help your score. 

Also with that payment history like we talked about, pay off debt as you can. It’s hands down one of the BEST things you can do to build your credit. I usually suggest paying the smallest one first then going from there. It’s more rewarding that way to watch you slowly knock them off your credit report and to watch your scores increase. 

This next one is also HUGE- dispute credit report errors. A recent consumer study revealed a third of Americans found errors in their credit report- ONE THIRD! That’s huge! Once you file a dispute it can take 30 days for the credit bureau to investigate then another 30 to remove it from your credit report. I have found and disputed an in discrepancy-myself and it was resolved and removed from my Credit. I disputed mine directly through credit karma. 

For those of you trying to clean up not so great credit, Once you’ve established a positive payment history, start working on  paying off your credit card balances. Use a tried and true repayment technique like the debt snowball or avalanche method. Or I recommend applying for a low interest rate card with a balance transfer to consolidate all your debts into one low monthly rate. 

Bottom line: start working on making on time payments. Then work on paying off old debt and adding new lines of credit to your portfolio. As your credit score improves, keep practicing good credit habits like keeping balances low and avoiding unnecessary credit inquiries. Once you’ve achieved that higher score, monitor and protect that credit rating you’ve worked so hard to get! 💳💰

Money and Release 🎉

 Release is the final step in manifestation. As an example of  this, I’m going to use the analogy of not clinging on too tightly in a relationship. I know at times I can cling too tight when there is someone I’m particularly into. I did not want to do that and ruin a relationship but rather just enjoy it. 

So everytime I went home after seeing my boyfriend (at the time) I would sit down after the date and think about how grateful I was for our time together. I would let the joy and excitement of it fill up my whole body then think if I died or if he died tomorrow or I never heard from him again it would be okay because today was so fucking good that it was worth it. 

When you practice this it forces you to be in the present moment when you’re with this person. It forces you to practice deep, meaningful gratitude after the fact. And then you’re able to let go. You’ve extracted every good feeling out of that moment which is such a sexy energy. This is true of everything in life-including your business/work. 

Be deeply grateful for what you have. Write down or say out loud what you love about yourself. When we feel so good about ourselves we realize we don’t want for much because we are so deeply satisfied. 

Practice being open to the flow of life. The detour of the path of life is the magic to get there. Again, don’t cling to a certain idea of how you think you have to get there. 

Have faith. Trust you were given your vision for a reason. 

“Those who are certain of the outcome can afford to wait. And wait without anxiety.”

Practice enjoying where you are right now. You can’t have a happy ending to an unhappy journey. Don’t put your joy and your needs on anything that’s outside of yourself. That goes for a relationship, losing weight, buying a house, etc. 

Do not hang your happiness on a future event. Because it takes you completely out of the present. You lose all your power when you step away from the present like that. Find things to be satisfied with NOW. 

Your joy shouldn’t always be put on more and on the future. That’s why we see some millionaires whom are miserable. 

Now you’re going to ask yourself :

1. What’s my goal?

2. What’s my first action step? 

You can tell a friend your answers or keep them to yourself but it’s importantly to get clear on what you want to  really make it happen. 

You can reword your brain and change your subconscious beliefs by journaling and EFT tapping. If you have questions about the tapping I would love to help you. It’s really working for me. After years of cptsd and no therapy working. This one actually does. 

Our life only shifts and changes for the better when we double down and do what’s uncomfortable or when you double down and really focus on your joy. 

We are rewarded for the amount of people that we help, and for the light we shine into the world. We should share what we know and help other people. 

Manifesting is the art of feeling really good but taking inspired action. So I’d like you to do the following:

1. Think BIG. Write out a 10 out of a 5 goal (so a goal that so big and risky it scares you). 

2. Definition of a goal is what by when. So it is specific and with a deadline. 

3. Make a goal that scares you. 

4. Put your goals you wrote down somewhere you’ll see it all the time. Your subconscious will work on meeting them  

5. Break your goals into chunks 

6. Visualize what you want. How does it look? How will it feel when it happens? 

7. Never fear the obstacles. It’s just part of the process.

8. Ask for help. 

9. Watch/observe what others do 

10.start right NOW 

Money and inspired Action

 Inspired Action and Release are the two final steps in the manifestation process. In this post I am speaking to inspired action. 

The breakdown leads to the breakthrough. We can no longer survive doing what we are doing. Plato said “Our need will be the real creator.” 

Necessity is the mother of invention but PLAY is certainly the father. We don’t change until we NEED to. Until then we get to a point where we are forced to change. The tools we used to get us to where we are now need to be changed. View these hard times as time for something better. 

The first piece of Inspired Action is Relaxing. You have to let your nervous system unwind. Take time intentionally to relax everyday and release tension. 

Inspired action means more when you feel it. Take action in the “moment” if you’re not in a spot where you can, then write it down and act on it as soon as you can. If you don’t, then you will find that other people who act will get your ideas. 

Move when you feel it! People can feel your energy and momentum in the moment. When you take a risk of moving without obsessing about the next step then the Universe rewards you. Start “Doing” before you start overthinking. Do not logic your way out of inspiration. Do not let your logical mind suck all the magic out of your life like a vampire. 

The time will pass regardless, so you may as well work on something you love. 

You get to choose your thoughts and behaviors and habits. Be more in tune with your feelings and intuition. 

With inspired action -when something comes up for you more than once in life-move accordingly. Start to notice what keeps reoccurring for you. Notice what God (the universe ) keeps signaling you. What messages is it giving you? We are being given signs all the time. 

The magical morning practice I use is a game changer. As soon as you wake up you grab your phone and open the voice memo app and you talk about what you are immensely grateful for. Then you state a 24 hour desire yet you state it as if it already happened. And then a future desire in the same way. You’re setting up your subconscious with success this way. 

Sort out your beliefs so they don’t stop you. 

The next step of inspired action is to write down what you want. 

In my next blog post I will speak to release which is the final process. 

Money and Limiting Beliefs 💰

 It’s time to create some new beliefs around money. My mantra this year is “The more fun I have, the more money I make!” The sexiest thing of all is to work at something you’re passionate about and lit up by. Ask yourself “Is this going to be fun for me and if it’s not can I make it fun or change it up so it’s fun?” 

Anyone who is really moving through life and really has momentum is bringing in new ideas all the time. They are learning all the time. 

Here are some limiting beliefs and outright lies around money: 

-I have to work my ass off to ever get ahead financially 

2. I can’t have money as a spiritual person 

3. I’m going to be broke forever no matter what I try 

4. Disabled people can’t make/don’t deserve money

5. I can’t do what I want to make money 

Imagine robbing the world of your spark to make money because you think you have to be something completely different than what you are to be successful.

We all have something special to share with the world and the way we can do that is through work. Be so in love with what you do that you want to be up early and stay up late doing it. 

A major limiting belief is “I don’t know how.” The truth is when you get passionate and start to take steps the “how” will unfold. Nobody knows every step of what they are doing next. They simply decided to be courageous and act regardless of whether they know HOW to do it or not.You will figure it out. 

“All progress depends on the unreasonable man.” 

Turn on the light of your lighthouse and people will be drawn to you. 

Money and Beliefs 🤑💰💖

 Yesterday my blog spoke about money and clarity. I would suggest reading that one first as this is the next step in the process. So as we discussed yesterday , the second step in manifestation is belief. 

Beliefs create the conditions for your visions to thrive. You need to have fertile soil that you plant your beliefs in. You can’t poke a hole in concrete and plant a seed in it and think it will grow. Your mind is a garden. You need to be a diligent gardener. When you see a weed sprouting (ie- “I can’t do it, I’m not ready, I don’t know how) you pluck that weed without delay. Because the longer you let that weed grow the bigger it gets. It’s going to sprout roots and then you have a really big mess to clean up. 

Notice a counterproductive thought when it appears and pull that weed out. Everything you do and say is creating the soil of your mind. Your subconscious mind picks up every single message that’s around you. The thoughts we think every single day are creating our reality. And it’s not just about your thoughts, it’s also about the thoughts and feelings and what the people around you are saying. Which is why they say that you’re the average of the 5 people you spend the most time around. 

It’s so important that we are assessing: “Who am I talking to and what are they saying about life, about money, about relationships, about the nature of people; because inevitability you are going to take that on as your own. 

Think about if you date down or if there’s someone who isn’t quite on the level of brilliance you have so you start to “dim your light” for them. We need to ask ourselves “Why is this choice working for me?” Because if it wasn’t working for you, you wouldn’t keep on doing it. So we have to say, “What’s good about this?” If there was no payoff I wouldn’t be doing it. 

The problem that you have was once a solution. So you do this because sometime in the past you dimming your light ,or making yourself small instead of showing off your brilliance ,or dating below you ,was a way of  solving a problem. Ask yourself “Do I remember the first time I felt like I had to do this?” For instance I remember when I would get all straight A’s and it suddenly wasn’t “cool” to be so smart so I would dim my brilliance. I also was always positive and upbeat and was a cheerleader and some people were annoyed that I was always so happy so I learned to tone that down. I had gotten cheated on many times so I thought if I date someone who isn’t “better” than me they will put me on a pedestal and never cheat. 

So whatever your beliefs are - you’ve kept that old solution in your head and applied it to everything in your life and now you’re in a space where that thing that was once a solution is now your problem and it’s time to require your brain. 

When we perform below our potential we get to be lazy. We don’t have to push anything, we don’t have to limit our edge, we don’t have to do anything uncomfortable or awkward or anything different. We don’t have to risk feeling like a failure because in laziness there is no failure. 

You have to start asking yourself “am I ready to trade my excellence and my potential for comfort?” Are you willing to make that trade? Do not limit your potential. Anyone can be lazy. But YOU can be excellent and divine It’s time to level up.

People say “I’ll see it when I believe it.” No you believe it first then you see it. You believe in your potential then you go out there and use it and see what you’re fully capable of. 

Enthusiasm is the secret sauce. What we love, what we are deeply passionate about cannot fail. 

Tomorrow I am going to do the second piece on beliefs. And it will tie in to the money piece more so. 

Money and Clarity

 So I am going to do a 4 part series on Money. Which is a sticky subject. For all of us. Not just myself. I’m also going to talk about manifesting which is also a touchy subject. It’s not something I thought I believed in. It sounded like some weird black magic to me. But now I’m realizing manifesting is just putting out into the world what you want and having faith that you will receive it. It’s like if you think every guy/girl lies then you are going to find evidence to back it up because you will be looking for that evidence subconsciously. Or if you think you’re going to attract a great open and honest person then you will have a beam out where you see and attract those qualities. So manifestation is simply getting clarity around what you want and believing you will get that. 

Today however I will be talking about it around the terms of money. I think I personally grew up with connotations around money, as you probably did also. So I’m just going to go over some practical facts about money. 

Money doesn’t buy happiness, but it does buy you freedom. It buys you options. It buys you opportunities. When you have enough money, you don’t have to stay in that toxic relationship, you don’t have to work until you’re burnt out; you can take a sabbatical. You can get the health care you need. You can provide for your family. 

We do unfortunately live in a capitalist society. So it’s best to figure out how to make it work for us rather then to be a victim of the system. 

As far as manifesting goes because this plays a part. There are 4 pieces to it:

1.Clarity (knowing exactly what you want) 

2. Belief 

3 inspired Action 

4. Letting go 

Today I’m just going to talk about clarity. You’ll want to envision a very clear picture of what you want. Your desires will change. So you need to have massive clarity. So it would be good to take some time and close your eyes and envision what you want. What kind of house you wake up in and what type of bed, what color of paint is on the walls, what does the room smell like? What do you hear? Is it birds singing? Is it ocean or lake waves lapping on shore? Is it kids laughing? Then pretend you get up out of that bed and look outside. Do you live over the smoky mountains of Tennessee? The gulf shores of Florida? Peaceful and serene Alaska? Are you in Italy, Paris, Milan? Dream big. Then go explore this house what does it look like? Who’s there with you or are you alone? When you walk by the mirror look at yourself. What are you wearing? How do you look? When you go outside to leave what is your mode of operation? Is it your own jet plane or helicopter? Is it a Lamborghini? Now take your vehicle and picture what your dream job is and where you would like to be at doing it and what specifically you would be doing. You’re going to head there and see how amazing it feels. 

This part is just getting some clarity around your dreams and what you saw. There are many more steps we will discuss as unfortunately we can’t just dream ourselves into Pleasantville and millions of dollars. 

I want you to write down what you saw in your vision and what surprised you. Then I want you to realize you can have all this and there are steps to go about it but for right now you need to be massively grateful for what you do have. Then when you look at your dream vision realize these things happen out of order. You may not get a 5000 sq foot home on the beach tomorrow and then a Porsche. However that hot body you woke up with in your dream you can start working towards today. The white sheeepskin rug or lacy curtains in your dream, you can go pick out today and put in your own room. Maybe in your dream you were at the beach with a glass of wine writing a book. So drive to a beach and have a peaceful day and work on that. Or maybe you had a job that you knew absolutely nothing about but it felt so good …so go sign up for a class in that area of knowledge/skill. Maybe it was having the freedom to spend the day with your children or grandchildren and take them on a special trip or just a fun packed day in general just to hear them giggle and have quality time together. 

Take a test drive of the car you drove in your dream. Stay at an Air BNB in the place you imagined waking up in. Start exploring and finding out what you really want and like. 

Make a list of at least 5 things you can do today to get you to that dream in your mind. Then take action and cross just one of your list. Maybe it’s even a smell you woke up to in your home and you buy a candle or essential oil with that scent. Perhaps you saw a color of paint in the kitchen in your dream home so you can go purchase that color of paint today. 

Just remember things don’t have to be in some perfect order to get them. And they rarely are. Life can happen so quickly and so randomly and other times what seems so slowly. Just keep working towards your dreams and taking at least 1% of a step of getting better daily. Because again, 1% better daily is 365% better at the end of the year