Credit Pit Stop

We break down what credit really is, why your credit report matters as much as your credit score, and how to spot problems before they block your next goal. We also clear up common credit myths, explain credit utilization in plain language, and share ways to get no-judgment help through our financial wellness counselors. 

• credit as the ability to borrow now and pay later 
• why you should review the full credit report not only the score 
• fraud and errors showing up on reports and why timing matters 
• how often to check your credit report and why corrections can take months 
• what appears on a credit report including old accounts and inquiries 
• myth busting on checking your own credit and score impact 
• the 30% credit utilization guideline and why carrying a balance is not required 
• reasons a score may not rise even with on-time payments 
• credit mix and length of credit history including challenges for young adults 
• common mistake of opening too many new accounts at once 
• Blueprint for Financial Success options for virtual phone or in-person support 
• Credit Pit Stop details including quick sessions and free breakfast 

Please go to our website, neighborsfcu.org. You've got to register. 
Subscribe to the Money Matters Podcast, and visit neighborsfcu.org slash financial wellness for more tools to help you build a strong financial future. 

Transcript

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Welcome And Why Credit Matters

SPEAKER_00 0:02

Welcome to Money Matters, the podcast that focuses on how to use the money you have, make the money you need, and save the money you want. Now, here is your host, Ms. Kim Chapman.

SPEAKER_01 0:14

Credit is the subject of today. I'm Kim Chapman, and let me reintroduce our new financial wellness counselors. We've got Ms. Nicole Noah with us and Silva Fontenau. And today we want to just talk and have a conversation about credit. It is something that everybody should be concerned with, whether you're two or two hundred, right? From from the cradle to the grave, credit is something that we all need. Wouldn't you agree, ladies? I agree. Yes. I agree.

SPEAKER_04 0:43

You're absolutely correct.

SPEAKER_01 0:44

So what is credit? For our listeners, what is credit?

SPEAKER_04 0:47

Credit is basically just the ability to borrow money, access goods and services now, and pay for what you borrowed later.

SPEAKER_01 0:54

And we do a lot of financial counseling sessions, right? Monday through Friday and sometimes even Saturdays. And they all seem to lead back to credit, right? So many of our members want to know about credit. They want to know about their credit scores, their credit

Score Vs Report And Fraud

SPEAKER_01 1:10

reports. So I want to ask a question. Some people will know, do I really need to know what's on my report? Can I just get my score?

SPEAKER_03 1:18

You really need to know what's on your report because some things may not belong to you because there's so much fraud going on. You want to make sure everything is yours so that you know what route you have to take and what comes next.

SPEAKER_01 1:32

Absolutely. So you want to get that score, but look at the report. I mean, we we've had members that have found information on there that is not their information. And the sooner you find that information out, the better off you are. Now,

Credit Pit Stop Event Preview

SPEAKER_01 1:48

y'all might be wondering why are we dressed like triplets today? I mean, I I know that evaluation time they may give me a hard time. And like now, she's making us dress alive. But ladies, why are we dressed in these beautiful shirts today?

SPEAKER_04 2:01

Well, on October 3rd, we're giving our members the opportunity to come in for a quick little session just to kind of see where their credits stand, where the what their credit scores are, um, what they can stand to work on, what they're doing pretty good. And if it's something that's a little bit more detailed that they need to work on, we can help them with doing that as well.

SPEAKER_01 2:23

Right. A 15-minute pop-in credit pit stop. But remember, you have to register first because I know most people want to know about credit, but time. We're always short on time. It's football season, and y'all know that's why I'll be at the games, right? And so this is just a way for individuals to come in and find out where they stand. So when you meet with members, what do you think they find most surprising about their credit report or credit score?

SPEAKER_03 2:50

The number, whether it's high or low, and then how far it goes back because people be amazed at old credit that's on their report and stuff they have forgotten about. You know, it's just it's kind of like an aha moment with people because it's basically your credit history, your life. As soon as you got your first card and up to something you applied for about a month ago.

SPEAKER_01 3:16

And you said they're surprised, and so generally a surprise probably because they haven't looked at that report in a while. So, how often should consumers look at their credit report?

SPEAKER_04 3:25

At minimum, they should check it at least once a year. But some people, which I would recommend to do at least three to six months. B reason being if there is an error or something that you find on that credit report that is not yours, you want to try to get it done, taken care of as soon as possible, because it can take about three months to have it corrected. And we don't want to wait until it's at that moment where we're trying to apply for something and we realize that there's a roadblock that's hindering us.

SPEAKER_01 3:54

All right. Well, somebody may say, oh, a credit report sounds a little technical. So what am I gonna be looking for? What what's gonna be on my credit report?

SPEAKER_03 4:02

Everything that you've done credit-wise, you know, with your social security number, you know, whether you applied for that first card at JCPenney's, or you tried to get a loan and you were denied, you know, different things will pop up on your credit score. It's just you want to know who you are because life happens and you want to be right on top of things to make sure you're able to purchase that car, purchase that home. Because the bottom line is we're we're numbers, and a credit score is a very important part of what we can and cannot do.

Credit Myths And Utilization

SPEAKER_01 4:41

Well, I'm gonna play devil's advocate, advocate. I don't want to check my score. It's gonna hurt my credit score if I check my credit report.

SPEAKER_04 4:47

Checking your credit report does not hurt your score. We have um options such as credit karma, annualcreditreport.com where you can get that full over outlook of what your credit is as well as your score, does not hurt. Um, but the things that could hurt your credit score is when you are applying for that car or applying for that home. Um, because that's a what's considered a hard inquiry that's done on that credit report, and that can drop your score a couple of points initially.

SPEAKER_01 5:18

All right, here's another myth I'm gonna throw it to. I need to carry a balance on my credit card to build my score.

SPEAKER_03 5:24

That's really a myth. You don't have to have a balance for it to report, but what you have to do is it's like a credit utilization type of thing. You're only gonna use a good part is like 30% of your balance. So you take your balance and you only wanna carry a balance of 30% to have a good credit score. When I say 30%, if it's a $500 limit, 30% of that would be click, click, click. $150.

SPEAKER_01 6:00

$150. I'm gonna go get the calculator. We do numbers all day. Every now and then our brain takes a little rest from it. All right. Somebody might say, I'm paying my bills on time. Why my credit score going up? What would you ladies tell them?

SPEAKER_04 6:15

It could be if it's a credit card that you're paying on, that credit utilization could be high. You could your card could still be pretty considered maxed out, or at 80 or 90 percent uh credit utilization, even though you're making those minimum payments on time, that utilization is still high and that can affect your score.

SPEAKER_01 6:34

Yeah, what else? What else? Because it's more than just credit utilization, it's more than just paying on time. What else can affect your credit score? The type of credit you have. Right, type of credit. Because you may have secured credit, unsecured credit, you could have revolving credit, you could have installment credit, right? So that, and then what about if I'm 18? What what kind of problems might I have if I'm 18? What could plague my credit report?

SPEAKER_04 7:01

You have no credit.

SPEAKER_01 7:02

That's right. That's right, that's right. And so a lot of times, because one of the things that impacts your credit score is length of credit history. And so, you know, somebody is 18, that's the earliest you could even establish credit. And so it's gonna take time, and so you're gonna have to be patient. But that is a big significant part of that credit report, right? How long have you had credit? What are some of the biggest mistakes people make when they think they're actually trying to build their credit, but they're hurting their credit?

SPEAKER_03 7:32

They'll go out and get more credit, they'll start applying for all these different cards and stuff, and that's just like a red flag. You know, you just you have too much credit and they wonder, okay, what's going on with this person?

SPEAKER_01 7:46

Yeah, absolutely right. I see that all the time. I'll see an individual that'll come in and you'll see four or five new accounts that were all opened in maybe the same month. And they mistakenly thought that they were actually building their credit.

Counseling Help Without Judgment

SPEAKER_01 8:00

And so if somebody really wants to learn more about credit besides this podcast, what services can you ladies offer?

SPEAKER_04 8:07

To print for financial success. And what is that? This is a program that we offer where we can do one-on-one sit-downs with you virtually in person over the phone, where we can go over your finances in detail and show you where those areas of opportunity are, um, and give you some tips and tools to use to better that.

SPEAKER_01 8:29

So, how can I how can I accomplish that? Do I have to come in?

SPEAKER_04 8:33

No, we do those virtually. You can um we can also do it over the phone. We try to make it as convenient as possible.

unknown 8:41

Ah.

SPEAKER_01 8:42

But what if I'm, you know, feeling terrible about my credit? I mean, if I'm just really avoiding my credit, avoiding what what can we do for somebody that's in that position?

SPEAKER_03 8:54

When they come in, it's uh free no, there's no judgment. You know, we're just here to help because everybody has been through something, you know, and there's no need to feel shame. The important thing is you're taking a step by reaching out and trying to get information so that you can build your credit. So you're ahead of the game by coming in.

SPEAKER_01 9:17

All right. So somebody may say, Well, I can check my credit on my own, but what if I check my credit and I don't like what I see? What then?

SPEAKER_04 9:24

Well, you can come in and we can help you to um improve that credit so that you do like what you see.

SPEAKER_01 9:33

That's what we're here to do, right? That's what we're here to do. Well, what if I think my credit's okay? Should I why should I come to the credit pit stop if I think my credit is good?

SPEAKER_04 9:43

Because we can always stand to improve.

SPEAKER_01 9:46

Absolutely. Absolutely. And somebody may say improve, what's good. So let's talk about credit scores just for a second. What are the credit score ranges? 350. 300 to 850. Yeah, I was gonna say it. Float that test. 300. 300 to 850, right? And so we definitely can assist whether they're at 300, even if there is at 850, there's always something that you can learn, whether it's your credit score. Because do we do more than just credit scores, lady?

SPEAKER_02 10:16

No, no, what else do we do? We can budgeting a budget. Yeah, debt um management.

SPEAKER_01 10:23

And I need y'all to say budgeting with that same zeal, right? Because they know that's my favorite subject, right? So budgeting, what else?

SPEAKER_04 10:32

Well, we can help with uh debt management as well. Um, helping protect you from fraud. Give you some tips and things to look out for with that as well.

Event Details And Next Steps

SPEAKER_01 10:43

All right. So what's the date of the event? October the 3rd. 15 minutes, right?

SPEAKER_03 10:48

15 is a pit stop. It's just like you see them races, you'll pull in, get them tire changes, and pull off. Well, you're gonna pull in, we're gonna do a we're gonna have your credit report ready. If you register and go through the whole process, we'll have everything there waiting. You just come in with your questions and we're here to get your answers. And free breakfast on us. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 11:09

Oh, free breakfast. I forgot about that. Because it is, what's the name of it? Hit Stop and Pastry. Okay, so so you can come in, get a little knowledge, get a little food. Yes. All right. And it's free. So it's gonna be Saturday, October 3rd from 9 to 1. Please go to our website, neighborsfcu.org. You've got to register. And then if you miss this event, what else can they do?

SPEAKER_04 11:32

They can contact us through the blueprint for financial success, and we can set up a full appointment for you.

SPEAKER_03 11:38

You can do that online or you can come into the branch. We'll be here at our main locations, our Perkins location. So we'll see you guys on Saturday. All right. October 3rd.

SPEAKER_01 11:48

Credit, credit, credit. All right, ladies. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 11:54

Stay on track with your financial journey. Subscribe to the Money Matters Podcast, and visit neighborsfcu.org slash financial wellness for more tools to help you build a strong financial future.