Rodney Crawford Jr.
Who is teaching our kids about credit?. Not the schools. Not the church. It seems no one really cares about it until it's too late. If you are going to stay in America you must understand Credit and its importance. There are 3 major credit reporting agencies...Equifax.......Experion....and Transunion...If you are on the east coast most businesses use Equifax. On these credit bureaus, they have what's called a FICO score( Fair Isaac and Company) or Beacon score with 350 being the worst and 850 being the best. These scores are calculated on how well you pay your bills and debt to income ratio. If you are 18 years of age or soon to be this is the most important time in your life. I always tell young adults your credit is a personal item like a toothbrush. It's not meant to be shared. Co-signing for a girlfriend or boyfriend is a NO NO. The day you turn 18 you are credit worthy and you can legally sign your name to a business contract.
Being in the auto business for 20+ years I've seen it all credit wise. A young adult consigns for his friend and now his credit is destroyed before he can get started. Having bad credit is like telling a business to charge me whatever interest rate you legally can because I'm a bad risk. There is nothing funny about having bad credit. I've had customers sit at my desk and laugh about who's credit is the worst..the husband or the wife. Some people seem to take pride in a horrible FICO score and then wonder why the payments are so high. There is nothing worst than to see parents who have bad credit pass their credit philosophy down to the kids. " Just turn that car back to the dealer it won't hurt you because it's voluntary". If you turn it in or they come and get it, it doesn't matter it's still a repo and most banks will not consider you again for a year. Now you can go to to a buy here pay here auto dealer who doesn't care about how bad your credit is but you are going to need money down (Usually 1000 dollars or more) and the interest rate will probably be over 20% ( The interest rate is added on to your original loan)
For example....Customer A walks in the dealership with great credit lets say 730 beacon score and already established buyer...Customer A buys a 10,000 dollar car. No money down about 230 a month for 48 months at 3% interest. Customer B walks in with horrible credit and 4 hours later waiting on approval their terms on the same 10,000 dollar car are 2000 dollars down and 400 dollars a month payment for 48 months at 25 % interest rate. Now if you do the math once the car is paid off. Customer A spends about 11000 dollars total. Customer B has spent 21,000 on the same 10,000 dollars. Same car $11,000 or $21,000 depending on who is buying.
That's why no one is going to teach our children about credit. It's up to us as parents and grandparents.Just another example of other people profiting off of our ignorance. NO ONE WANTS YOU TO WAKE UP FAMILY...THERE ARE PLENTY OF OTHER PEOPLE GETTING RICH OFF US IN OUR PRESENT CONDITION.
Another thing I'm seeing in these dealerships is the Males (notice I didn't say Men) relationship with the woman buyers. The male she's with always stays in the car because he cannot help her in any way. He cannot co-sign (NO JOB). He can not help with down payment ( NO MONEY ). He cannot even help on the insurance end (NO LICENSE ).We have to change this type of behavior or we will pass bad credit habits to our kids. My Dad always said, "Son your credit is your word and a man's word must always be good." Now not everyone with Bad Credit is a bad person. Some things happen in life that is beyond our control so now we have to reestablish our credit and this takes time...Credit is about how you pay over time. The better you pay the lower the interest gets. It's that simple. So for the kids out there or parents of kids turning 18...HERE IS THE OFFICIAL WAKEUPWITHRC.COM PATH TO CREDIT EXCELLENCE THAT YOU WILL NOT LEARN IN SCHOOL. When you turn 18 your credit should be on your mind just like those girls and boys on Tweeter. Here's some advice:
STEP 1 Open a BANK ACCOUNT
STEP 2 YOU WANT TO GET A SECURED CREDIT CARD OF 1,000 DOLLARS WHICH MEANS YOU ARE GOING TO NEED 1,000 DOLLARS OF YOUR OWN MONEY FOR THE BANK TO SECURE THE CARD. NOW YOU HAVE A CREDIT CARD SECURED BY YOUR OWN MONEY
STEP 3 GO OUT AND SPEND ( MOST WILL LOVE THIS STEP) BUT ONLY SPEND 70 % OR 700 DOLLARS OF THE BALANCE
STEP 4 PAYBACK TIME ( MOST IMPORTANT ) IF YOUR BILL IS 50 DOLLARS A MONTH DUE ON THE 15TH .....MAKE SURE YOU PAY 70 A MONTH 10 DAYS BEFORE ITS DUE ( THE 5TH ) REMEMBER CREDIT IS ABOUT HOW WELL YOU PAY OVER TIME ANYTHING UNDER A YEAR DOES NOT REGISTER ON YOUR CREDIT BUREAU
When the balance gets to zero you will have a score of around 680 to 710 but your high credit will only be 1,000. But now credit cards are coming to your mailbox with offers of credit. Be wise. All money is not good money. Only buy what you really need on credit. The next purchase should be something around 3000 dollars (washer and dryer lets say) once again follow the same steps. When that's paid off assuming you have enough income you can apply for a car loan as a first-time buyer (no co-signer) You are now on your way. Your house will be your next big purchase and if your income is steady you will experience great credit for the rest of your life. Getting what you want not what's at the cheapest interest rates and payments available and then you will pass this info down to your kids and so on! Remember only acquire what you absolutely need. Everything else PAY CASH! Credit revolves around how much you owe to what's coming in. KEEP YOUR DEBT DOWN. RAISE YOUR NET WORTH FOR SUPER HIGH FICO SCORES.
If your credit is already bad...to reestablish is what you need to do. Usually buying a car at super high-interest rates but paying it off on time will put you in a better place on the next car you buy. IT takes a long time to reestablish so the key for the kids is to never have to reestablish by keeping that credit great from the beginning. Take pride in your credit. Learn about it. Ask questions. THINK BEFORE YOU SIGN! There are forces at work that do not want you to know this information. Remember a lot of different races are getting rich off our ignorance. But RC will deliver the truth to you no matter what! Great credit means getting what you want as opposed to some dealer telling you this the only thing you get. A great bank, if you can get in right now, is navy federal. They are giving first-time buyers credit for cars usually about 7000-9000 dollars depending on income. No money down and usually around $200 a month in payments. Also, remember to try and get a warranty for any auto purchase. Most loans go bad because the car broke down and nobody is paying for a car that's not running. But you are not hurting the bank or dealership. You are only hurting yourself credit wise. So there you have it. Let's educate our youth. There will be a time at the club when that brother won't say, "Hey baby what's your sign?" He will say, "Hey baby, what's your beacon score? Oh 360...Get back with you later." or "Oh 820! Let's get married and start a family." LOL. Whoever you are going in this life make sure your partner is heading in the same direction especially credit wise. YOUR CREDIT IS YOUR WORD....IS YOUR WORD GOOD???? Let's FIND OUT!
YOU ARE WELCOME AMERICA
RODNEY CRAWFORD JR
RODNEY IS ALSO THE AUTHOR OF THE EBOOK ....OPEN LETTER TO AMERICA AVAILABLE ON AMAZON
