Real Love, Real Life
Real Love Real Life dives into the unfiltered reality of relationships—dating, marriage, heartbreak, healing, and everything in between. It's honest talk about love and life, filled with real stories, hard truths, and the kind of laughs that come from lived experience.
No fluff, just facts, feelings, and a whole lot of growth.
Real Love, Real Life
EP 9: What Your Parents Never Taught You About Money
Credit building doesn’t have to be confusing but most of us never get taught the basics.
Jasmine and Ernesto share their real-life credit journeys from a shocking 400 score at 23 to qualifying for their dream home. They talk mistakes, lessons, and practical strategies that actually work, like starting with a $200 secured card, boosting scores, and saving $14K for a down payment by cutting small daily expenses.
No jargon, no fluff, just honest advice and tips they wish they’d had when they started.
🎧 Listen in and learn how to take control of your credit and your financial future.
Hey guys, welcome back to real love, real life podcast. I'm your host, jasmine.
Speaker 2:And I'm Ernesto.
Speaker 1:Okay, I'm gonna get right to it. Raise your hand. If your parents ever just told you pay your bills on time and never mentioned anything about credit. Okay, Because I feel like that is something that we have in common, Because I feel like that is something that we have in common big time. But I'm so glad that with time we've figured it out and we're not experts and we're not like financial advisors, but I will say that we've made it a very long way.
Speaker 2:Yeah, progress.
Speaker 1:We've made a lot of progress, and this is also something that I had a couple of messages like in the past about, and then recently somebody brought it up again Just like asking for like some tips or like a video about it. You know, they know that we have a house together, like we have cars, things like that, and they're like I don't even know where to start. I don't even know where to start, so I was like I think that's going to be a really good topic. Again, we are not financial advisors. This is just things that have happened to us and we'd like to share with you. Okay, so, first off, were you ever shocked the first time you ever checked your credit score? First off, were you ever shocked the first time?
Speaker 2:you ever checked your credit score? I didn't even. I didn't even know what credit was. I didn't find my credit score until I got a car and then, I don't know, I forgot. Somebody might have asked me hey, what's your credit score, or something, and I think I made a credit karma how old are you? 20, 20 or 21, 20 yeah, I was 20, but I I feel like I didn't get off to like a. Obviously I had to go out of car loan.
Speaker 2:That's not really the best way to start your credit, but when I did check my credit it was at a 700 something like the first time you ever checked it, so because, I had been making on-time payments for a while and then I opened up my credit karma and I remember it was at a seven something and I remember one of my homies girlfriends, we're all talking and I forgot we started talking about stuff like that and I was like, yeah, my credit's like 730 something and she, she's like no. Like she was literally like no, it ain't.
Speaker 1:I'm like, look, that's crazy, yeah, she's like, hey, yeah, she's hating. The first time I ever checked my credit score, I was 23. And I had a 400 credit score. That's bad. That's embarrassing and I thought like 400, you know sounds like a big number.
Speaker 2:It's better than 100. I didn't know anything about it.
Speaker 1:So when my sister made it for me, I was like oh, like it's 400. And she's like girl, it's 400.
Speaker 2:That's bottom of the barrel.
Speaker 1:She's like I don't know if you can get lower than this. So the first time I ever like used my credit, I was 18 and I went to those stores, um at the mall, and I don't even remember what I got. But I was 18, I didn't have a job, so I didn't even pay that dang I didn't pay it back, and then I didn't check my credit again until well. That was the first time checking it, when I was 23, and it was at 400.
Speaker 2:So five years later.
Speaker 1:And I had that that had already gone like to collections, all of that. So that's crazy, you know whatever, whatever and but I will say now it is at like 720. So it did take me some time from the time that my sister checked it and it was at 400 to the time that we started building our house yeah it was like at 720, 30 it, it was how many years? Two years.
Speaker 2:Ago.
Speaker 1:No, like it took me two years right, it took me about two years to get to like the 400s to 720s, so it is possible. I just had to work really hard for it and be consistent. And be very consistent. So what is a financial mistake that you made? Because you didn't know better? Do you think it was that car situation?
Speaker 2:yeah, I feel like the first car you ever buy should be cash, because not only do you, you know the, you have to work for it. So once you give, fork up that money like I feel like you appreciate it more, even if it it's a little hoopty.
Speaker 1:Well, mine.
Speaker 2:You're treating it like it's a skyline or something. You know what I mean. Remember mine. You're at the car wash every week and then it's like with a newer car, you're just like just filthy, you know. Yeah, with the car that you're grinding for, and just you know what I mean.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I bought my first car cash. It first car cash. It cost me sixteen hundred dollars and literally what you're saying I was at the car wash every boys every week. I was babying that thing like it was.
Speaker 1:It was a little bucket but I loved it yeah and it was so meaningful to me because, like I worked hard to put that money away when I didn't know, you know about, like I was, I was terrible with money at the time, my credit score was terrible, all of that. So the fact that I was able to put sixteen hundred dollars away and buy my first car was very rewarding. So it was my baby. And honestly, I regret getting rid of it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it did help us a lot.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it did. Is there anything that, like your parents, do you think your parents could have done better to like teach you about credit or anything like that?
Speaker 2:I think, save money. Like I said, save money to buy that first car cash.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Because you're not starting off in a deficit.
Speaker 1:I don't think.
Speaker 2:But it's like a double-edged sword because you got your car's reliable, like that's the thing. I got my car. Um, so when I first started working construction, I rode with my cousin for a little bit and then, once that was coming to an end, then my dad's like, what are you gonna do? And then I don't think I had that much money saved up. I think I was making like 500 bucks off of 40 hours. So do the math you would have to save a couple months. And I didn't have a couple months because I was going to get moved job sites and I needed my own car. So my dad straight up took me to San Chevrolet.
Speaker 1:Dang.
Speaker 2:And just get you in whatever to it don't matter what the numbers are looking like. First offer sign like, luckily, I think I was paying 371 dollars for the song. It was a chevy sonic. They wanted to give me a spark. I was like, nah, I'm straight. And then, uh, they showed me the the sonic and then I was like, hey, that's pretty clean. I was like, hey, yeah, sonic the hedgehog. No, just kidding. Nah, it was cool and you know it wasn't that much 300 bucks. You know I was making 500 off the 40 small, reliable car, good on gas, and I never once in my career have ever had a like to be like, hey, I can't make it because my car yeah so it's, yeah, I had to pay for a car all my whole life.
Speaker 2:But I know I've known a lot of people that, hey, they couldn't make it in. Or you know it's a struggle, bus man, especially if your car takes a poop. Your engine like remember that mercury I had? I bought it. Yeah. So you, I mean you, got to do your due diligence too when you go and buy a used car. You know take a mechanic.
Speaker 1:Do a compression test because they can go all downhill like you can throw that I had that car, what?
Speaker 2:not even a month. Boom check, check engine light. I'm just like what Needed to get redone? The whole motor coming out, yeah, you know, and then it was just horrible.
Speaker 1:Yeah Well, my mom never even mentioned the word credit. So I mean, I was 23 when I was like introduced to it, so I didn't know anything about it. Even when I went to go get like my first, it wasn't even a credit card. I think I just went and like took the item out. They never gave me like an actual card.
Speaker 2:At the Curacao.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so I never even knew, like what it was or anything. Finally, when I checked my credit, you know, and saw that it was terrible, my sister was like I think, like what can save you is a secured credit card.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Again, I knew nothing about it and I know that there's a lot of people that don't know anything about it. Because when people do ask me like you know, how do you think like your credit got better, I always say a secured credit card.
Speaker 2:It was a Capital One one. It was a, say, a secured credit card. It was a capital one one.
Speaker 1:It was a capital, one secured credit card, and it started off with 200 bucks so you have to put that money in there. So when you open that line, um, it was 200 bucks and I think that card right now has like a seven thousand dollar limit. I still have it um. So they like as you're making the payments on time. So I think when I went to like six, I made like six months of on-time payments.
Speaker 1:Um, I think they went up to 500 and then a thousand it started at first it was 200 dang so from 200, and I think right now the credit limit is like 7 000 um that's crazy. So it's really good and I mean, I feel like that that was the only card I had pretty much from like the time that I started to when we got the house.
Speaker 2:So in like two years that secured credit card got me from like the 400 to 720 that's crazy, yeah, and it's kind of difficult during that stage because 200 if if you don't have it under 30, most of the time your credit is going to be getting knocked down because you're over 30 usage so I had it you got to like use it and pay. Pay it for sure that month yeah, I was.
Speaker 1:what I was doing is remember we lived right next to costco, so I would go and I'd put I wouldn't even fill my car up, I'd put some.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, right, and that was the only thing I was using it for. Yeah. And so it's like a slow grind but you kind of get your foot in the door better than just like me just going to get a twenty five thousand dollar car.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's hard, I car. Yeah, it's hard and it takes time.
Speaker 2:I mean, it was probably 14% interest rate, yeah. So then you grow up you're like dad, what the heck? Yeah, and that's the thing, guys, I literally had to tell my dad one time. He calls me, like once I got my credit going. He calls me hey, can you come co-sign for me? And you know, I know my dad was on the struggle bus too, cuz the truck he had paid off took a poop. And then you know, you know how it is not having a car. And then, um, I pulled up and I had already became a little bit more financially literate. So I'm like, what's the interest payment? All this xyz, yeah. And I straight up told my dad I ain't signing that for you. That's horrible. It was so awkward. I bet the salesman hated me. My dad probably was like, felt bad, but I, what I'm gonna say that was yeah, because he got that. He remember, he, he, that maroon truck he has. Yeah, he got it by himself. A little bit after that he went by himself. So they were going to give him a Colorado.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Crazy. Payment Interest was crazy. I'm like, nope, I'm not doing this for you, dad, I'm sorry, this is horrible. Yeah, and I, literally at 20, 21 years old, had to make a grown-up decision at 20, 21 years old. How to like make a grown up decision?
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And it's your dad too. It's like you know you don't want to tell your dad no, but Do you think he doesn't know about credit or he just like doesn't care? Both, I think both, but I feel like a lot of older, like those generation. They're just kind of oblivious to stuff.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And they're just like, they're kind of oblivious to stuff. Yeah, and they're just like they're kind of like a bull in a china shop. They're just going to bulldoze through. If it's not even, if it's not pretty, they're just going to make it through, you know.
Speaker 1:I agree with that. You know like a big mistake that it's not going to turn into like bash our parents thing. But so my mom, since she came here from Mexico, like worked her butt off two and I don't think this girl ever thought I can go to a bank and put money in there like save it, because her checks she would go cash them. So she always had cash. You know now everything's direct deposit, things like that but back then she'd get a check she'd go cash it. Well, a little bit before like I think she had me and Jocelyn, she was like working like like two, three jobs all the time and she would, instead of saving the money, like putting it into a bank something. She thought that my grandma was going to save her the money. So my mom was sending her all her money no way For years and years. What?
Speaker 2:I don't even think I've ever told you this story yeah, because you know I'm gonna be like that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard still, like my mom, can tell you this story and cry about it.
Speaker 1:That's sad so my mom's plan was when I just when I've had it here, when, like, I just I'm done working all of that, I'm gonna go over there and I'm gonna like either build or buy myself my dream house and this, this and that. And my mom's dream has always been to have one of those little stores that they have in Mexico. You can go and grab something really quick.
Speaker 2:So my mom was going to build one of those Like a convenience store, like a convenience store.
Speaker 1:My mom had this whole plan to live her best life out in Mexico. My mom had this whole plan to like live her best life out in Mexico. And I mean back then I don't know, like I don't know if it's between like 50 and 70,000, which back then is like a lot of money right now. Right now it's like eh, but um, like back then like that was like a lot of money. My mom was working her butt off and literally go and cash her checks and send it to my grandma send it to my grandma.
Speaker 1:Well, finally, when my mom, um, like I think she had lost her job or whatever and she was like you know what, like I'm done, like it's, I'm just gonna, I'm gonna leave, I don't think I was born yet um, she goes to mexico and she tells my grandma, like I'm ready, you know where's like my money? My grandma had told my mom, I have your money in this bank. That's gonna be paying you interest for having that money in there so my grandma too.
Speaker 1:She was filling up my mom with all these lies. And when my mom went over, like to get her money, and my grandma's like I don't have anything what my mom said, like she almost like fell to the floor, like almost passed out, like what she thought it was a prank, like what are you saying? And my grandma's like I don't have a dime, as you've been sending it to me, I've been spending it for years and years crazy but, again like so, like you couldn't think outside the box to go and she was already a resident, like she could go to a bank.
Speaker 1:I need a bank account and I'm gonna come and put my money in here every month, every every week. So, like you know, just like you say, like your dad, like he either doesn't know, or doesn't care, like I, I don't know know what it was back then. Like was it? Because, like they didn't, there was no internet. Or like there was, but they didn't know how to use it. I don't know.
Speaker 2:But you just scratch your head sometimes. It is literally something to just like scratch your head, Like what my mom still talks about it all the time. Honestly, you know it's nothing about materialism, but if my parents did that to me, I would probably never talk to them again.
Speaker 1:Well, I mean.
Speaker 2:How can you even be, how can you consider yourself my parent?
Speaker 1:So my grandma, you know, did that to my mom, which sucks, and my mom had was kind of put in the same situation. But my mom didn't do my sister dirty.
Speaker 1:So, like when my sister was born and they filed that lawsuit for like neglect and stuff. So like when my sister was born and they filed that lawsuit for like neglect and stuff, my mom won. I think it was $75,000 or something like that. And they told my mom, like you can go to this bank, like the money is like deposited in this bank, you can go at any time and like take it out and this and that. And my mom said, no, that's not my money, it's my daughter's money and I know that she she's gonna put it to better use than I am. Wow. So I don't know how much like interest like it accrued over like the years, but the day my sister turned 18, she flew to la I think she was, I think the bank was like in a in like West Covina or something.
Speaker 1:She flew to LA and literally they did a wire transfer to her bank here in Arizona and my mom struggled I mean my mom, was on the bus with five kids struggling but she didn't touch that money and she never touched that $70,000 that was in the bank she said it was my sister's Dang. That's rough. Yeah, she never touched those 70 grand that was in the bank. She said it was my sister's Dang. That's rough.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's.
Speaker 1:She's a G for that one, yeah, but you know what I do feel too Like. I feel like schools could have taught us about that.
Speaker 2:Like, why don't?
Speaker 1:they teach us about that, do they?
Speaker 2:They made school to make employees, not critical thinkers.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think.
Speaker 2:Because if you look at a classroom 100 years ago to now, it's the same thing, if not worse. You may think times are getting better because technology is advancing. Xyz education has been going to the dump and it's like I don't know to the dump and it's like I don't know it's, but it's also, at the end of the day, it falls on you. Yeah, just like the book think and grow. No, rich dad, poor dad. I don't know. I was gonna say think and grow rich. Rich dad, poor dad if you didn't come from a rich dad.
Speaker 2:You gotta be the rich dad. Yeah, not just materialistically, but knowledge, wisdom yeah you know you have to acquire that and, um, sometimes you know you come.
Speaker 1:You're the one to come and break the generational curses and yeah set up the foundation and I think, now that we know better too, like it's really important for us to pass it on to the kids, like anything that we know now about credit. Like let them know, hey, credit cards aren't bad, you just have to use them right really know how to use them. Before signing anything, you know you need to look at the interest, you need to see like what it's like, don't just dig this hole that you can't come out of later, because that's really easy, like the credit cards that you open when you go to a store.
Speaker 1:And I was going to ask you that next. Have you ever fell into that like open a credit card just to get the discount?
Speaker 2:I wouldn't say that, but I remember one time I was walking through Tanger Atlas.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And I was like Ianger Atlas and I was like I don't know why I wanted to watch and then I didn't like the ones at Tilly's and then I just happened to walk into Kate Jewelers and I seen that stainless one I have and it was like $500 or $600 and then they're like you know, that's how they get you to their.
Speaker 2:Well, I guess, yeah, I guess. So they're like $40 a month. Yeah, sign me up. So that was the car. And then I opened up the K Jewelers. So that was the first credit card, I think I took out and I had the car loan. So that's how I got started off with credit. So I was making on-time payments on my car and on-time payments on the watch. It was 500 bucks, excuse me, it was 500. It was 600 bucks payments, you know, but yeah so they did give me.
Speaker 1:But I feel like that's a jewelry store, like it's also like something, like I feel like that case card like isn't bad, because again that's where you've gotten, like my rings and things like that very important. But what I mean is like, like you know, you, you go to like old navy and then they're like if you sign up for a credit card, like you'll get ten dollars off, like this whole thing.
Speaker 2:I'm like no and I feel like for like clothing stores, it's kind of like a little bit more convenient, because you who don't want to always have new clothes, so like you could just be like swipe swipe.
Speaker 1:swipe, swipe pay later, yeah, and then that can become very dangerous immediately.
Speaker 2:You dig yourself in a financial hole and you're just like you can't even see the light at the top. You're just like whoa and I feel like that's when life, like you're not really living no more, and I feel like I know about mostly everybody can relate to that.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Just, you know, and we all make mistakes, guys, we all. You know, even when you know better, you still make a mistake. You know it's human nature. The flesh is always going to fail, but the spirit won't. So we just got to be better, guys, like our parents weren't perfect, our grandparents weren't perfect, but you know they made sacrifices for us to be better. So we just got to keep it going. You know so.
Speaker 2:But it is definitely definitely difficult to be financially literate and you know not most people are going to want to invest in a you know Roth IRA or you know, in the stock market. You know not most people are going to want to invest in a you know Roth IRA or you know in the stock market. You know that's scary for most people that are like, or just like, a, like you said, just a regular high yield savings account. Like you know. I know most people don't really have a savings right now. I don't know the exact number on it, but it like. Well, ernesto, how are you gonna tell me to say you know, have a try to look for a fight. Five percent to seven percent, you know high yield savings account, but I don't even have 500 in my account. So it's like you know. It starts, you know, with 20 bucks a day trying to save, or five, or. It's tough, but we just got to guys. It's just, you're not living when you're just behind the curve, you know I agree.
Speaker 1:Um so just to like for people that don't know, like, how credit works. So payment history credit age credit age.
Speaker 2:Uh, how much right like yeah, utility like what's your percentage is that? Yeah, and then I think the types of accounts right don't they separate them like, like your diversity yeah, so there's a lot of things each one's 10 to 15 percent, like your credit yeah, so they separate them sorry. Sorry, it's all lot of things Each one's 10 to 15% of like your credit.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so they separate them. Sorry, it's all kind of coming to no go ahead, so it's like a lot of yeah, it did. I had that written down.
Speaker 2:Is it inquiry or inquiries?
Speaker 1:I don't know, They'll know. They'll know what I mean. What is it?
Speaker 2:guys, my financial people we got any financial, real, real life financial advisors and?
Speaker 1:it would actually be really nice message me it would actually be really nice to like sit, like for people that are good with taxes to bring someone on exactly? Um, okay, but I did research it for you guys. Paying on time is the number one yeah that can bring you down, like so fast.
Speaker 1:Another thing that people don't know not that I'm encouraging anybody to like make, like late payments, but what a lot of people don't know like when you have a this isn't for rent, this is for like when you actually, like, are making a mortgage payment. So a lot of people think that, like after the first day. You know people think, like your mortgage is due on the first of the month, which it is. It is due on the first of the month. But when you're actually paying a mortgage, every bank gives you a grace period. It's a 16 day grace period and I know this because I worked in the mortgage like for three years.
Speaker 1:Um, people would call crying, panicking on the second day, like I can't make my payment, like help me, like what do I do? I don't want to lose my house, blah, blah, blah, and I'm like, okay, take a deep breath, you know you have a grace period, right? They don't know that their realtor or their loan officer, whatever, they don't tell them these things Like you have from the first to the 16th of the month to make your payment without getting a late fee on it. After the 16th, you're going to get a late fee on it. After the 16th you're gonna get a late fee and I think it's 20 percent of what your mortgage payment is. It's a lot, and then after the last day of the month. So, yeah, like. So if, like, you didn't make your payment in august, on september 1st, if you still haven't made your payment, then it would go on to your credit.
Speaker 1:So you have wiggle room yeah and and like you, you know, use it. You have we, we do it, or we've done it.
Speaker 2:Like you know, paint like extending that, yeah, um sometimes you, sometimes you gotta wait until that friday, uh that coming Friday or Wednesday, when the check finally hits, you know, yeah, but that just happens. First happens to land on a you know, because some people that's why I hate getting paid every two weeks oh yeah, it's tough, but I feel like you do have to manage a lot better, huh. Yeah, you do, you got to anticipate stuff more versus if you get paid weekly.
Speaker 1:You're just like yeah, oh, I think it's definitely friday. You know, it's friday always, saves the day.
Speaker 2:But yeah, you know, know your wiggle room. But always just try to be consistent, no matter what, even if you gotta stop the starbucks I had to do it.
Speaker 1:I had to do it for us to get.
Speaker 2:Stop the hookah.
Speaker 1:I had to stop the Starbucks to get our house and you had to stop something else, but I used to go to Starbucks every single day.
Speaker 2:Something else. In the morning before work for my coffee, because you would get a coffee and like something, and a pastry.
Speaker 1:So let's say you're spending $12.
Speaker 2:A day.
Speaker 1:A day, five days a week. That's $60 a week times $240. $240?
Speaker 2:$240. $240?.
Speaker 1:No times four Hold on. What is it again?
Speaker 2:You said 60 times four, that's $240.
Speaker 1:Why you have me all messed up.
Speaker 2:Because you did $12 a day times 5.
Speaker 1:$12 a day times 5.
Speaker 2:Which is 60. Yes, and there's 4 weeks in a month.
Speaker 1:So in a month that's 240.
Speaker 2:In a year. In a year to $3,000?
Speaker 1:Yeah, like almost $3,000 in a year.
Speaker 2:Wow.
Speaker 1:Just for coffee. Like that's crazy. I know that it doesn't seem like a lot Like okay, $3,000 in a year. Imagine if you woke up on New Year's Day and somebody hands you a jar with $3,000 in it.
Speaker 2:Exactly, yeah, that could be a down payment.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:If you want to get a house and you get an FHA loan and you have a low dump, like, or you know, 30 that 3,000 save your life honestly like and I'm not gonna say I've like quit like Starbucks, like for like good I still go now, here and then, but like how I used to oh, yeah, no and it helped.
Speaker 1:So we had to come up with 14 grand to put on the down payment on the house, right like 13 something, almost 14 yeah, and we had. They're like, your house will be done in like seven, eight months you had to get that we were like what the heck do we do? We're cutting starbucks. We're like cutting this. We were rarely eating now and it was hard because we lived next to everything like chick-fil-a, chipotle all of these things, guys, right by harkin theater.
Speaker 1:So everything was right there, so do you know how hard it was like friday? You just got paid you're driving home and you're like, oh like, but we have a family of five we go, go to.
Speaker 1:Chick-fil-A, we're spending $60, $70. So it was like, no, we had to like put our big pants on, had to put my big girl pants on and start making my coffee at home, and we did it In like seven months. We were able, seven, eight months, we were able to have 14 grand in our savings and a little bit more. Huh, because I remember we went to go do the wire transfer and we still had money left and that's why we went. I think we bought, like our, our couch with the money that we had left yeah so we even had a little extra to splurge yeah, it was crazy
Speaker 2:though how to work hard.
Speaker 1:I think remember I was, I had to go work in flagstaff and all that yeah the baby was little, but it was so worth it we have our house now and it's like dude, imagine if we wouldn't have like stopped eating out or stop spending at starbucks, like we would have still been in a two-bedroom apartment. Like it's crazy yeah.
Speaker 2:So it's definitely possible, guys, we're. We're not perfect, we're no better than nobody. We're just as goofy and dumb as the next person, but one. Once you take stuff serious, guys like and that's the thing I never had nobody growing up teaching me about like philosophy, or just you know like the world literally bends to you, bends to your reality. When you take stuff seriously, when you start vibrating in the right frequency the world just starts bending to your reality, whatever you have in your subconscious.
Speaker 2:When it comes to the conscious world, you're like you know, but it's the little things that you plant right now that come to fruition later. So it's like you know, we were grinding and grinding, kind of like your tiktok and all that. You had to grind for years, not making a dime, and then it finally hit. So, um, but each day that you're making, you know, a positive step towards that, it, it'll happen. You just have to put one foot in front of the other, even if that hole seems like inescapable.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:You know we built, we dig ourself in a financial hole that you won't. You don't even see the light up there. But you know you just got to put one foot in front of the other. Make the right decisions, cut out the nonsense and make it happen. Do it for yourself so you can live your best life.
Speaker 1:Happen, do it for yourself so you can live your best life. If you're in a relationship to like being very transparent with each other, like this, is what, even if you don't have, like you know, joint bank accounts- being very transparent.
Speaker 1:Hey, this is what I brought in. This is what you brought in. Have a money date when you go overboard and like you spent too much and you know your partner needs some and you don't have any, or you know you're short, whatever, then the tension that money can bring like onto your relationship like that's like really stressful yeah and remember somebody when we used to do confessions.
Speaker 1:I think somebody sent in like do you really tell ernesto how much money you make on social media? And I was like I tell him he knows everything I make. Like I even get like so, so excited that I'm like, oh my god, like look like this is how much like I made today or something.
Speaker 1:And I know like that I actually like know women that wouldn't tell their husbands they even made a dime from that so they'll just be secretly plotting and leave you yeah, like, or pocketing it, like I'm not going to share this with him, like it's still his responsibility to pay all the bills and this and that, like I really like that we're very transparent. I think that that's why you know, things have worked out so well between us and we're able to do so much together because we just keep it transparent.
Speaker 2:Yeah, got to keep it real.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so there's that. Okay. So I'm going to do like two true or false questions for you. Okay, true or false? Carrying a balance helps your credit score.
Speaker 2:Huh.
Speaker 1:True or false? Carrying a balance on your credit score? Huh, Carrying a balance, true or false? Carrying a balance on your credit card, on your credit cards, can help your credit score.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:True.
Speaker 2:True.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:I don't know why I'm having a brain fart on that one.
Speaker 1:It's just like a true or false, like just some questions that, like I wrote down that. I think are like a little pop quiz.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:Okay, um, but can you tell us why really quick? Say it one more time Carrying a balance helps your credit score. Carrying a balance having a balance on your credit score.
Speaker 2:What do you mean? Balance?
Speaker 1:So you said true, lee, cut that part off, please a balance. So you got like remember how you were saying right now, like the 30 okay, so like so more as credit consumption so would you have? Would you rather pay your credit card all the way down or leave it at like 15, 20%?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I would leave it always under the 30. It really wants you to be under 10. But if you're under 30, I think you're good.
Speaker 1:But you'll never pay it off completely.
Speaker 2:If I have the money, yeah, I'm going to pay it off and not worry about it.
Speaker 1:You think so it doesn't close it.
Speaker 2:No, you're never supposed to. That's what I did wrong. One time. I closed one of my credit. See, I don't know, I was young and dumb when I got the Ks. I went to Desert Sky one time and I seen another watch and I got another credit line through them. So I should have just kept it open. But you know, eventually I'm like what am I doing? Just opening up lines, I ended up closing it. But that also hurts your credit score because it knocks down your credit history, your credit age. So let's say I had those accounts open for three years and then I take that one away.
Speaker 2:It's gonna knock it down also when you open up a new line, it, it, um, the average. So you're going to knock yourself down on that too.
Speaker 1:So paying it all the way to zero is not the same as closing it.
Speaker 2:No.
Speaker 1:If you leave it all the way.
Speaker 2:It's just neutral, there's no interest being charged, it's just at a standstill Versus. If you close it, you don't.
Speaker 1:You don't have history, you don't have nothing, it's just done.
Speaker 2:So that makes sense. Let's say you had that for 10 years and you close that account, your credit is going to take a dump, because that's imagine how strong that looks. 10 years of an open line.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Especially on time payments. Imagine to a lender. They're going to be like, wow, I'm going to. This person wants to borrow 10,000. Of course, yeah, it's going to be deposited in 24 hours, you know.
Speaker 1:So if you can stay under $30,000.
Speaker 2:But realistically, if you can pay it off, pay it off, Because if you pay it off then you can just have that money in your account starting to accumulate. You know what I?
Speaker 1:mean Okay, that I actually didn't know. I thought paying it down to zero was like you're basically closing it.
Speaker 2:It might be better to keep it open and always having that balance. So I think every month you just get boosted up on time payments.
Speaker 2:So, like I said, if you're under under 30 and you kind of use that trick, I think it'll bump you up five, ten points every month on time payments, low usage. So those are already brownie points right there. So I think that would work to your advantage. But if you're like you know what the heck boom. But if you have like, no, like, not crazy debt, like you can probably use that to your advantage and, just you know, not finesse the system, but like you're managing to pay it right, staying under 30 to 10%, 30 or 10% on-time payment. So they're like, wow, this person's responsible.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:The credit bureaus.
Speaker 1:Yeah, All this, all that is like, honestly, it sounds scary.
Speaker 2:And you, let me say now, shout out to Credit Sesame. That's where I learned a lot of it.
Speaker 1:You better sponsor us.
Speaker 2:Sponsor me because I love it. They even hook it up for the free version. You could get the seven day trial, so you can get all three of them, equal facts, whatever, um, I don't know all of them. Yeah, so you can see all three of them, and not only that. Um, you could go way more into depth, into, in depth, into things, but um, yeah, they break it down, they tell you how much each affects your credit score well, I have it, but I don't.
Speaker 1:I'm not like you, I don't pay for it. I just have a free version and it's still very like very useful.
Speaker 2:It's still very useful, it breaks it down, shout out to credit sesame, because yeah man, even the free version. Really look at that. There they can really help you. A free, it tells you like.
Speaker 1:You don't even have to bring out your calculator. It'll tell you exactly like it'll. It'll be like pay this amount and your credit score this amount like it's really good, it's very accurate, that's that that's the first step.
Speaker 2:A lot of people that don't have their credit right don't even have a credit app.
Speaker 1:Oh, they just how are you an adult, and don't they just know their?
Speaker 2:credit, because they went to the dealer and ran their credit and they're like, all right, this is what you got okay, you guys, so get a credit app put your yeah, do that and I think if you're really like trying to do something like with your credit, bring it up.
Speaker 1:Things like that. I think definitely looking into the secure credit card you have to I'm telling you that was the best thing I could have ever done and it's like it's 250.
Speaker 2:Like you you're not gonna like. Imagine if everybody their first time got like ten thousand dollar card line. Oh my gosh that would be a disaster like, even if you're like making a minimum wage or whatever you could still you know pay, know pay it down, you know manage it and you're not just going to throw yourself in a hole that you can't come out of like 250. You make, like you said, six months. They boost it to five.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:One year you're at 750.
Speaker 1:You're building that trust with the bank.
Speaker 2:Like and you're being responsible, You're being consistent, so you know you're. You're're doing good, making good habits yeah so you know you just don't want to splurge on that credit card and go crazy.
Speaker 1:So that's a good first step so, honestly, you guys, if you can't afford it, like don't, don't don't get it like I mean obviously right, a house, a car or something like that. Sometimes you have to get it like on credit. I mean I don't think I've ever met some actually I do, my sister bought her house cash, but that was 15 years ago um but like there shouldn't be a reason why you're like opening a credit card at like gap or something.
Speaker 1:I just don't think so I don't think that's necessary, like if you can't afford a pair of jeans, you probably shouldn't be in the store anyway, Like, and let's keep it real.
Speaker 2:Like if somebody like you can go to Goodwill on the sticker day and find great clothes.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah.
Speaker 2:Instead of going to get the credit card. It's like we're just, you know, we, we just care about what others perceive of us and it's like who cares? You know? Yeah, like when I was younger, I would always be buying clothes and all that. Now I'm like, I'm just like my dad, you know, same three pairs, four pairs of jeans.
Speaker 1:Your cargos are from Walmart Cargo. You know Walmart, they cost me $12.
Speaker 2:I'm bougie man. You wear the Wrangler pants. You know what I'm saying. Yeah, you know for the work you get the rustlers. You know what I'm saying. But you know you're paying for the $20 for the Wranglers man.
Speaker 1:Yeah, those are like true religions you know what I'm saying yeah Well, I this episode helpful. Um, let us know what you think in the comments. Uh, if there's anything else that you guys suggest that we talk about, put it in the comments, you guys? All right? Well, thank you for joining us and being here. We'll see you next time bye guys, bye you.