Participants: Cordell Thomas
Series Code: TITTB
Program Code: TITTB000046
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00:01 On Take It To The Bank,
00:02 you'll find ways to get out of debt, 00:09 solve your credit card problems, 00:14 how to make and stick with a budget, 00:19 simple ways to save, 00:24 buying or selling a home 00:27 and many more financial matters on Take It To The Bank. 00:30 Hi, my name is Cordell Thomas 00:32 and welcome to Take It To The Bank. 00:34 We're here to talk to you 00:35 a little bit about credit and scam. 00:37 There are so many different things going on 00:40 in our technology community 00:42 that I thought you should be aware of this specific issue. 00:45 But then, when you talk about credit, 00:47 credit is really not a big item. 00:49 It's something that's been with us 00:50 for a long time 00:52 and when you take a look at what your credit 00:53 or credit report says about you, 00:55 it tells you several different things. 00:58 On a credit report will be 00:59 some personal identification information with-- 01:02 which are things you should keep 01:03 as private as possible. 01:05 Personal ID includes your address, 01:07 your name where you-- and where you live, of course. 01:10 And of course, it includes things 01:12 such as your social security number 01:14 and things like your date of birth. 01:16 You wonder why people ask that as identifying attributes 01:20 when you talk to your bank and or credit agencies. 01:24 They want to know who you are 01:26 and that they're speaking to you specifically. 01:28 So these are things within your credit report 01:31 you should keep as private as possible, 01:34 your social security number, 01:36 for example, you shouldn't carry with you. 01:38 You shouldn't have it in your wallet. 01:39 For if your wallet gets stolen, 01:41 that's one important piece of information 01:45 that individuals who are criminals 01:47 can use to steal your identity as well as your date of birth. 01:51 And you'll notice that within certain social networks, 01:54 and technology that's out there, 01:56 they will ask you for a lot of information. 01:58 They'll ask you for your date of birth, 02:00 if you are a male or female, where you live. 02:03 And I would tend to recommend that 02:05 when you go into these social networks, 02:07 take a look at what they offer, 02:09 look at what you need to opt out of, 02:11 how do you protect your information, 02:13 and make sure you identify with just friends. 02:16 If that's the case, 02:18 make sure you limit access to your information 02:20 because whoever has access, 02:22 has access to the information that you provide 02:25 and that you update individuals 02:27 on, on a daily, hourly, weekly basis 02:29 depending on how frequently 02:31 you use those type of social networks. 02:34 What else is involved in your credit report? 02:37 Your employment report. 02:38 Employment data about, you where you work, 02:41 what your position is. 02:42 There's also public record information 02:44 included on your credit report. 02:46 What's public record information? 02:48 Well, has it been a lien filed on you? 02:50 Have you gone through a bankruptcy. 02:52 These type of things are part of the report, 02:55 so it gives people a perspective 02:57 of how you handle your matters. 03:00 The other issues would be collection agency information. 03:03 And then of course, 03:04 any type of credit account information 03:07 that is a part of your credit report. 03:10 Then of course, it reports on each one of these 03:13 open credit accounts that you may have 03:15 how you pay on them. 03:16 Do you pay regularly on time? 03:18 Or do you pay late sometimes? 03:20 And it adjusts your credit report 03:23 or credit score accordingly. 03:25 So why are we talking about technology 03:28 and a credit report which is basic information? 03:30 Well, because technology is becoming a big part 03:34 of how people are giving up personal information. 03:37 And how people are losing out 03:40 on keeping a clean credit record. 03:42 Now, there are many things that can happen. 03:44 And if in fact, 03:46 wrong information gets on your credit report, 03:48 there are things that you can do 03:51 to take care of that type of problem. 03:54 But the thing I really want to emphasize 03:57 at this point in time is the use of semantics. 04:01 You use semantics when using the word, 04:03 "credit rebuilding," "credit repair." 04:05 What is credit rebuilding or credit repair? 04:08 Well, I choose to use the word credit, credit rebuilding. 04:12 Why? 04:13 You can't really repair credit information. 04:16 If the information is accurate, it can't be repaired. 04:19 It will stay there for seven years. 04:21 That's just the way it is. 04:23 You can rebuild your credit if you would like to 04:26 by taking certain steps 04:28 and going through different actions. 04:30 I know as I work with different agencies 04:33 in the California area, the Southern California area. 04:36 We talk about these elements and I remember 04:38 we had about six different financial experts 04:41 around the table. 04:43 And we're talking about some of the specific issues 04:45 on financial literacy. 04:46 And one of the things we talked about 04:49 was the issue of credit. 04:50 We talked about you know, 04:52 there are things that people need to learn, 04:54 such as budgeting, 04:55 such as the issue of credit cards, 04:57 talking about budgeting, 04:59 one of the biggest issues that are out there. 05:01 Knowing the difference between your needs and your wants. 05:04 And the other item that came up was credit, 05:07 credit rebuilding and credit repair. 05:09 And the gentleman that works with credit.org 05:12 came out and said, "Hey, look. 05:13 Cordell. 05:14 Hey, look the rest of you were at the table, 05:16 I would like to ask you 05:17 to change the way you say, 'credit repair.' 05:22 Because it's really not an ability 05:24 to repair an individual's credit. 05:26 It's about the ability to rebuild their credit 05:29 and their credit score." 05:31 If you have something negative on your report, 05:35 there are several things that can happen. 05:37 You see through the e-mail 05:39 and you see publicizing and advertisements 05:42 all over your community. 05:44 And online, 05:46 "Hey, we can rebuild your credit. 05:47 We can repair your credit." 05:49 Is that really accurate? 05:51 Is that false advertising? 05:52 Well, you know, to a certain extent, 05:54 you can repair credit and rebuild credit. 05:56 But I'd like to say this, if you have something 05:59 that's legitimate on your credit report, 06:01 it will not go away for seven years. 06:04 If there's something that's not legitimate 06:06 on your credit report, you should dispute it. 06:09 And so, yes, you could use an outside agency 06:12 to dispute the credit 06:14 and they will typically charge you-- 06:16 I was, I've seen certain fees 06:18 like $699, $499, $799. 06:23 And even over a thousand dollars 06:25 to repair credit. 06:27 Now, my thing is, yeah, these resources are there, 06:30 but you should take care 06:32 in how you utilize these resources 06:35 and address them accordingly 06:38 by asking that additional question. 06:41 How they set up their contracts? 06:42 How they bill you? 06:44 Do they ask you to pay everything in advance? 06:48 These items are critical. 06:50 Because as I've found that 06:53 I've always asked the question of individuals. 06:56 So why are you paying someone 07:01 to repair your credit? 07:03 Why are you calling on someone else 07:05 and paying them to do something that you can do on your own? 07:11 In fact, what I'm going to do over the next couple of days, 07:14 I'm going to download a form 07:15 that I was given by this credit.org 07:18 and I can put it on our site. 07:19 It's approximately 32-page document, 07:21 it talks about credit. 07:23 And on page 16 of that document, 07:25 you can pull down a template. 07:27 The template actually helps you dispute. 07:29 You just put a name, information that you need, 07:33 the numbers that are necessary. 07:35 And you can actually call your credit, creditor 07:37 or call the credit bureau 07:39 and have that information faxed directly through 07:42 and they will take it, assess it, 07:44 look at it and see if it's accurate. 07:46 They have typically 30 days to address your concern. 07:50 If they don't address it within that time frame, 07:52 it has to go away. 07:54 But they will typically will come back 07:55 with a letter saying, "We saw your dispute. 07:57 We checked on it. 07:59 We found it was either valid or invalid. 08:00 It needs to stay there or we can have it removed." 08:03 Now, you can do all of that without paying someone 08:07 as much as they ask for, for the same kind of service 08:11 and you can take care of it on your own. 08:13 In fact, I did receive 08:15 some of that same information via the Internet. 08:17 People have sent me emails about, 08:19 "Hey, I've got this concern, I've got this problem. 08:21 How do I handle it?" 08:23 And my of my biggest concern is that 08:25 sometimes we're paying fees out of pocket 08:29 because, we have people or businesses out there 08:31 that target individuals based on this, 08:34 where they think they're at in life. 08:36 So, you're targeted 08:38 and you're asked to pay more money to do something 08:40 that you should have access to doing on your own. 08:43 And you can save that $699 fee and do it yourself. 08:49 So, credit is out there, credit's available. 08:54 And if we haven't taken the time 08:58 to assess our credit 09:00 and our personal reporting methodology 09:02 such as through a budget, 09:04 then we have one of the major concerns 09:07 of running into debt. 09:09 Because it typically happens to individuals 09:11 that don't have a budget 09:12 they spend everything that they make. 09:15 And if you put together a budget, 09:17 it's a very enlightening experience 09:19 as to what the expenditures are 09:23 how you can substitute, save, 09:25 or get rid of certain things you don't really need. 09:27 And you figure that out 09:28 when you take people through in actual budget form 09:31 and ask them to give us an assessment 09:33 of what they need at each and every month. 09:36 And when they come to the end of it, 09:38 we find out that that number 09:39 at the bottom of that budget form 09:41 is typically in the red. 09:42 Because they're spending more than they bring in. 09:44 And when you have that situation happening, 09:47 I can guarantee you 09:49 that they're also spending money 09:50 on their credit cards 09:51 and they're probably paying minimal amounts 09:53 on that credit card 09:54 and if they happen to spend too much on a monthly basis, 09:59 they cannot pay on specific cards 10:02 and run in a rears by 30 days late, 60 days late, 10:05 and that has an impact on your credit. 10:07 So, your credit report and scams, 10:10 there are many things 10:11 that we should look for in our lives 10:14 to make it simpler, to save money 10:17 and to also on understand 10:19 that there are many individuals out there 10:21 that want access to your money. 10:23 And I'll tell you right now, 10:24 why pay something to someone else 10:26 to pay a lot of money to someone else 10:28 to do something that you can do? 10:30 But if in fact, you choose to do so. 10:34 There are certain things that you should look for. 10:37 Now, we talked about credit, we talked about credit scams, 10:40 we talked about a variety of different issues. 10:43 And we talked specifically about 10:44 how technology is actually following you. 10:46 We know that data is out there. 10:48 We know that your banks share information 10:50 to marketing firms. 10:52 We know that social networks share your personal information 10:55 with outside firms. 10:57 They track what you do, they track where you go. 10:59 You know that your smartphones have location devices in it 11:02 that show people your, your travel patterns, 11:05 where you go, what you-- 11:07 And the purchase habits that you have, 11:09 have you sign up for discount cards 11:11 at grocery stores, 11:12 or at different automotive facilities. 11:14 So there is data being collected 11:16 on a daily basis about you. 11:18 That information is going into some storage file 11:21 in some company 11:23 and they're coming back with assessments 11:25 and profiles of who you are. 11:27 And they're dealing with predictive behavior. 11:31 They can predict what's going on 11:33 and it's very interesting when you take a look at those, 11:36 the data and how they use it. 11:39 And so now we look at what we're talking about 11:42 from the stand point of things to look for 11:45 when you're looking at fraud 11:46 and when you're looking at scams 11:49 that come across your table. 11:50 And I had a chance to talk to one of our financial experts, 11:54 Mr. Joshua Hernandez, 11:55 and we had a chance to talk about this issue 11:58 called credit, scams, 12:00 and how we deal with credit repair agencies 12:03 and our concerns. 12:05 Here, is what happened in that conversation. 12:08 Who are the good resources to go to ask questions 12:11 when you're making these kind of tough decisions? 12:14 Well, you definitely want to go to the resource that, you know, 12:16 your financial institution that has your account. 12:19 There's a lot of free resources on, 12:22 you know ideas of fixing, 12:24 or repairing, or rebuilding debt. 12:27 You know, this in specific scenario 12:29 if there's a problem, you know, 12:30 definitely goes straight to your financial situation. 12:32 Before you get a credit card or an ATM card, you know, 12:35 ask them you know, what's your fraud policy? 12:39 You know, how what would happen, 12:41 if something would ever happen to me? 12:42 What's the process? 12:44 And if you, if they give you some ideas 12:47 of how they protect their clients 12:49 from this happening, 12:50 then you continue moving forward. 12:52 You know, it's interesting 12:54 I ran into a friend of mine who came up to me and say, 12:55 "Hey, part my family passed away in Spain. 13:01 And I've, I've gotten a great inheritance coming in. 13:05 Can you help me?" "But why do you need help? 13:08 If it's your money, 13:09 wouldn't they pay you from the proceeds? 13:11 It seemed to make sense." 13:12 Yeah. 13:13 But he gave me a good line--" 13:15 Sure you know, it can help you out with that." 13:18 But I didn't ask the critical question, 13:22 "Who was this relative in Spain?" 13:25 He couldn't answer the question 13:27 later on after I'd given him a lump sum of money 13:29 to help him pay off an account, closing an account. 13:32 And as this went on further because now, you know, 13:36 because I've given him money. 13:38 It's a close friend, its not really a loan. 13:42 I'm giving him money. 13:43 Because I've never seen the money in return. 13:46 And of course, he still hasn't received his 13:49 and his inheritance, 13:50 which kind of gives you kind of an explanation 13:52 that he's still out there 13:53 waiting for this big thing to happen 13:55 and I've always thought that, 13:58 if I had asked that one additional question, 14:03 I would still have that amount of money 14:05 in my bank account 14:07 as opposed to putting it into something 14:08 that we know probably, 14:10 is something not, not quite true. 14:12 Well, it's a live and learn scenario. 14:14 It is. Right? 14:16 You learn through that. 14:17 And I've got, I've got a really quick story 14:20 about center with me and a friend of mine 14:23 that asked me for some money that became a scam. 14:26 And so, you know, it was. It was on Facebook. 14:28 And so, Facebook has instant messaging 14:30 where you can Facebook your friends 14:31 and instant message. 14:33 And so on Facebook I respond and socializing 14:35 doing what we do on Facebook, right? 14:36 So, a friend messaged me, "Hey, how are you?" 14:39 and so we start chatting. 14:41 You know, I'm overseas and tell you, you know, 14:43 I went to this is some family and responded with excitement 14:47 and you know, that was really neat 14:49 that she's out there having a good time. 14:51 And after about two minutes, 14:52 I ended up getting a remark for her saying, 14:56 you know, "I've run into some problem, though. 14:58 My family and I ended up 15:00 You know, something happened with our credit card 15:02 and you know what? 15:04 I'm actually a very tough situation." 15:05 Of course, I got worried. 15:06 "Oh my gosh! What you need? 15:08 Immediately willing to help. Right. 15:09 "You know, I could sure you some money, 15:11 you might transfer me if I give you an account." 15:13 So, red flag shows up. 15:16 I text message my friend and I say, 15:18 "Hey, are you on Facebook right now?" 15:20 And she responds with, no. 15:22 "I'm not in Facebook right now." 15:24 Some one hacked into her Facebook account, 15:26 started reaching out to her friends 15:28 and it was someone like a scam artist. 15:31 That's amazing. 15:32 Yeah, that's that happened, so-- 15:34 You know, be aware those red flags 15:35 and you know, use your use your, 15:37 your instincts, your mind 15:39 and you know, use your instincts. 15:40 If it's too good to be true, it typically is. 15:44 And now, with technology as it is, 15:46 we have so many other things that need to be aware of. 15:50 So when we talk about Take It To The Bank, 15:52 we're talking about the critical think 15:54 on your money. 15:56 Everyone wants as access to it. 15:58 Be careful. 15:59 Ask the additional question 16:01 and ask the appropriate for people. 16:07 Asking that additional question. 16:10 We've changed our process in our lecture series. 16:15 What we have done is begun to label it 16:18 a critical think lecture series. 16:20 We don't label it financial literacy 16:21 because all of us know how to spend the money. 16:24 Now, in reference to spending money, 16:26 many people--We spend money 16:27 because people ask us to spend money. 16:30 We spend money because the media tells us 16:32 that's what we're supposed to do. 16:34 We capitulate to what we are being told out there 16:36 in that marketing environment and we just spend our money. 16:40 And then without planning, 16:42 we get into these debt-type of scenarios. 16:45 And that debt scenario 16:47 typically includes a credit card, 16:49 it includes those type of store cards 16:52 that we may get as a part of free accounts 16:54 or discounts at the store. 16:56 And what we don't realize is, we are following the masses 17:01 instead of doing the simple thing 17:03 that God asked us to do and being content. 17:07 Being content, attached with that form of Godliness 17:10 gives us a lot of gain. 17:12 Being comfortable with where we at 17:14 would mean that we may not get that additional charge card. 17:17 It may mean that we not, 17:19 we may not go out and purchase that additional item. 17:22 But we eventually do. 17:23 And as seen by the statistics and the graphics 17:26 that are out there saying 17:27 that we are at a negative spending rate 17:29 here in the United States. 17:30 We hear that because our government 17:32 and or other agencies will tell us that, 17:34 "Hey, to kick start any type of economy, 17:37 we have to have the individuals in that economy." 17:39 The middle class borrow more and spend more. 17:43 Just at the time when all of us 17:45 are beginning to pay down our debts 17:47 and save more money, 17:48 they tell us to spend more and buy more. 17:52 And that is a thing I've asked all of you 17:54 to begin to think more so about is what you actually hear, 17:58 and what you're actually given 18:00 from the media is only something 18:01 as they will tell you in their own words. 18:04 It's to manipulate you 18:06 into buying their products and services. 18:08 So much so that we see 18:11 based on just strict advertising 18:13 and the nag effect, 18:15 if you understand what that is, 18:17 that nag effect 18:19 is they've taught our young people, our children, 18:21 to nag at least seven or eight times. 18:24 And ask the parents, 18:25 "I want, I want, I want, I want." 18:27 And after a certain amount of time, 18:29 after about seven or eight asks, 18:32 the parent is broken down to the point of capitulating 18:36 and giving the child what they want. 18:38 40 percent of purchases 18:40 are attributed to the nag effect, 18:42 and they know this. 18:43 They know that we as middle class Americans 18:46 spend what we make. 18:50 Do you think there's any possibility 18:51 of feeling comfortable with investments, 18:53 and securities, and emergency savings? 18:56 No, because every single penny of that 18:58 they tell us we have, we spend. 19:01 They tell us they're going to give us a tax break at 19:05 and they tell us the amount of that tax break. 19:08 We get excited about it. 19:10 And the moment we get that tax break, 19:12 where does it go? 19:13 Do you think it would go into a savings account? 19:15 Do you think it would go into some type of emergency savings? 19:18 Would it go into some type of investment? 19:20 No. 19:21 They know that we are going to spend the money. 19:24 I know, I was there. 19:26 I've done the same exact thing. 19:28 But I'm here to tell you that we can change this. 19:30 We can approach things in a whole different way 19:33 and understand that all they're trying to do 19:35 is gain information from us by what we purchase, 19:38 by getting information on us, by being able to categorize us 19:41 in specific demographic groups. 19:43 And being able to target us. 19:45 And even though the legitimate people target is-- 19:48 target us, for the purposes of purchasing, 19:50 there are illegitimate resources 19:53 that are solely looking to take advantage of us 19:58 and get access to our money. 20:00 There are things you should look for. 20:02 And in this specific situation 20:03 based on some questions that you have asked, 20:06 I just started to start-- to talk specifically about 20:10 what to look for when people are telling you 20:13 that they can repair your credit. 20:16 That's the thing we started out with. 20:17 So I would like to discuss the specific issue 20:22 to look for when you're looking 20:24 at the issue of repairing credit. 20:30 Number one, 20:32 are you given your consumer credit file bill of rights 20:36 via your state and under the federal law? 20:40 Do you know your rights 20:41 in reference to obtaining a free copy 20:43 of your credit report? 20:44 And how to dispute a credit report information 20:49 that may be on in your file. 20:51 If you're not given this information, 20:52 it gives you warning sign. 20:54 A red flag per se, to question, 20:57 who it is you're actually dealing with? 20:59 If you don't give you this type of information, 21:01 is it something they're trying to hide? 21:03 Is there something that I should be more aware of 21:05 in reference to this individual? 21:07 I would pretty much say that 21:09 if you're not getting specific information 21:11 that you should be aware of, 21:14 you should probably check these people out 21:15 on the Better Business Bureau 21:17 and check out whether or not they're legitimate business 21:20 and or check out how many complaints 21:23 they may have against them. 21:25 Do your research. 21:26 Ask that additional question. 21:28 Because by doing so, 21:30 it'll be a little bit better for you 21:33 to make the right decision. 21:34 Number two, 21:36 you aren't given a copy of the contract to view 21:38 before you're asked to sign it. 21:40 You should have a chance to review the full contract. 21:42 It should give you a context of what they're going to do. 21:45 And if they're asking to sign something 21:48 and or ask you to pay in advance, 21:49 that should also be another type of warning 21:53 as to what type of organization that you're working for. 21:57 If you're not given a copy of that contract, before hand 22:01 don't sign it. 22:03 And always ask for some time to read it through, 22:05 so it can give you full context of what they intend to do. 22:11 Number three, 22:13 the contract doesn't contain 22:15 the following bits of information 22:17 such as the amount that you're being charged 22:20 or details about the service 22:23 that are being performed on your behalf. 22:25 What about the date 22:27 by which the services will be performed 22:30 or the time period required 22:32 to perform these actual services 22:34 on your behalf? 22:36 What about the name and business address 22:39 of that organization? 22:40 If things are missing, 22:42 it should tell you that there's a problem. 22:44 There is an inherent concern 22:45 about what they're planning to deliver. 22:48 One of the big things 22:49 that we talk about in business is this. 22:51 When you're asked to do something, 22:52 ask them when do you need it by? 22:55 How quickly this should this be done? 22:57 If you get some type of open ended contract, 23:00 it will say, "We will address your credit concerns." 23:03 But they don't have a timeframe in it, 23:05 that shows you that there is another concern 23:08 that you should be aware of. 23:09 And then of course, a statement letting you know 23:12 how you can cancel the contract within three days. 23:17 Now, that cancellation feature is very important 23:19 because you need to take the time. 23:21 Now, what I always tell people is this. 23:23 That's a wonderful thing 23:24 to have that cancellation feature 23:26 but why, why sign something when you have doubts initially? 23:29 Because remember, there's always that, 23:31 that's that, that voice that tells you that, 23:34 this is something you should avoid. 23:36 If there's a question, 23:37 if there's any type of concern that you may have, 23:40 my voice of reason is my wife. 23:44 My, my beautiful wife has such a tactful way of telling me, 23:49 "No, you shouldn't be doing this." 23:51 So I feel pretty much comfortable 23:52 knowing that voice of reason has helped us 23:55 through several different situations 23:56 where I have haven't had to use that three day refusal rule 24:01 that should be in any type of contract. 24:04 Because many of the other things 24:06 that may not be there 24:07 has already caused a reason to question. 24:10 Next thing is, if you're asked for payment 24:13 before the services have been performed, 24:15 that's one critical issue. 24:16 Should you have to pay for something up front 24:18 before you can get the service or product delivered? 24:21 No. 24:22 You shouldn't have to pay for something in advance. 24:24 You should see the results of something 24:26 before you're required to pay anything. 24:29 Number five. 24:30 The company promises to remove accurately reported information 24:34 from your credit report. 24:36 That should be a warning sign. 24:38 Because as we talked about before, 24:42 you cannot repair your credit 24:45 if the information that's there is accurate. 24:48 It will stay on your report for seven years. 24:51 That's just the way it is. 24:52 Now, if they tell you that they are going 24:55 to try to remove any inaccurate information. 24:59 What if someone has stolen your identity? 25:01 What if something is awry with your credit information 25:04 and they find some wrong information there. 25:07 That's fine. 25:08 If they tell you that they'll try to reclaim it up. 25:11 But if they tell you 25:12 they can remove accurately reported information 25:16 that has faults, they cannot do so, 25:18 and that should also be a warning sign. 25:21 Now, what if someone says, "Hey, why don't we offer 25:24 to create a new social security number 25:26 or create some type of 25:28 new federal employee identification number 25:31 on your behalf so we can start you out a new?" 25:34 Run away from them. 25:36 Because that's not a way to do business 25:38 and you shouldn't be able to do that. 25:40 You can't create a new social security number. 25:42 You have yours 25:44 and that should remain the way it is. 25:47 When you take a look at 25:50 what is going on in the industry. 25:51 There are legitimate businesses and their businesses 25:54 that are out there just to take your funds. 25:57 There is an alternative to buying credit report, repair. 26:03 The alternative is seeking an agency. 26:07 And there are agencies out there 26:08 that will give it to you for free 26:11 and that will provide you the resources 26:13 and the actual template information 26:16 that you can actually fill out and send in to your agency 26:19 to have them review and possibly rebuild, 26:23 help you start the process of rebuilding. 26:27 Here's, my thing to you today. 26:29 In reference to scams and credit and credit repair. 26:33 We all have, if you're an adult, 26:36 probably have some type of credit information out on you. 26:39 If you've opened up a gas account 26:41 to give gas to your home to heat it 26:43 or electricity account, 26:46 through any electricity providing organization. 26:49 There are credit files on individuals. 26:52 And because information is out there, 26:54 there are individuals, organizations 26:56 that are looking to target specific people 26:59 for the use of their services. 27:02 And a lot of organizations that are out 27:04 there are not necessarily legitimate. 27:07 You know, we're finding more so today 27:09 than ever before. 27:11 We're finding out that many organizations 27:15 and on with technology, 27:17 that are supported by technology. 27:20 These type of organizations are only out there 27:24 to take advantage of individuals. 27:27 And people who bought things via the Internet 27:29 that haven't got the actual products 27:31 and or services that they have requested. 27:34 This is one of the biggest items 27:36 that can impact your personal budget 27:39 by spending money 27:40 that you don't necessarily have to spend. 27:42 And it all it takes is for you to ask the critical question. 27:45 That critical question is, do I need this? 27:48 Do I have to buy it? 27:49 Is there an alternative resource 27:52 for me to gain access to the same type of resource 27:56 that I can do without spending money. 27:58 Take that to the bank and God bless you. |
Revised 2016-04-14