We are the Black Women Building Credit Network, comprised of a diverse group of Black women who have navigated the financial literacy maze over the years. We now have pristine credit reports and have been awarded well over $100k in settlements from credit bureaus, debt collectors and creditors over the past few years; even after some of us filed bankruptcy. We have also helped our friends and family members do the same. It is now time for us to deploy the principle, “each one teach one”, to our sisters across the nation.
Meet the Authors
J the Money Motivator is a licensed financial professional who resides in San Jose, CA. She began her financial journey over 10 years ago and has been a business owner for 2 years. Ultimately her goal is to make a huge impact in the lives of others through financial education. J the Money Motivator will show you how to improve your financial mindset so that you can become financially stable, debt free, and build generational wealth.
The Credit Sage
Greetings Tribe and Welcome home! I’m the Credit Sage. A native of the South where a heavy dose of mother’s and grandmother’s wit was injected into my consciousness on a daily basis. A strong sense of responsibility was drilled into me and I seemed to have come to this planet with an obsession that justice be served; it’s informed the paid work that I do and the pet projects I’ve chosen to pursue.
One key to success that was (and still is) continually stressed by my elders is EDUCATION. So, I got several degrees until my mom said that being a professional student was not a jobJ. She was right!
Illustration by jaemebereal.com
While I did finally leave my degree-focused academic pursuits, my learning journey continued. Although I am not an attorney, I am an enthusiastic student of the law. My initial focus was employment law, then it branched into the consumer protection law space when I was the unfortunate victim of identity theft. The debt collector wolves began beating down the door which forced me to spend years pouring through the statutes as these calls and letters from debt collectors were quite stressful and needed resolution. Simply telling them that, “it was not me”,or “I didn’t complete that credit card application”, did not produce the desired effect.They simply wanted somebody to pay and they had their sights set on me. This issue then began to negatively impact my credit reports. When I discovered that these folks had committed violations, I took action.
I have personally sent quite persuasive (demand) letters to these folks, and in most instances, received a significant settlement from these violators – – yes, they paid ME! I also personally filed a number of lawsuits, which also resulted in a settlement, as well as a clearing of my credit report and a forgiveness of the alleged debt. Helping friends and family do the same has been a source of great delight!
As you can imagine, many mistakes were made along the way. We endeavor on this website and in our forum to help you understand how you can address similar issues in your life while avoiding the pitfalls.
In my limited spare time, I love reading, traveling and problem solving