Latest / Ready Set Collaborate with Wanda Pearson / Transforming Financial Futures Matt Dillingham: From Military Service to Mastering Credit, Embracing Accountability, and Enhancing Personal Well-being

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Transforming Financial Futures Matt Dillingham: From Military Service to Mastering Credit, Embracing Accountability, and Enhancing Personal Well-being · Ready Set Collaborate with Wanda Pearson

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Welcome to Ready Set Collaborate podcast with Rhonda Pearson, where we will dive deep into the world of networking, collaboration and partnership, unlocking the secrets to a successful team working within innovation.
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: Whether you're an entrepreneur, a creative professional or just someone eager to understand the power of networking and collaboration, this podcast is your go-to resource.
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: Join us as we explore the stories, strategies and insights from experts, entrepreneurs and thought leaders who have experienced the magic of networking and collaboration to achieve successful results.
• 0:42
  Speaker 2: Tune in to Ready.
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: Set Collaborate podcast on a journey towards achieving your goals with host Wanda Pearson.
• 0:52
  Speaker 2: Welcome.
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: Welcome to the Ready Set Collaborate podcast with Wanda Pearson and my guest, matt Dillingham.
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: I am so excited to have Matt on this show because this is a new year, 2025, that we need to get our stuff in order, which means our credit, our finances, all of that.
• 1:09
  Speaker 2: So that's why I want to do that start the beginning of the year, to get our stuff together as far as getting our finances, credit report, credit together, getting your will done.
• 1:19
  Speaker 2: All of that stuff is so important to get started the right way.
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: So I want to introduce you to my guest, matt Dillingham.
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: Say hi to the audience, matt.
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: Hey, everybody, glad to be here.
• 1:31
  Speaker 2: Yeah, matt, we were just talking about the weather.
• 1:36
  Speaker 2: Matt is in Virginia, so he's got a lot colder weather and snow than we do.
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: I'm so excited to have him here and share his expertise on credit reporting and finances and that's so important, right.
• 1:49
  Speaker 3: Very.
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and I thought about Matt.
• 1:54
  Speaker 2: I said because we did actually a webinar together about two years ago.
• 1:58
  Speaker 3: Yeah, it's been that long.
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: Yeah, oh wow, and we did, and we did.
• 2:01
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it was yeah, oh wow, and we did, and we did.
• 2:03
  Speaker 3: Yeah, it was.
• 2:04
  Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: So a lot of people.
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: It's January.
• 2:08
  Speaker 2: We did a lot of spending for Christmas.
• 2:11
  Speaker 2: I know I got six grandkids and I said I wasn't going to do it.
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: And I did it and I said, OK, I'm not doing this again.
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: I said it last year, I'm not going to do it again and I credit in order and paying off credit down my credit is so important to me because my credit report is very important and I want to make sure that I stay up in those 800s and you can get there too, with Matt's help, by repairing and improving your credit score.
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: Let me talk a little bit about Matt.
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: Matt Dillingham is a former Marine.
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: He served from 2006 to 2012.
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: While in the Marine Corps, he graduated with a degree in family studies from the University of Maryland at College Park.
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: He is also an award-winning author and a co-author of the book Born to Risk.
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: Though he did not follow through with his major after college, that choice of major started his journey of self-development, which led him to the world of credit.
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: Matt is a spiritual person that everything is energy and that to change one's life, to simply changing your energy within that and filling out the emotions that come up to you.
• 3:14
  Speaker 2: He is currently the COO of A1 Solutions Group and enjoys teaching people not just about how credit works, but how the power of credit can change one's financial reality for the better.
• 3:27
  Speaker 2: Matt, thank you so much for coming to my Ready Set Collaborate podcast.
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: I'm so excited to have you here.
• 3:34
  Speaker 2: Matt, tell us a little bit more about you that I haven't talked about already.
• 3:38
  Speaker 3: I'm going to summarize my journey in a bit.
• 3:40
  Speaker 3: I guess I'll start with some funny things.
• 3:43
  Speaker 3: My favorite film of all time is Top Gun, the first one.
• 3:47
  Speaker 3: I've been watching that since I was three years old, since 1988.
• 3:51
  Speaker 3: I don't know why.
• 3:55
  Speaker 3: It's always stuck with me, says a little bit.
• 3:57
  Speaker 3: I'm a big advocate for health.
• 3:59
  Speaker 3: I exercise six days a week.
• 4:00
  Speaker 3: I do the cold showers in the morning for three minutes.
• 4:02
  Speaker 3: I don't side up.
• 4:04
  Speaker 3: It helps me wake up.
• 4:04
  Speaker 3: That really helps with when waking you up puts you in a better mood.
• 4:08
  Speaker 3: It's healthy for you.
• 4:10
  Speaker 3: And I've got a point where it's I have it now, or if I don't do it, I feel weird, which is interesting.
• 4:17
  Speaker 3: So there's that side and really big on the inner development work.
• 4:21
  Speaker 3: Because at the end of the day, whether you're trying to change your credit, fix your finances, change your health, whatever your outer world is simply a reflection of what's going on inside, and too many of us want to change the external, which makes sense.
• 4:33
  Speaker 3: You have to understand that you, it's what's going on the inside.
• 4:36
  Speaker 3: The beliefs you had, the way you're looking at things, perceiving stuff, was what's causing the outside.
• 4:39
  Speaker 3: So you gotta work on that first and and then from there everything else can flow and follow.
• 4:45
  Speaker 3: And it's not that point.
• 4:47
  Speaker 3: It won't be some sort of challenge, just kind of adjusting and getting new to change and making more autopilot at that point.
• 4:55
  Speaker 2: Absolutely that cold shower.
• 4:57
  Speaker 2: That seems too cold with this cold weather out here now, you know what, though?
• 5:00
  Speaker 3: I'll tell you what it's best to do it now, because it's colder, but it prepares you better for the weather.
• 5:05
  Speaker 3: The easy thing is, I'll do it in the summertime, of course, it's hot, it's humid.
• 5:09
  Speaker 3: In the wintertime, though, that's where you have to go, alright, but it does wake you up.
• 5:18
  Speaker 3: But then, after about two minutes, your body adjusts to it and so you do feel warm.
• 5:23
  Speaker 3: Trust me, the first two minutes suck, and I'm gonna lie, I'd be like why ain't this thing?
• 5:29
  Speaker 3: But then, after about two minutes, I've noticed it's like, all of a sudden, you feel this like adjustment or calm come over you and you go when you're like oh I, I can do this, and it feels in this difficult, your body heating up.
• 5:43
  Speaker 2: It's a whole bunch of benefits, yeah, but better than coffee say that much god bless you, so you could have that one yeah, I'll take it.
• 5:52
  Speaker 3: It's interesting.
• 5:53
  Speaker 3: It helps me so much.
• 5:54
  Speaker 3: Endurance all this.
• 5:55
  Speaker 2: Let's go for it, yeah no, and that's what's important as far as what you're used to, how long you've been doing that for oh, when did I start?
• 6:05
  Speaker 3: I think?
• 6:06
  Speaker 3: I think the that's a good question.
• 6:08
  Speaker 3: I would say about two years, because I started with listening to.
• 6:12
  Speaker 3: I forgot how I got introduced to the windmoth, windmoth, windmoth method.
• 6:15
  Speaker 3: Let's say I listened to the audiobook and he sells you very hard and taking a cold shower, I was like all right, fine.
• 6:22
  Speaker 3: So started out gradually.
• 6:23
  Speaker 3: Like he says, do 30 seconds, you do that for a week, then you bump it to another three seconds.
• 6:28
  Speaker 3: So after three, four weeks you're at like a couple minutes.
• 6:32
  Speaker 3: So I initially was doing it.
• 6:33
  Speaker 3: I would take my word to the shower and then end with the cold and then after a while I was like I forget why.
• 6:41
  Speaker 3: I'll listen to the joe rogan podcast and see if they've seen, see other people on YouTube.
• 6:45
  Speaker 3: I wanted to.
• 6:45
  Speaker 3: I got into, I haven't done one yet.
• 6:47
  Speaker 3: The cold plunge was like much colder and Joe Rogan only talks about it three minutes.
• 6:52
  Speaker 3: I hate it Sucks, but once I'm out I'm better.
• 6:55
  Speaker 3: I feel happier, better mood.
• 6:57
  Speaker 3: I was like all right.
• 6:58
  Speaker 3: So then I was like let me just do three minutes of cold shower instead and start my day that way.
• 7:03
  Speaker 3: It really does make a big difference.
• 7:05
  Speaker 3: You're like, oh, I feel happier, don't?
• 7:09
  Speaker 3: I don't?
• 7:09
  Speaker 3: It's pretty how that works, but you will have better mood.
• 7:11
  Speaker 3: Look, I feel better, wow great, that's great.
• 7:14
  Speaker 2: Now, people, now you see, this is another way to get your mind together yeah, it does, because they're no.
• 7:21
  Speaker 3: And the serious laugh that last I'll say about this, because typically what I do I'll have I'll take an energy shot or some cream to help keep my body going to work out.
• 7:28
  Speaker 3: There have been times when I'm it's the energy shots hit me and I'm sitting there I'm like I'm just not, I'm just not right.
• 7:36
  Speaker 3: Then I take a little shower and then I just first there's more.
• 7:40
  Speaker 3: I got out and I was like yo, let's go, let's, let's do this, let's go get it worked.
• 7:43
  Speaker 3: I was like there's a need to kick.
• 7:46
  Speaker 3: So that means that for me, my body's, we need to do this so we can fully get going that's awesome that's awesome, that's awesome.
• 7:54
  Speaker 2: So let's get into the meat of the ground here why, why we're here, and that was some good information as far as that, too, here.
• 7:59
  Speaker 2: Yeah, so can you explain what credit report repair is and how it works?
• 8:02
  Speaker 2: So what credit repair is and how it works.
• 8:06
  Speaker 3: So what credit repair is?
• 8:07
  Speaker 3: I'll say, ok, no, let me just.
• 8:08
  Speaker 3: I'll tell you what it's not.
• 8:09
  Speaker 3: It's not a miracle.
• 8:11
  Speaker 3: People please stop coming to us hoping that I'm going to snap my fingers, you're going to be the 700, 800.
• 8:18
  Speaker 3: That's not how it works.
• 8:19
  Speaker 3: We I just.
• 8:20
  Speaker 3: That's not what it is.
• 8:22
  Speaker 3: What credit repair is at least the way I define it it's, first and foremost, educating you on credit how it works.
• 8:31
  Speaker 3: What it's not taught, just like financial literacy educating you what is how it works right.
• 8:37
  Speaker 3: Then also, in addition to that, it's disputing the negative items on your credit report, meaning our inquiries, late payments, collections, charge of bankruptcies, to get deleted off the file.
• 8:50
  Speaker 3: It can also include, if need be, settling on certain accounts, like charge of collections methodology, that where, depending on who, you would have a resource they call it debt recontracting their debt settlement to where they look at what's going on, cast violations by the debt collectors to get to then settle on it or, if any case, get that wave and and depending on what the debt collector may have done, you may give money back over to you and get out of the room again.
• 9:25
  Speaker 3: This is an imagined pill.
• 9:27
  Speaker 3: It's by understanding your rights, everything else.
• 9:29
  Speaker 3: So that way.
• 9:30
  Speaker 3: If you have to go through that, I'm gonna tell you how it works, because when we're done, you have to maintain it.
• 9:36
  Speaker 3: It's a lifelong thing.
• 9:37
  Speaker 3: It does not, being a factory line, unfortunately, and that's what how I would say it's saying.
• 9:42
  Speaker 3: Here's what it it is that works.
• 9:44
  Speaker 3: Here's what we're going to do for you, to help get you where you want to be and then maintain it afterward.
• 9:48
  Speaker 3: That way, should anything else happen to you down the line, I'm going to work with you versus for a lot of people A lot of people in my space will not say this.
• 9:56
  Speaker 3: A lot of people will get their credit fixed.
• 9:59
  Speaker 3: They'll get to that $700 or they get the car, what they want, and then about six months later right back where they were prior.
• 10:09
  Speaker 3: Yep, that's gonna get it.
• 10:10
  Speaker 2: And again it's like stop doing that, because it just makes it harder to keep going from that point on oh, absolutely, and that was actually one of the things I was going to ask you about the common misconceptions about credit repaid services.
• 10:21
  Speaker 2: I think you just answered that question there no, no, there's another one one.
• 10:24
  Speaker 3: No, there is a common misconception.
• 10:25
  Speaker 3: People think credit repair, some people think that it's the same as debt consolidation or like paying off debt, and it's not.
• 10:33
  Speaker 3: Those are two different things, three different things.
• 10:36
  Speaker 3: So it's not the same because, if you don't know, I'm not negotiating with the creditor unless it comes down to it, and I will say this to you as well.
• 10:43
  Speaker 3: If you do that collection charge off, there is a possibility.
• 10:47
  Speaker 3: I don't know the chance, but I'd say this sometimes people do get sued by the original creditor of the debt collector because they can do that.
• 10:54
  Speaker 3: But again, even happens.
• 10:56
  Speaker 3: You have rights and how to um navigate that, because what most people do?
• 11:02
  Speaker 3: They see the court summons and they go nope, and it's not.
• 11:05
  Speaker 3: You don't do it because they're going to show up for court.
• 11:08
  Speaker 3: You're not going to show up.
• 11:09
  Speaker 3: The judge will be all right, default judgment.
• 11:10
  Speaker 3: You were in your favor.
• 11:11
  Speaker 3: When you can avoid court, maybe come out some whatever settlement and then also, in addition to asking for a paper deletion and then get it off and then you're good to go.
• 11:23
  Speaker 3: You have to understand, doesn't matter what this, what the situation, you have rights.
• 11:27
  Speaker 3: Know that when it comes to this and give it the right resource, and if I'm not a lawyer, I'll say it's not a lawyer, but I have resources that specialize in this area.
• 11:36
  Speaker 3: I will help you with that by referring to them, because they'll be to tell you x, y and z do this, you're good people been happy and they're like, thinking like.
• 11:44
  Speaker 3: You're welcome.
• 11:44
  Speaker 3: You do not need to stress about this.
• 11:46
  Speaker 2: Sorry for the long tangent no, that's good, and you can refer them to me, because that's what we do the legal shield but, there's so many other things people don't know about.
• 11:56
  Speaker 3: You're about debt collector violations and I'm like you won't know this stuff and I'm like it's insane no, absolutely, absolutely, yeah.
• 12:03
  Speaker 2: So let me ask you another question.
• 12:05
  Speaker 2: So how does credit impact a person's financial opportunities, such as home ownership or business?
• 12:11
  Speaker 3: loans.
• 12:12
  Speaker 3: Yeah, credit, not no longer is something that denies you chances to get loan money like a personal loan.
• 12:18
  Speaker 3: Most people are saying, hey, I have to.
• 12:20
  Speaker 3: If you don't have good credit, it's hard to rent an apartment, but you can forget getting a mortgage.
• 12:25
  Speaker 3: And if you do get a mortgage, a little credit score, you'll pay an arm and a leg and then some to get it.
• 12:32
  Speaker 3: You'll come with so much money table and then also there's so many conditions they have put in place.
• 12:37
  Speaker 3: Don't do that, just put in time to come.
• 12:40
  Speaker 3: That way, if you get at least 620, you can qualify for certain programs.
• 12:44
  Speaker 3: Also, depending on your job and what you get, it's so much better.
• 12:47
  Speaker 3: There's that it can cost you more money with, depending on the state.
• 12:52
  Speaker 3: They're changing this.
• 12:53
  Speaker 3: Homeowner's insurance, car insurance, life insurance, health insurance I don't agree with it.
• 13:02
  Speaker 3: But I'm thinking of my driving record should be the factor in my insurance premiums, not because if you can't pay your bills you're like screw it, I don't care, I dropped today and just go crazy on the road.
• 13:13
  Speaker 3: That's two of the things that makes argument is a correlation Sure there is, I see that, a lot of insurance.
• 13:19
  Speaker 2: auto insurance companies are now checking your credit.
• 13:22
  Speaker 3: Yeah, they do, and it's not like it's a huge impact with some influence that you want to lower it.
• 13:28
  Speaker 3: There's that.
• 13:30
  Speaker 3: Hospitals run your credit.
• 13:31
  Speaker 3: It's a soft pull even to have health insurance, because people forget hospitals are business.
• 13:35
  Speaker 3: If they got to do whatever they got to do, they want to make sure they're going to get some money back or whatever, because they do that.
• 13:41
  Speaker 3: It's a soft pull, but there's that.
• 13:42
  Speaker 3: The other thing I want to tell people is that credit can also deny you opportunity to make more money.
• 13:48
  Speaker 3: Jobs check, your credit softball, depending on the industry.
• 13:52
  Speaker 3: You can be denied getting certain appointments with certain insurance companies.
• 13:56
  Speaker 3: Credit clearances can be denied.
• 13:59
  Speaker 3: You can lose your job due to your credit, also depending on what career you're in, whether you're in the government, where you, what career?
• 14:04
  Speaker 3: Where you're living, where you're from the government, military, certain things, or even in the medical field.
• 14:08
  Speaker 3: Due to your bad credit, you can be denied a lateral move or even a promotion.
• 14:13
  Speaker 3: Wow, yeah, so it's not just like you can't get money, it's be alone, but you can now have things to make money, because, at the end of the day, what people don't understand is that when you, if you get bad credit, they're judging you based on what's on paper and you have to look at your own file, which is hard to do for a lot of people because it's scary.
• 14:29
  Speaker 3: I get that, I've been there.
• 14:30
  Speaker 3: You have to understand if you're showing up, if your credit is represented and showing collections charge of late teams, all these things.
• 14:39
  Speaker 3: What you're saying is character wise, I don't care to pay my creditors and people back on a timely manner.
• 14:44
  Speaker 3: Then people think, okay, if I pay this collection charge off, I'll be good.
• 14:50
  Speaker 3: No, because then what happens is it gets updated being a paid collection charge off.
• 14:54
  Speaker 3: Then again they look at it and then they think so you didn't want to pay anyone back until you defaulted on these accounts, or you paid it back because you got sued.
• 15:03
  Speaker 3: So I'm supposed to look to you to loan you money or hire you for my company, because guess what?
• 15:08
  Speaker 3: To be true, he who has the gold makes the rules, or he who pays you the money makes the rules.
• 15:13
  Speaker 3: So if they want you with a certain character financially, they can do that.
• 15:16
  Speaker 3: I don't care who did it, but I'm not the employer.
• 15:18
  Speaker 3: So that's what I have to look at.
• 15:19
  Speaker 3: So how do you look on paper?
• 15:25
  Speaker 2: That is so true.
• 15:25
  Speaker 2: So I got so many things that you're going to have to come back on my show.
• 15:29
  Speaker 2: I know, apart from you right, there's a lot to this, it's not just like credits, Like oh no.
• 15:33
  Speaker 2: No, it's a lot, but yeah.
• 15:37
  Speaker 2: So what are the first steps someone should take to improve their credit score and what are some of the common mistakes that they make trying to fix their own credit?
• 15:45
  Speaker 2: I know there's a two-in-one questionnaire.
• 15:47
  Speaker 3: I know, but one of them I just mentioned is paying the collection charge off.
• 15:50
  Speaker 3: So they don't have to.
• 15:50
  Speaker 3: That's one.
• 15:51
  Speaker 3: But before let's step back, the first thing you have to and again this is the hardest for some people because it's a scary step With HandlingCreditReportcom they now allow you to pull your credit report once a week for free.
• 16:04
  Speaker 3: Do all three bureaus.
• 16:05
  Speaker 3: Do not pay for your score.
• 16:06
  Speaker 3: There's a reason behind.
• 16:09
  Speaker 3: They did that because Congress required them to do this back in the 90s and the bureaus were like that's not fair.
• 16:13
  Speaker 3: How can we make money?
• 16:14
  Speaker 3: Oh, we'll charge them for their credit scores.
• 16:17
  Speaker 3: So don't do it.
• 16:18
  Speaker 3: Or, if you don't want to do that, you can use, you can pay for credit monitoring.
• 16:29
  Speaker 3: That gives you all three bureaus, not credit karma trash.
• 16:31
  Speaker 3: We use my score if you recommend that, or you use my fico is going to get fico score, which is by 90 of companies on the stage you get all three bureaus.
• 16:37
  Speaker 3: You need to get all three reports and start looking at on that.
• 16:40
  Speaker 3: And then you want to look at just four tiers your credit report, four tiers personal information, hard inquiries, your accounts and public record.
• 16:47
  Speaker 3: You want to look at all that information and the personal information will contain your name, variation of your name, birth date, phone number, social, current address, old addresses you've worked at, old employees you worked at and you want to look at that and go, okay, is my name spelled correctly?
• 17:01
  Speaker 3: Do I have names in my heart?
• 17:02
  Speaker 3: Mine is my birth date.
• 17:04
  Speaker 3: Do I have more than one social?
• 17:05
  Speaker 3: Are my current addresses correct?
• 17:07
  Speaker 3: That happens on the old addresses too.
• 17:09
  Speaker 3: Some people have addresses on it that they've never lived at.
• 17:13
  Speaker 3: I have one client who did this process when we had people calling the bureaus to update this and I don't know one bureau had him for his name, had him listed as a state highway for his name.
• 17:25
  Speaker 3: This stuff happens and we'll tell you.
• 17:30
  Speaker 3: So you want to go through that and clean that up, to have one name was listed on your social security card one current address, one correct social, no old addresses, one current report.
• 17:41
  Speaker 3: That way you look clean again about paper Two, look at your hard inquiries.
• 17:45
  Speaker 3: You can dispute those as well.
• 17:46
  Speaker 3: See which ones are again yours or not yours.
• 17:50
  Speaker 3: You can see them anyway.
• 17:51
  Speaker 3: Otherwise they stand for 10 years.
• 17:54
  Speaker 3: Then comes the accounts, whichever focuses on.
• 17:56
  Speaker 3: Look at your accounts, look at the payment history.
• 17:58
  Speaker 3: This is also important because that one portion I was speaking with.
• 18:01
  Speaker 3: They had fraud.
• 18:03
  Speaker 3: They had a collection on there that they didn't sign for from department complex that they never lived at.
• 18:08
  Speaker 3: Somehow someone got the information and then they some other stuff too was nuts that happens.
• 18:15
  Speaker 3: Go through all those at your account.
• 18:16
  Speaker 3: Great, is it a charge of collection?
• 18:18
  Speaker 3: That's fine.
• 18:19
  Speaker 3: Go through all of them, go okay.
• 18:21
  Speaker 3: Then look at the public record.
• 18:22
  Speaker 3: Anything in there, no awesome.
• 18:25
  Speaker 3: From there you have to look at okay, what can I dispute late payments, collection charge-offs, hard inquiries.
• 18:31
  Speaker 3: Then the other side to it is looking at what do I need to continue to build upon or add?
• 18:36
  Speaker 3: Here's how you know if you have to add new credit when you're looking at your report and all you have are collections charged off and all your accounts are closed.
• 18:48
  Speaker 3: Or some people, all they have are collection charged off.
• 18:52
  Speaker 3: What happens is people don't know this, they dispute stuff, they get some big completions, their score goes up and it stagnates because you're not building new credit.
• 18:58
  Speaker 3: So if you have nothing but negative items on there, meaning nothing but collections charged off, or you have a combination of that plus closed accounts, you have to start rebuilding credit in your name again, because if you don't, the stock comes off.
• 19:11
  Speaker 3: The report was stagnant.
• 19:12
  Speaker 3: You're not building anything new.
• 19:14
  Speaker 3: A great analogy I make is save the backyard.
• 19:17
  Speaker 3: And your backyard is filled with nothing but dead plants and trees and stuff.
• 19:23
  Speaker 3: If you clear it out, great, the backyard is clean.
• 19:26
  Speaker 3: But unless you plant new, fertile, new soil and seeds and plants and fertilize and everything else, nothing new will grow from there.
• 19:33
  Speaker 3: You'll have an empty backyard, nothing.
• 19:35
  Speaker 3: Same thing with credit.
• 19:36
  Speaker 3: You have to start doing that.
• 19:37
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I agree.
• 19:39
  Speaker 2: I agree.
• 19:39
  Speaker 2: So I'm going to ask you this.
• 19:40
  Speaker 2: And then we got to get to it because I want to get to your AIMA Solutions Group.
• 19:44
  Speaker 2: Support for seniors how unique, what unique credit challenges do seniors face and how can they overcome them?
• 19:53
  Speaker 3: Great question, because most people I work with are mostly between 20 to 50, maybe 60.
• 20:00
  Speaker 3: And I'll say this For seniors it's different, because you're you're like yeah, I'm done with this, I don't need this anymore.
• 20:07
  Speaker 3: You've been through it, you've been your light paying tax.
• 20:09
  Speaker 3: You're like I'm trying to look forward to just make it to the end and be chill.
• 20:13
  Speaker 3: What I can say is this if you have not stayed on top of your credit in years, you need to look at it because again it they, these companies do not care how old you are or what you've done.
• 20:27
  Speaker 3: The challenge you run into as a senior citizen is that if you've not maintained your credit score and it's gone to the crapper and then you get credit pulled again, you will get judged.
• 20:38
  Speaker 3: They're going to look at you and go.
• 20:39
  Speaker 3: You're 65, 70 years old.
• 20:40
  Speaker 3: Why is your credit terrible?
• 20:41
  Speaker 3: They will not say this to you.
• 20:42
  Speaker 3: They'll think that and then they'll be like goodbye.
• 20:48
  Speaker 3: There was one guy we were trying to work with didn't work out because this character was she was insane, she would cuss me out.
• 20:52
  Speaker 3: So it was weird.
• 20:52
  Speaker 3: I was like don't hate me, but he was 75, he was a veteran trying to get a house 580 denied and I'm like, okay, let's help him, but they didn't care.
• 21:01
  Speaker 3: It does not matter, unless you're like wealthy as anything at that point, which most people aren't you still need to maintain it and just look at it and just stay on top of it.
• 21:11
  Speaker 3: But from what I've heard from most people who are older, they understand credit report and they'll stay on top of it.
• 21:16
  Speaker 3: They'll be in the 800s highest in the 100s and they won't apply for a damn thing.
• 21:20
  Speaker 3: They're like nope, unless you pay the money for it.
• 21:23
  Speaker 3: Then I understand that.
• 21:24
  Speaker 3: That makes sense.
• 21:25
  Speaker 3: You want to use my credit?
• 21:26
  Speaker 3: How much do you want to pay for it?
• 21:27
  Speaker 3: It's gold, it's priceless.
• 21:29
  Speaker 3: That's what I would say, senior citizens.
• 21:36
  Speaker 3: Someone wants to pay you for using credit.
• 21:37
  Speaker 3: Charge them money Because the money will come back to them.
• 21:39
  Speaker 3: They need to pay you for your time, effort and the discipline yeah, which you can do your time, effort and the discipline yeah, which you can do.
• 21:48
  Speaker 3: Actually, here's the money hack, senior citizens.
• 21:51
  Speaker 3: You want to make a section of money.
• 21:51
  Speaker 3: You can add people as an authorized user to your credit card.
• 21:55
  Speaker 3: You can charge monthly however much money you want, the card that comes to you.
• 22:01
  Speaker 3: Don't give it to them, they don't need it and then it goes in their file.
• 22:04
  Speaker 3: It's great you want to do that.
• 22:05
  Speaker 3: If you don't give it to them, they don't need it.
• 22:06
  Speaker 3: And then it goes in their file through school grade.
• 22:07
  Speaker 3: You want to do that.
• 22:08
  Speaker 3: You're in 800s and stuff.
• 22:09
  Speaker 3: You got good credit cards.
• 22:09
  Speaker 3: Never been late.
• 22:10
  Speaker 3: Balance is paid off, cool.
• 22:11
  Speaker 3: I ask them seriously how much you want for it.
• 22:16
  Speaker 2: And look them dead in the eye.
• 22:18
  Speaker 2: And I was going to say because a lot of seniors get scammed, yeah, and also some of them are struggling with medical bills or credit predatory lending yeah.
• 22:29
  Speaker 2: So that's something that they have to look out to.
• 22:31
  Speaker 2: So it's always good for them to check their credit report to make sure that's you that's doing this here, definitely.
• 22:37
  Speaker 2: So let's talk about because we're winding down time I told you I had to have you back on here.
• 22:40
  Speaker 2: I told you I'd have you back on here.
• 22:41
  Speaker 2: Let's talk about A1 Solutions Group, which you're the CEO.
• 22:45
  Speaker 2: What inspired you to start your journey in the financial services or credit repair industry?
• 22:50
  Speaker 3: Okay, 2013, I was 27 years old and I was at the bankruptcy courts in green bed, maryland, going bankrupt at 27.
• 22:58
  Speaker 3: That was a humbling moment because I thought, for every reason that had that moment in time, only people in their 40s, 50s and 60s declared bankruptcy due to medical bills.
• 23:08
  Speaker 3: I think here I was, 27, proved myself wrong real hard, so that started me down the journey.
• 23:15
  Speaker 3: I got certified with credit pair.
• 23:16
  Speaker 3: Then then fast forward, I got hired by a welfare company that was in small business lending and then really saw credit really impacts that and then that led me to become a broker for a little bit and the people would say, oh, I'm tired of these hiring business loans.
• 23:31
  Speaker 3: I would ask them which credit score.
• 23:33
  Speaker 3: A lot of them would say, oh, it was being low sixes or high fives and I'm like, well, unless you change that, you're not going to get the business as you want.
• 23:41
  Speaker 3: So I started referring to the other company that would fix the personal in their business credit and then moved to Winchester, virginia, and so my girlfriend lives here.
• 23:53
  Speaker 3: So that's why I got here first off, didn't have anything here.
• 23:56
  Speaker 3: I came here I didn't have a job.
• 23:57
  Speaker 3: I had insurance license, I knew a processor.
• 23:59
  Speaker 3: I didn't know anybody.
• 24:00
  Speaker 3: I had no car, nothing, bad credit still.
• 24:02
  Speaker 3: Then I started to grow up, have a small business again called up cold calling banks here locally, back calling Maryland.
• 24:08
  Speaker 3: One lady beggars like hey, I'll send you business, any business, but left me in person my girlfriend at the time she still was saying I'm sorry, she still was saying girlfriend was saying my girlfriend at that my girlfriend, luckily, fortunate at the time had a new car, shut me right, driving an hour and a half away meet with his banker, sat down and talked to him in business card I'm a now business partner and decided to jump headfirst into credit then.
• 24:33
  Speaker 3: That's why I got into it then and learned way more to the game that I realized to basically to where I'm at today that's awesome, but what sets you apart from my other financial and credit repair services?
• 24:47
  Speaker 2: I tell people the truth yeah, um, we do that.
• 24:53
  Speaker 3: Uh, we tell people the truth.
• 24:54
  Speaker 3: I tell them look, my intention is to help you understand this, versus fix it and go away.
• 24:58
  Speaker 3: Two, we provide our clients lifetime protection and credit, meaning, once you're done with the process, stay with us as a client.
• 25:06
  Speaker 3: Anything that's happened because again it follows you for life We'll dispute, help you out without you paying anything extra to pocket.
• 25:13
  Speaker 3: You're covered on that.
• 25:14
  Speaker 3: Three, I'm also a certified life coach, so I provide coaching for my clients If they want it, truly dive deeper into the root causes of what you got in the first place.
• 25:24
  Speaker 3: So we don't address that again.
• 25:25
  Speaker 3: Credit payers are a band-aid.
• 25:26
  Speaker 3: Let's dive into that and give you more resource.
• 25:29
  Speaker 3: Let's have a big network of people helping you out with legal stuff.
• 25:32
  Speaker 3: Like you, I have one client of mine that helped me build a resume, found something like that, and then out of that we're collaborating now to do more business, to help do financial literacy for adults.
• 25:41
  Speaker 3: We have that.
• 25:43
  Speaker 3: So if you need something a new realtor, loan officer I'm going to hook you up.
• 25:47
  Speaker 3: I can't do something credit-wise.
• 25:49
  Speaker 3: I know someone that can.
• 25:50
  Speaker 3: You're good.
• 25:51
  Speaker 3: It's not just us, it's me and the entire network to help you out.
• 25:54
  Speaker 2: Yeah, Absolutely, and that's why collaboration is the key to success.
• 25:58
  Speaker 2: You have partners and you're working together.
• 26:00
  Speaker 2: That's how you work together as far as collaborating with each other.
• 26:02
  Speaker 2: So let me ask you something else, and then we'll wind it down, because I want you to share the links I'm going to put it on the show notes of where they can get their credit scores as well.
• 26:13
  Speaker 2: So how has your role as ceo involved in the company's inception?
• 26:15
  Speaker 2: I think we already talked about that a little bit.
• 26:17
  Speaker 2: But your team you have a team that you work with, right, you work with everybody as far as um the collaboration.
• 26:25
  Speaker 2: But how has your role as a ceo involved into your company's inception?
• 26:29
  Speaker 2: I think you said that in the beginning, right?
• 26:33
  Speaker 3: yeah, I would say, because the company wasn't started by me.
• 26:36
  Speaker 3: It started by my business partner back in 2010.
• 26:38
  Speaker 3: So I came on board in 2019 and first became official managing partner in 2020, right before the pandemic happened.
• 26:44
  Speaker 3: It's crazy.
• 26:45
  Speaker 3: My role has changed because I've learned that people need more.
• 26:57
  Speaker 3: I'm repeating myself, but I do this because it's important.
• 27:01
  Speaker 3: People need more help than just critical.
• 27:03
  Speaker 3: They really do need that accountability to guide them through things, because life happens, things happen.
• 27:09
  Speaker 3: The economy has been the best, there's challenge, all these things be like, look like.
• 27:13
  Speaker 3: Let's work more closely so I can help you to realize the power within you to help change things in your life.
• 27:22
  Speaker 3: That way, as we come together, it's not just two rockets, it's ends up being three or four times as fast and really seeing that people need that.
• 27:32
  Speaker 3: Help with bond to literacy, really need help with.
• 27:36
  Speaker 3: Okay, before we talk about budgeting the money you get, where is it going?
• 27:42
  Speaker 3: Let's be where we're at first, because your credit is a reflection of your financial behavior.
• 27:47
  Speaker 3: Your financial behavior is a reflection of your beliefs and all this other stuff, and realize that people need more help if they want it.
• 27:52
  Speaker 3: And that's the hard part people.
• 27:54
  Speaker 3: It's meaning, hey, I have things I need to work on, but I'm not sure if I want it.
• 27:55
  Speaker 3: And that's the hard part, people.
• 27:56
  Speaker 3: It's meaning, hey, I have things that I work on, but I'm not sure if I want to admit that to somebody, because it's a personal thing and I understand it.
• 28:01
  Speaker 3: But if you do that, everything else changes dramatically for you.
• 28:05
  Speaker 2: And that makes sense.
• 28:06
  Speaker 2: That makes sense.
• 28:07
  Speaker 2: So what are your future goals for A1 Solutions?
• 28:11
  Speaker 3: So the future goal I have for this year, I'm going to have this setup where I'm going to take a step back.
• 28:18
  Speaker 3: I'm not going to stop doing it, but I'll have a sales team handling things, helping with their credit, doing more small business funding, and that's where it's running and growing without me having to be there at present time, Because what I'm doing this year is in the transitioning that's happening.
• 28:34
  Speaker 3: I have another business, a life coaching business called Infinite Power Coaching, and I have a product podcast for that.
• 28:39
  Speaker 3: We're doing more of that and I also have worked on and launched a men's course.
• 28:45
  Speaker 3: So I'm nutrition doing that and so that's what I'm moving on to.
• 28:50
  Speaker 3: But you know I'm never going to drop this because it's still needed everywhere.
• 29:01
  Speaker 3: Everywhere I go, people like to know hey, we have a podcast.
• 29:02
  Speaker 3: I know there's other things and it's just something I'm like I can't drop, but I like just helping people out.
• 29:05
  Speaker 3: I was like, let me tell you that there's light in the sun on your suit, which is not that bad.
• 29:08
  Speaker 3: You know about this, I had no idea.
• 29:10
  Speaker 3: You're welcome.
• 29:11
  Speaker 2: And that's what it's about is sharing your knowledge, your information, with people.
• 29:15
  Speaker 2: So what legacy do you hope A1 Solutions Group leaves behind?
• 29:19
  Speaker 3: I've never thought of that.
• 29:20
  Speaker 3: That's a good question.
• 29:21
  Speaker 3: What legacy?
• 29:23
  Speaker 3: I would say just helping people beyond, helping people to empower them to maintain their credit and have the change they want in their how, change they want in their lives financially, and know that they can achieve their financial goals and way more.
• 29:42
  Speaker 3: They're not stuck.
• 29:44
  Speaker 2: Not getting stuck, but you can.
• 29:46
  Speaker 2: What do you call it?
• 29:47
  Speaker 2: A setback to have a comeback is what I call it, exactly, yeah, so thank you so much, matt, for being on the show.
• 29:55
  Speaker 2: So tell people how they can get in touch with you.
• 29:56
  Speaker 2: I'm going to put this in.
• 29:57
  Speaker 2: You can send that to me as well.
• 29:58
  Speaker 2: Put it on the show notes, as well as tips and something, and also I had a considerable coaching call with you.
• 30:04
  Speaker 3: Oh, perfect If they want to get a hold of me.
• 30:06
  Speaker 3: It should still be up.
• 30:07
  Speaker 3: You can go to speakwithmattinfo.
• 30:11
  Speaker 3: No need to put in trip W because if you do it won't work.
• 30:14
  Speaker 3: I don't know why.
• 30:14
  Speaker 3: But speakwithmattnfl.
• 30:16
  Speaker 3: That'll take you directly to my calendar link.
• 30:18
  Speaker 3: We'll go through a minute call.
• 30:20
  Speaker 3: We'll resume.
• 30:20
  Speaker 3: You can do that.
• 30:22
  Speaker 3: You can also go to our website at wwwa1solutionsgroupcom I'm going to say it again because it's for the group A number one, not spelled just a1solutionsgroupcom, not spelled just A1SolutionsGroupcom.
• 30:34
  Speaker 3: And then you can use MySquaredQcom to get your credit report or do it the free way.
• 30:42
  Speaker 3: Either way it's still beneficial.
• 30:44
  Speaker 3: You need to see everything on there.
• 30:45
  Speaker 2: Awesome.
• 30:46
  Speaker 2: Thank you so much, matt, because this is definitely needed for us to start this new year.
• 30:50
  Speaker 2: I appreciate you being on the Ready Set Collaborate podcast Listen audience.
• 30:55
  Speaker 2: Definitely get in touch with Matt and I'm going to put his information in the show notes, but make sure you follow, download and share these episodes, especially with Matt.
• 31:07
  Speaker 2: This is a new year, 2025.
• 31:09
  Speaker 2: We've got to start getting our stuff in order and this is a great way to get our stuff in order as far as your credit, financially, your goals to help you start the new year off.
• 31:19
  Speaker 2: Matt, thanks again for being on this on the podcast.
• 31:21
  Speaker 2: I appreciate it.
• 31:22
  Speaker 2: I am on all podcast platforms Ready set collaborate with Wanda Pearson.
• 31:28
  Speaker 2: Thank you so much, matt.
• 31:29
  Speaker 3: Thank you, aminah, I appreciate it.
• 31:31
  Speaker 1: Thank you for tuning into this episode of Ready Set Collaborate.
• 31:36
  Speaker 1: For more information about the host head to WDPearsonAssociatescom and that's P-E-A-R-S-O-N.
• 31:47
  Speaker 1: Want to connect?
• 31:48
  Speaker 1: Send an email to Wanda at WDPearsonAssociatescom.
• 31:52
  Speaker 1: At WDPearsonAssociatescom.
• 31:55
  Speaker 1: And, as always, stay tuned for the next episode of Ready Set Collaborating.