WEBVTT - What is Debt Relief? ft. Dasha Kennedy & Natalia Brown 0:00:00.160 --> 0:00:02.840 Hey, hey, ba fam, are you ready to level up 0:00:02.920 --> 0:00:06.320 your career finally and make twenty twenty five your most 0:00:06.360 --> 0:00:09.920 ambitious year yet? If you're nodding along, I have got 0:00:09.920 --> 0:00:13.480 something amazing for you. It's called the Five Day Career 0:00:13.720 --> 0:00:18.040 Reboot Challenge. This five day challenge kicks off January fifteenth, 0:00:18.040 --> 0:00:21.040 and it is packed with strategies to help you tackle 0:00:21.079 --> 0:00:25.079 the job market like a pro. This challenge includes daily 0:00:25.200 --> 0:00:29.280 emails with exclusive video lessons from me, your favorite career 0:00:29.320 --> 0:00:32.680 coach and brand Ambition host Mandy. Every day, I'm going 0:00:32.760 --> 0:00:35.479 to walk you through actionable steps to make your career 0:00:35.600 --> 0:00:38.319 reboot a success. It's going to be like having your 0:00:38.320 --> 0:00:41.240 own personal coach cheering you on every step of the way. 0:00:41.640 --> 0:00:44.760 You're also going to get two live group coaching calls 0:00:44.840 --> 0:00:47.120 with me where we can dive deeper and answer your 0:00:47.200 --> 0:00:50.280 questions live and you feel like you're not in this alone. 0:00:50.880 --> 0:00:52.840 I'm going to teach you how to use cutting edge 0:00:52.920 --> 0:00:56.200 AI tools to revamp your resume and your LinkedIn profile 0:00:56.280 --> 0:00:59.760 so your brand is poppin'. I'm also going to help 0:00:59.800 --> 0:01:02.520 you take the cringe out of networking so you can 0:01:02.560 --> 0:01:04.919 find the right people who can open doors you didn't 0:01:04.920 --> 0:01:09.120 even know existed. Now here's the investment. You can join 0:01:09.200 --> 0:01:12.720 the Career Reboot Challenge now for just ninety seven dollars. 0:01:12.720 --> 0:01:14.960 But you got a hurry because the price is going 0:01:15.080 --> 0:01:18.559 up to one twenty seven on January seventh. Don't miss 0:01:18.600 --> 0:01:21.480 out lock in this lower rate now. Okay, So, if 0:01:21.520 --> 0:01:24.880 you're ready to transform your career, head over to mandymoney 0:01:24.920 --> 0:01:28.200 dot com slash Reboot to sign up today. That's m 0:01:28.319 --> 0:01:32.959 A N d I money dot com slash Reboot. Don't 0:01:33.000 --> 0:01:35.440 be playing and spelled my name wrong. It's Mandy with 0:01:35.480 --> 0:01:38.440 an I. Okay. If I'm gonna call y'all bea fam, 0:01:38.440 --> 0:01:41.679 you gotta spell my name right. Mandymoney dot com slash 0:01:41.840 --> 0:01:45.280 Reboot spots are limited and you don't want to miss 0:01:45.280 --> 0:01:49.560 this opportunity. Remember, bafam, your dream job is closer than 0:01:49.560 --> 0:01:51.880 you think, but you're not gonna get it unless you 0:01:52.000 --> 0:01:54.920 take action and start taking the small steps that can 0:01:54.960 --> 0:01:58.480 get you there. Visit Mandy money dot com slash Reboot 0:01:58.640 --> 0:02:18.440 now and let's get started on your next big career move. Hey, hey, 0:02:18.520 --> 0:02:23.520 ba fam, we have some company in the studeo today. 0:02:24.360 --> 0:02:27.080 This has been a long time coming and I can't 0:02:27.120 --> 0:02:29.280 think of a better way to kick off the year, 0:02:29.840 --> 0:02:34.320 especially when Brown Ambition fam, y'all have been so generous 0:02:34.360 --> 0:02:37.440 and kind to let me peek into the window of 0:02:37.520 --> 0:02:42.960 your financial stressors, Like what is keeping you up at night? 0:02:43.560 --> 0:02:48.880 What is getting y'all stressed when it comes to your finances? 0:02:49.080 --> 0:02:52.000 Is it housing? Is it groceries? Is it jobs? Is 0:02:52.000 --> 0:02:55.840 it transportation? And I have to say, I'm going to 0:02:55.880 --> 0:02:58.960 share some of those survey results with y'all, but because 0:02:59.000 --> 0:03:00.840 of the results, I just knew I had to do 0:03:00.880 --> 0:03:08.120 an episode all around the dirty D word debt, debt, debt, debt, debt, y'all. 0:03:08.240 --> 0:03:10.720 One of the most viral clips from Brown Ambition of 0:03:10.760 --> 0:03:14.680 twenty twenty four was when I Mandy Woodrow Santos, raised 0:03:14.720 --> 0:03:16.520 my hand and I said, yeah, I'm in a bad 0:03:16.560 --> 0:03:19.840 financial place too. I'm in a tough financial spot, like 0:03:20.480 --> 0:03:24.799 housing is so incredibly expensive, taking care of these babies 0:03:24.919 --> 0:03:27.840 is so incredibly expensive. It's like I don't have one mortgage, 0:03:27.880 --> 0:03:33.200 I have three because childcare right and be a fam. Overwhelmingly, 0:03:33.280 --> 0:03:36.520 y'all were so compassionate, but you also shared your stories, 0:03:36.560 --> 0:03:40.040 and that's why I decided let me actually do a 0:03:40.120 --> 0:03:42.960 survey of our audience. It has been a long time, 0:03:43.480 --> 0:03:45.680 and because of that survey, like I said, I just 0:03:45.760 --> 0:03:49.680 knew that I wasn't alone. And Brown Ambition was literally 0:03:49.760 --> 0:03:52.320 created so that we could have a non judgmental table 0:03:52.400 --> 0:03:55.200 to come to. Y'all can feel like you're sitting across 0:03:55.200 --> 0:03:57.160 from your sister friends and we can get through the 0:03:57.200 --> 0:04:01.800 tough times together. So in twenty twenty five, to kick 0:04:01.840 --> 0:04:04.560 off the year, I had to invite some friends along 0:04:04.600 --> 0:04:07.040 for the journey as well, and I couldn't think of 0:04:07.080 --> 0:04:10.040 a more incredible pair than the two women who are 0:04:10.040 --> 0:04:13.760 in the studio today. So let's give a warm ba 0:04:13.800 --> 0:04:18.799 fan welcome to today's company. We have Dasha Kennedy, aka 0:04:18.839 --> 0:04:21.200 the Broke Black Girl. Y'all may know her from these 0:04:21.240 --> 0:04:25.360 Internet streets. Dasha has been a guest on Brown Ambition before, 0:04:25.400 --> 0:04:29.160 and today she is here. She's a trailblazing financial activist 0:04:29.160 --> 0:04:32.080 and educator who's committed to transforming the world of finance 0:04:32.120 --> 0:04:35.680 into a more equitable and accessible space for women, and 0:04:35.839 --> 0:04:38.240 she is joined by her partner in crime for the day, 0:04:38.480 --> 0:04:41.800 Natalia Brown. If y'all haven't heard of Natalia, you must 0:04:41.880 --> 0:04:44.039 get to know my friend, my new friend. Now. She 0:04:44.080 --> 0:04:46.880 has spent on at nearly a decade now working at 0:04:46.920 --> 0:04:50.840 the National Debt Relief. She is the chief Compliance Officer 0:04:50.880 --> 0:04:55.240 and Consumer Affairs Officer at National Debt Relief. And Natalia 0:04:55.279 --> 0:04:58.760 and Dasha are here today because DAYSHA partners with National 0:04:58.760 --> 0:05:01.560 Debt Relief and I want to talk to y'all about 0:05:01.800 --> 0:05:06.080 the word that is keeping me and OURBA fam all 0:05:06.160 --> 0:05:08.719 up at night. So we're going to talk through, hopefully 0:05:08.760 --> 0:05:12.279 a little bit about how the heck a company like 0:05:12.400 --> 0:05:16.080 National Debt Relief even works because I think I ton't 0:05:16.160 --> 0:05:17.720 to tell you when we first met. I have I 0:05:17.760 --> 0:05:21.560 have some questions. Debt relief agencies get a bad rap. 0:05:21.600 --> 0:05:23.880 There's a lot of confusion about what they do what 0:05:23.960 --> 0:05:26.160 they don't do. So I want to get to the 0:05:26.240 --> 0:05:30.320 nitty gritty of like how can y'all help consumers. And then, Dasha, 0:05:30.400 --> 0:05:34.920 you're always giving incredible finance tips to your audience and 0:05:35.200 --> 0:05:37.920 real world talk. I know because you're raising two boys. 0:05:38.200 --> 0:05:41.080 We all have two boys each. Do we decide that 0:05:41.080 --> 0:05:44.520 that's that's a crazy coincidence? And I know that you've 0:05:44.520 --> 0:05:47.880 got some real incredible tips for our audience as well 0:05:47.960 --> 0:05:51.040 on how they can start tackling their debts. So, without 0:05:51.040 --> 0:05:52.880 further ado, welcome ladies. 0:05:53.080 --> 0:05:55.080 Thank you for having us. 0:05:55.160 --> 0:05:59.360 And just for the say hi va vam. So can 0:05:59.400 --> 0:06:01.080 each of y'all just say a few words so that 0:06:01.120 --> 0:06:03.359 people can get used to your voice, because don't you know, 0:06:03.360 --> 0:06:05.080 when like you're on a podcast and you hear three 0:06:05.080 --> 0:06:07.800 different people, you're like, who that whod so day? Should 0:06:07.800 --> 0:06:08.440 you go first? 0:06:09.960 --> 0:06:13.159 Well, I'm Deisha Kennedy, creator of the Roqueg Girl. I'm 0:06:13.200 --> 0:06:15.920 super excited to be here today just to talk about 0:06:15.960 --> 0:06:18.920 it too. Was like you said, I think that within 0:06:18.960 --> 0:06:22.640 itself gets a bad reputation, and we'll really talk about it. 0:06:22.720 --> 0:06:26.040 We find out that it's not this boogieman that has 0:06:26.080 --> 0:06:26.920 been made out to be. 0:06:27.600 --> 0:06:29.520 I don't believe you. I think it absolutely is a 0:06:29.560 --> 0:06:33.760 boogeyman and it's on my back daysha. Okay, So Dasha 0:06:33.880 --> 0:06:36.160 got that real southern where are you from again? 0:06:36.440 --> 0:06:39.600 From the Middlewest? From Saint Louis, Missouri born and raised. 0:06:39.400 --> 0:06:42.240 Oh Saint Louis. I was like, it's country, but it's not. 0:06:42.920 --> 0:06:46.400 It's that nelly country. Okay, gotcha. But now you're in 0:06:46.440 --> 0:06:49.720 Atlanta or word, yes, you're in the A Okay, all right, 0:06:49.839 --> 0:06:52.680 get a little southern flavor, all right, Natalia? All right, 0:06:52.680 --> 0:06:54.160 your turn my turn. 0:06:54.600 --> 0:06:56.760 So I'm Natalia. I just go by that most of 0:06:56.800 --> 0:06:59.080 the time. And I love that you said that Mandy, 0:07:00.600 --> 0:07:03.640 debt doesn't have to be a boogeyman, but I know 0:07:03.720 --> 0:07:06.240 it feels that way. But all you need is a plan, 0:07:06.279 --> 0:07:07.839 and it always feels better. Once you have a plan, 0:07:07.920 --> 0:07:10.280 you know what direction you're going in. And there is 0:07:10.320 --> 0:07:12.120 a lot of stigma. There's a lot of stigma around 0:07:12.200 --> 0:07:14.720 debt itself, around debt relief companies, what we do, what 0:07:14.760 --> 0:07:17.440 we don't do. And the reality is that there are 0:07:17.560 --> 0:07:20.680 laws that you know are in place to protect consumers. 0:07:20.800 --> 0:07:23.720 I am that is my job is to protect our consumers, 0:07:24.120 --> 0:07:27.320 and I'm always putting people first. So I think we 0:07:27.360 --> 0:07:29.600 can talk about that at length. And I hope you 0:07:29.600 --> 0:07:30.680 feel better at the end of it. 0:07:31.600 --> 0:07:34.520 Oh that's kind. I hope that y'all feel better too, 0:07:34.800 --> 0:07:37.480 but at the very least feel better because you are 0:07:37.480 --> 0:07:40.360 not alone. So according to our survey, and I'm happy 0:07:40.360 --> 0:07:42.360 to hear nat if you guys have done any data, 0:07:42.400 --> 0:07:44.280 But like, we get it, people are in debt. Like 0:07:44.840 --> 0:07:48.160 the economy right now for me is like, yeah, businesses 0:07:48.200 --> 0:07:50.200 are making money, but they're making money because things are 0:07:50.280 --> 0:07:55.320 so so much more expensive and us underneath that, you know, 0:07:55.400 --> 0:08:00.960 like everyday working class Americans, we are getting squished. Over 0:08:01.120 --> 0:08:04.360 fifty percent of y'all said you were somewhat worried about 0:08:04.360 --> 0:08:07.800 your finances, twenty percent said you're very worried, and there's 0:08:07.840 --> 0:08:11.400 another twenty percent that are extremely worried. So that means 0:08:11.440 --> 0:08:14.160 literally everybody who listens to the show is a little 0:08:14.200 --> 0:08:17.160 bit at least somewhat worried about their finances. And so 0:08:17.360 --> 0:08:20.920 many of you guys are very worried. And number one 0:08:21.040 --> 0:08:23.840 on the list of biggest sources of financial stress, can 0:08:23.880 --> 0:08:27.960 you believe it's paying down debt? Fifty eight percent of 0:08:28.240 --> 0:08:31.720 our listeners, more than half, say that paying down debt 0:08:31.800 --> 0:08:36.480 is the biggest source of financial stress. Now stress. I 0:08:36.520 --> 0:08:38.920 love that book The Body Keeps the Score, And I 0:08:39.040 --> 0:08:42.559 just know that that stress is not just about you know, 0:08:42.720 --> 0:08:45.960 something that's weighing on you that you know gives you 0:08:46.000 --> 0:08:49.120 a little bit of heartburn during the day, but it 0:08:49.160 --> 0:08:53.920 can literally make you physically ill to think about this debt. 0:08:54.080 --> 0:08:57.160 And in my case, over the years, it can make 0:08:57.200 --> 0:09:01.320 me feel like frozen, don't know what to do, don't 0:09:01.360 --> 0:09:05.040 know where to turn. So nat I'm curious because I'm 0:09:05.040 --> 0:09:07.560 gonna call you net though you said I could. I'm 0:09:07.600 --> 0:09:10.800 curious if you could talk about what it's like when 0:09:10.800 --> 0:09:13.800 people come to National debt relief in what sort of 0:09:13.920 --> 0:09:16.480 like mental state are they in at the time, and 0:09:16.559 --> 0:09:18.960 how do you guys start helping them. 0:09:19.480 --> 0:09:23.240 There is a full range. There's fear, there's anger. I 0:09:23.240 --> 0:09:27.200 think stress manifests itself very differently for different people, So 0:09:27.240 --> 0:09:29.760 we're very much trained to kind of acknowledge that. Right, 0:09:29.800 --> 0:09:34.160 some people are embarrassed because they have the good job, 0:09:34.280 --> 0:09:37.640 they've had the good life, and it's really hard to say, like, yeah, 0:09:37.640 --> 0:09:41.080 I make one hundred thousand dollars, but I'm also way 0:09:41.120 --> 0:09:43.560 over my head, right. Sometimes it's you know, as your 0:09:43.600 --> 0:09:47.200 income increases, your expenses increase, or you have emergencies. So 0:09:47.240 --> 0:09:49.080 we have people like that. We also have people who 0:09:49.320 --> 0:09:52.080 may not make enough, or they've had a divorce, or 0:09:52.679 --> 0:09:55.640 their child has gotten sick. Medical reasons are a lot 0:09:55.679 --> 0:09:56.920 of reasons why a lot of people go out of 0:09:56.920 --> 0:09:58.600 debt and have to rely on credit cards as well. 0:09:58.679 --> 0:10:02.360 So they come to us in very very different ways. 0:10:02.440 --> 0:10:04.640 But at the end of the day, everyone wants the 0:10:04.679 --> 0:10:06.800 same thing is to not have that stress of having 0:10:06.840 --> 0:10:08.640 to figure out where the money is going to come 0:10:08.640 --> 0:10:12.280 from to lower the cost of their interest and all 0:10:12.320 --> 0:10:16.920 of the debt that they have. So it's at the 0:10:17.000 --> 0:10:19.520 end of the day, the plan that we give people 0:10:19.520 --> 0:10:22.040 gives everyone hope, and I think that's what we try 0:10:22.080 --> 0:10:24.200 to offer as much as possible as hope and a plan. 0:10:25.760 --> 0:10:28.319 So what actually does national debt relief do? So I'm 0:10:28.320 --> 0:10:31.719 calling your number and am I going to hear from that? 0:10:32.000 --> 0:10:33.199 Is it going to be like, Hey, this is not 0:10:33.520 --> 0:10:35.640 I feel you? What's going on? Like? What is that 0:10:35.679 --> 0:10:38.240 process like? And what kinds of services do y'all offer? 0:10:38.679 --> 0:10:38.839 Well? 0:10:38.880 --> 0:10:40.680 I hope so someone on the phone won't be me, 0:10:40.760 --> 0:10:42.160 but it will be someone on the phone that is 0:10:42.200 --> 0:10:45.480 welcoming human or not like change a human, not a computer, 0:10:45.720 --> 0:10:48.600 not a AI voice, because that's the real thing these days. 0:10:48.720 --> 0:10:52.760 An actually human person will answer the phone, ask some 0:10:52.920 --> 0:10:57.160 very simple questions and really understand what the debt landscape is, 0:10:57.200 --> 0:10:59.319 like what is the unsecure debt? Is a credit cards? 0:10:59.360 --> 0:11:03.080 Is it medical debt? Is a reprocess debt? Is it 0:11:03.160 --> 0:11:06.120 basically just unsecured. We'll take a look at that profile, 0:11:06.160 --> 0:11:09.560 look at how much you're paying in minimum balances, and 0:11:09.600 --> 0:11:10.680 then get that info. 0:11:10.840 --> 0:11:13.400 Are people is it like you're filling out a form 0:11:13.440 --> 0:11:15.320 with all of your accounts and then you guys have 0:11:15.400 --> 0:11:16.040 like a portal. 0:11:16.800 --> 0:11:20.559 Yes, with your the client's permission, we will pull credit 0:11:20.760 --> 0:11:23.000 verify everything while the client can sell us send us 0:11:23.040 --> 0:11:26.360 a statement of all of their debts, so they do 0:11:26.400 --> 0:11:28.400 have access to a portal. It will show them everything 0:11:28.480 --> 0:11:31.440 that they have. It will give them options around what 0:11:32.080 --> 0:11:34.600 program payment makes sense for them, because that can also 0:11:34.640 --> 0:11:36.360 be flexible depending on how long you want to be 0:11:36.400 --> 0:11:39.440 in a program. And the ultimate goal is to get 0:11:39.480 --> 0:11:44.160 that total debt reduced by settling one debt at a time, 0:11:44.240 --> 0:11:47.160 sometimes two at a time with a manageable monthly payment. 0:11:48.000 --> 0:11:51.679 So that's the process. It's really customized towards each individual, 0:11:51.720 --> 0:11:54.240 so there's not a one size fits all plan for anyone. 0:11:54.440 --> 0:11:56.280 But debt settlement is the goal. 0:11:56.880 --> 0:11:59.319 That settlement is a goal debt reduction. So let's say to 0:11:59.600 --> 0:12:02.400 tenthou some dollar debt our goals to try to save 0:12:02.440 --> 0:12:05.120 as much money on that debt by negotiating with that creditor. 0:12:05.800 --> 0:12:09.680 And sometimes it's a lumsome repayment, sometimes it's over terms, 0:12:09.679 --> 0:12:11.920 but it's always going to be a reduction of that 0:12:11.960 --> 0:12:14.000 ten thousand dollars so our goal is to at least 0:12:14.040 --> 0:12:15.960 get it down to five thousand plus our fee. 0:12:16.600 --> 0:12:19.319 So when you're someone like, how do you know when 0:12:19.400 --> 0:12:21.840 you have enough debt or the right kinds of debt 0:12:21.920 --> 0:12:25.960 to be a good candidate for debt settlement? And I 0:12:26.000 --> 0:12:28.600 can go ahead and describe what I think of debt 0:12:28.640 --> 0:12:30.959 settlement as and then you tell me if I'm right 0:12:31.040 --> 0:12:32.720 or wrong, because I'm kind of playing the part of 0:12:32.760 --> 0:12:36.160 a regular person. And so the way I did manage 0:12:36.200 --> 0:12:38.160 a content team for like five years, and we've heard 0:12:38.200 --> 0:12:40.559 about this stuff all the time, but whatever I forgot, 0:12:41.120 --> 0:12:43.800 But debt settlement to me is like, especially if you're 0:12:43.800 --> 0:12:47.840 just a consumer and you're being pursued by you know, 0:12:48.000 --> 0:12:50.680 let's say it's a hospital or it's a creditor credit 0:12:50.720 --> 0:12:54.400 card company for a past do debt and you call 0:12:54.440 --> 0:12:56.000 them up and you're like, I know, I owe you 0:12:56.040 --> 0:12:59.559 a thousand dollars. I can't pay it. I could pay 0:12:59.600 --> 0:13:03.200 you for hundred, and they're like, no, maybe five hundred, 0:13:03.240 --> 0:13:05.520 and then you you'll pay a lump sum and they'll, 0:13:05.840 --> 0:13:08.319 you know, go about their their day. Did I get 0:13:08.320 --> 0:13:08.760 that right? 0:13:09.160 --> 0:13:11.679 Almost? Sometimes that five hundred can be broken up over 0:13:11.720 --> 0:13:15.559 twelve months, So I'll give you a ninety percent you pass. 0:13:16.040 --> 0:13:19.880 Oh nice, Well, lump sum payment was what my That's 0:13:19.960 --> 0:13:22.560 like the three words that keep coming to my mind 0:13:22.679 --> 0:13:24.640 is like, settle your debt. But it's but you have 0:13:24.720 --> 0:13:26.240 to have the cash on hand for a lump sum, 0:13:26.280 --> 0:13:30.320 so it's good to know. Potentially you don't, you can 0:13:30.360 --> 0:13:31.199 get a payment. 0:13:31.280 --> 0:13:34.840 A flexibility that we offer, so if it's available, sure, 0:13:35.040 --> 0:13:37.560 but it's usually the best interests of our clients since 0:13:37.600 --> 0:13:41.280 there's multiple debts, to break those settlement amounts over time 0:13:41.400 --> 0:13:44.800 so that we can get things moving on each credit 0:13:44.880 --> 0:13:45.600 a little bit faster. 0:13:46.120 --> 0:13:49.360 Have you ever used debt settlement yourself, Dasha, or had 0:13:49.400 --> 0:13:50.520 to settle debts? 0:13:50.800 --> 0:13:54.199 No, well, I'll take that back, yes I did. So 0:13:54.320 --> 0:13:57.440 my experience was settling with debt was me trying to 0:13:57.480 --> 0:14:00.679 figure it out on my own. And so I'm just 0:14:00.679 --> 0:14:03.160 going to tell you what my experience was. It was 0:14:03.240 --> 0:14:06.400 me coming home one day from work. I had groceries 0:14:06.400 --> 0:14:08.720 in hand, and someone called my phone and it was 0:14:08.760 --> 0:14:12.240 a debt collector and it was a very threatening call 0:14:12.320 --> 0:14:15.000 and it was almost like, if you don't pay this debt, 0:14:15.280 --> 0:14:18.440 we're going to report it to the police. So I 0:14:18.600 --> 0:14:24.320 was extremely scared. Immediately paid it, never heard anything else 0:14:24.520 --> 0:14:26.560 about it. Now, I was in my early twenties. This 0:14:26.640 --> 0:14:28.560 probably could have been a scam, It probably could have 0:14:28.600 --> 0:14:31.640 been real. But this was just where I landed simply 0:14:31.680 --> 0:14:35.880 because I didn't know. And I'm sure that's not how 0:14:35.960 --> 0:14:39.160 debt settlement works now that I know better, but back 0:14:39.200 --> 0:14:42.080 then I ran into that a lot. So just putting 0:14:42.080 --> 0:14:45.160 myself in the shoes of someone that was just starting off. 0:14:45.400 --> 0:14:47.440 I'm sure a lot of people get calls like that. 0:14:47.480 --> 0:14:51.520 They get calls from debt collectors probably are more aggressive 0:14:51.600 --> 0:14:53.880 than what we would like, and if we don't know 0:14:53.960 --> 0:14:56.800 what our options are, we fall victims to what we 0:14:56.880 --> 0:15:00.680 think is debt settlement. But as Ned explained, we now 0:15:00.760 --> 0:15:03.560 know that it is completely different and more than that. 0:15:04.280 --> 0:15:08.360 Yeah, so Dashauld, When was that was that pre like 0:15:08.480 --> 0:15:13.640 consumer Financial Protection Bureau post, you know, like after the recession? 0:15:14.440 --> 0:15:17.920 This was I am I'm thirty six now, so this 0:15:18.040 --> 0:15:21.280 had to be around in my early twenties. Okay, this 0:15:21.400 --> 0:15:23.240 had to be in my early twenties when this happened. 0:15:23.280 --> 0:15:26.800 And again I was just so afraid that I just 0:15:26.880 --> 0:15:30.000 immediately paid it. And I was young, very new to 0:15:30.080 --> 0:15:32.560 learning anything about money. I knew that it was a 0:15:32.600 --> 0:15:34.600 debt that I owed, but I didn't know my options, 0:15:34.600 --> 0:15:37.600 I didn't know who to call. I didn't feel comfortable 0:15:37.680 --> 0:15:40.120 asking for it. You know, it's a whole stigma around 0:15:40.440 --> 0:15:42.920 asking for help. So when I got the call, I 0:15:43.000 --> 0:15:45.680 just wanted the problem to go away. So I just 0:15:45.680 --> 0:15:48.440 paid whatever they told me to pay, And till this day, 0:15:48.480 --> 0:15:51.480 I can't even tell you if that actually came off 0:15:51.560 --> 0:15:54.360 my credit, if I actually saw anything from it. I 0:15:54.440 --> 0:15:55.920 just made the payment. 0:15:57.320 --> 0:15:59.960 So yeah, I mean, in that situation, it is super stressful. 0:16:00.000 --> 0:16:02.960 First of all, that sounds really that sounds like harassment. 0:16:03.000 --> 0:16:06.880 It sounds illegal. And Natalia, what would you say to 0:16:06.920 --> 0:16:10.280 someone today if they were getting those types of calls 0:16:10.400 --> 0:16:13.280 and didn't know what to do, if you could like 0:16:13.520 --> 0:16:16.560 be a magician and like you know, Genie in a 0:16:16.560 --> 0:16:18.600 bottle poof show up in front of them, what would 0:16:18.640 --> 0:16:19.720 you tell them if they're on the. 0:16:19.680 --> 0:16:23.520 Phone with absolutely illegal, especially today. It may not have 0:16:23.560 --> 0:16:25.560 been when when Dasha was getting those phone calls, but 0:16:26.680 --> 0:16:29.760 the FDCPA is an act that passed that actually protects 0:16:29.760 --> 0:16:34.080 consumers against threatening phone calls from collectors. Specifically, you can't 0:16:34.080 --> 0:16:36.760 call during certain times so they can't call you at 0:16:36.760 --> 0:16:39.280 midnight anymore. They can't show up at your house there. 0:16:39.520 --> 0:16:41.760 I actually heard some really threatening stories from some of 0:16:41.760 --> 0:16:45.040 our clients in the past as well, So they're really 0:16:45.080 --> 0:16:48.440 good rules in place to make sure that harassment doesn't occur, 0:16:49.120 --> 0:16:51.040 and if it is, know that it's illegal and that 0:16:51.120 --> 0:16:53.840 there is an act to protect against it. And I 0:16:53.840 --> 0:16:56.160 wouldn't pay anything. Like Daisha said, there's a lot of 0:16:56.200 --> 0:16:59.440 fraud and scams going on these days. I would verify 0:16:59.480 --> 0:17:01.120 that that dead is even yours and that it's a 0:17:01.160 --> 0:17:03.880 reputable company that's trying to collect from you in the 0:17:03.920 --> 0:17:04.440 first place. 0:17:05.119 --> 0:17:07.760 Okay, so many things there. So two things, what are 0:17:07.760 --> 0:17:10.600 some signs it's a fraud? And two I want to 0:17:10.640 --> 0:17:14.280 talk about how do you actually go about that debt verification? 0:17:14.520 --> 0:17:18.199 Because I know the textbook way of doing that that 0:17:18.440 --> 0:17:21.240 CFPB has on their website, but I'm just curious in reality, 0:17:21.280 --> 0:17:22.040 how does it work? 0:17:22.280 --> 0:17:26.360 Well? Well, so, one, you can always pull your credit 0:17:26.440 --> 0:17:29.360 record at least once a year. It's always free. I'm 0:17:29.359 --> 0:17:30.919 not going to vouch for any apps, but there are 0:17:30.920 --> 0:17:32.800 definitely lots of apps out there that will give you 0:17:32.840 --> 0:17:35.959 access to your credit information. So one verify that it 0:17:36.040 --> 0:17:38.560 is your debt and then two, I'd like to call 0:17:38.680 --> 0:17:41.280 people back. So if I get a phone call from someone, 0:17:41.320 --> 0:17:42.919 I'm like, okay, well, what's the number where I can 0:17:43.000 --> 0:17:44.840 call you back? I can't talk right now. You don't 0:17:44.840 --> 0:17:46.560 have to be really obvious about it, but you also 0:17:46.560 --> 0:17:48.560 want to make sure that when you call back it 0:17:48.640 --> 0:17:51.200 is actually that company. You can look up their website 0:17:51.960 --> 0:17:55.440 and usually you'll get some form of written documentation. When 0:17:55.440 --> 0:17:59.199 there's a creditor, they always mail something. So if you 0:17:59.200 --> 0:18:01.880 don't have a physical document and the number doesn't quite 0:18:01.880 --> 0:18:03.600 make sense when you do like a Google look up 0:18:03.680 --> 0:18:07.640 and it's like someone's Google or voice number, that's not legitimate. 0:18:08.119 --> 0:18:11.600 People don't collect through Facebook Messenger either, right, It's usually 0:18:11.640 --> 0:18:14.679 a phone call or an actual letter. So be aware 0:18:15.040 --> 0:18:18.200 of people sending email saying I'm collecting on this debt. 0:18:18.240 --> 0:18:20.640 That's generally not accurate either. 0:18:21.560 --> 0:18:23.080 Or a text message yeah. 0:18:22.960 --> 0:18:24.600 Or a text message. Don't click any. 0:18:24.440 --> 0:18:28.800 Links even in your text now, okay, So now the 0:18:28.840 --> 0:18:31.640 debt verification that doesn't have to be a formal process. 0:18:31.640 --> 0:18:34.679 It literally is just like, does this debt sound like 0:18:34.720 --> 0:18:36.800 it's yours? And you can just check that by going 0:18:36.840 --> 0:18:40.600 to yeah, like using a credit report app. You know, 0:18:40.680 --> 0:18:45.400 going to Annual Report Annual credit Report dot com and 0:18:45.800 --> 0:18:48.040 downloading all three of your credit reports for free, like 0:18:48.040 --> 0:18:50.679 you said you can do once a year. You know, 0:18:50.840 --> 0:18:55.080 there's credit karma, there's Equifax, like all these different credit 0:18:55.080 --> 0:18:58.080 bureaus now and banks themselves. If you don't have a 0:18:58.119 --> 0:19:00.480 credit report, you're just not trying hard enough because like 0:19:00.520 --> 0:19:04.880 they're just handing them out on this street corners basically, now, okay, 0:19:05.280 --> 0:19:06.720 all right, So how do I know I'm in the 0:19:07.000 --> 0:19:09.680 How do I know it's time? Like I can't manage 0:19:09.680 --> 0:19:14.199 this and I should ask for help from an organization 0:19:14.680 --> 0:19:16.000 like National Debt Relief. 0:19:16.640 --> 0:19:19.879 I love that question because debt relief is not for everyone. 0:19:20.000 --> 0:19:23.320 I actually like to dispel that where lots of people 0:19:23.320 --> 0:19:25.840 think that it is. It is for the consumer who 0:19:26.119 --> 0:19:29.560 is contemplating bankruptcy, but they're not quite there yet. So 0:19:30.160 --> 0:19:33.000 there's different types of debt relief where maybe if you 0:19:33.040 --> 0:19:36.080 can still qualify for a loan and your credit score 0:19:36.119 --> 0:19:38.080 is still where it needs to be, that might be 0:19:38.080 --> 0:19:40.240 an option for some people. If your credit score is 0:19:40.320 --> 0:19:43.160 already in danger and you're not going to be able 0:19:43.160 --> 0:19:47.400 to qualify for a consolidation loan and credit counseling from 0:19:47.400 --> 0:19:49.920 a long term perspective, you're still paying a full debt. 0:19:49.960 --> 0:19:52.760 You're still paying interest even though it's reduced. May not 0:19:52.800 --> 0:19:54.680 be an option for some people. So then the next 0:19:54.680 --> 0:19:58.119 thing would be debt relief. So that's where you're making 0:19:58.119 --> 0:20:00.800 your minimums or just above the minimum. It's going to 0:20:00.840 --> 0:20:03.000 take you thirty forty years to pay off, you know, 0:20:03.280 --> 0:20:06.240 seventy five hundred dollars in debt because you can barely 0:20:06.280 --> 0:20:09.880 make those minimums. So our program will basically say, you know, 0:20:10.359 --> 0:20:12.760 if your minimums are adding up to seven hundred dollars 0:20:12.840 --> 0:20:14.720 a month, maybe we can get a program payment that's 0:20:14.720 --> 0:20:17.000 three hundred and fifty dollars a month, so we can 0:20:17.040 --> 0:20:20.600 work towards settling those debts, and it immediately gives some 0:20:20.640 --> 0:20:22.840 cash flowback. So it's really a cash flow issue and 0:20:22.880 --> 0:20:25.240 a long term kind of goal that you have to 0:20:25.240 --> 0:20:27.159 make for yourself. It's I want to get rid of 0:20:27.200 --> 0:20:30.680 my unsecure debt versus I want to keep my credit score. 0:20:30.760 --> 0:20:34.320 Sometimes we aren't concerned about credit. We're concerned about getting 0:20:34.320 --> 0:20:36.440 people out of debt right, and then you can rebuild 0:20:36.440 --> 0:20:39.760