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Life on Credit with Jessica Peterson

Life on Credit with Jessica Peterson - Episode 64

What is your credit score? While it might initially seem strange to talk about your credit score and overall finance on a show about living your life to the max, it actually fits perfectly. Let me explain quickly. You deserve to live your best life. Many people struggle with debt and their credit score is a big part of letting them be able to get their life back up and running strong so they can live their life to the max. Maybe you are struggling with debt or a not-so-great credit score. You don’t have to feel ashamed. I’m here to help. Let me introduce my friend Jessica Peterson and she will share some solid ways you can improve your credit and financial situation!


Jessica Peterson is an amazing financial guru who can help make sure your credit score is the best it can be! She believes that people were created for more than just paying off bills and dying, and that you can’t win at the credit game unless you know the rules. While working in the food industry she was living paycheck to paycheck for many years because didn’t know how to manage her money. She had paid a few bills late, she wound up with a very bad credit score. Luckily, she was able to find a few apps and other things to learn how to better manage her money. When she learned those steps her life was changed, and she wants to share them with everybody!

While working in the food industry, Jessica had a lot of fun! However, she never had money for vacations, or even an emergency fund for when the tires on her truck went flat. Now that she has a good credit score, she is much happier. Not only is her credit score improved but she has an emergency fund for those unexpected situations. Jessica no longer gets anxious when walking into a car dealership, she no longer feels like she doesn’t belong there. She no longer has that embarrassing feeling of not doing well in one of the important areas of life. When you’re scared and embarrassed you tend to push things under the rug and try not to deal with them. That doesn’t help though, you need to accept where you’re at and take the steps to get better.


Credit scores range from 300-850, only about 3% of Americans have an 800 or higher. Once you understand the rules, you’ll be better able to maintain or raise your credit score. There are 5 main components that make up your credit score and they are essential to balance out. The biggest thing you need to do is pay your bills on time. That counts for 35% of how your credit score is calculated. We often fail to plan out properly what we need to pay for. The next thing to look at is the utilization rate of your credit card. Jessica believes that they should only be used for emergencies. Do not use them to pay your bills. Your credit card has an interest rate, usually in the double digits and if you don’t pay your credit card bill on time, you will end up paying a lot in interest. One last trick to improve your credit score, is find a person with a good credit score. If they’re ok with it you can be signed on to their account as an authorized user. They don’t need to give you a way to actually use it, but between 4-7 months as long as their score stays great then that will improve your score. 


Another thing that happens to a lot of people is called credit invisibility. If you are credit invisible, you basically don’t have a credit score. Not having a credit score also makes it difficult for when you eventually want to buy a house, or a car, or something else that you can’t pay for with cash. In order to get away from being credit invisible you need to start building your credit score which is relatively easy to do. First and foremost, open up a bank account, preferably at a credit union. Then see if you can get a secured credit card from around $300-400. As long as payments are made on time, after around 7-9 months you should be able to get an unsecured line of credit. 


Jessica believes that improving her credit score really turned around her life. As soon as Jessica realized why she was in the situation she was in, she felt better. Then when she was actually able to improve it, she felt amazing and she is so happy to not need to worry about not getting the things she needs. If you want to begin improving your credit score or are worried about paying a bill, the first thing you should do is call your bank. Sometimes you just need to be honest about what’s going on and ask them if there’s anything they can do to help you out. Late payments can drop your credit score 50-100 points. The bank can help you; they can give you advice and even possibly waive your late fee. You just need to be open and honest about what’s going on!

If you want to reach out to Jessica, you can find her on Facebook at Jessica Peterson, and on Instagram @Jessbelieve2. She’s available for personal help, or just answering a few questions! I would love to hear what you think about Life on Credit and the interview with Jessica Peterson! Please send me a message on social media at @Jonesinfor or email me at spencer@spencermjones.com.