Ever wonder about the credit companies that seem to know everything about you? Now, although fair credit reporting laws exist, people STILL complain about unfair and outdated credit, but according to Dr. Josh Lauer, it used to be much worse. We’ll talk to him today about the history of credit reporting in the United States. How did it work? Who evaluated your credit? How were the current three credit companies formed? It’s a fun and sometimes frightening look at how credit has been and still is evaluated, and how credit companies use information about you.
Speaking of credit, a recent study about credit produced some horrifying results, and Michael Bruemmer from Experian joins us to discuss why people might want to take better care of their credit than they have in the past. Also, we discuss a headline about Jeff Bezos inching up toward becoming the richest person alive. What does it take to join the ranks of the uber rich? We’ll contemplate that by taking a look at the list of the world’s wealthiest people.
We have a special guest co-host today! Mandi Woodruff from the Brown Ambition podcast sits in for OG and shares some great experiences, as well as helping Joe throw out the Haven Life line to Karl and answer a lucky listener letter. Of course we still have time to bring on Doug’s trivia, share some bad jokes, and lots more….
Huge thanks to MagnifyMoney.com for helping us with today’s show!
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Today’s Sponsor: MagnifyMoney
Compare checking, savings, credit cards, and loans before switching. Magnify Money makes it super easy to compare, switch and save.
Today’s Special Guest Cohost: Mandi Woodruff
Check out Mandi’s podcast: Brown Ambition Podcast | Say hi to Mandi on Twitter: @mandiwoodruff
Show Notes:
- Mandi is the executive editor of the MagnifyMoney team [2:55]
- She’s also the cohost of the Brown Ambition podcast [3:51]
<5:02> Headlines
Jeff Bezos is $5 billion away from being the world’s richest person (CNN)
Jeff Bezos: “Alexa, buy me something from Whole Foods.”
Alexa: “Sure, Jeff. Buying Whole Foods now.”
Jeff Bezos: “WHA- ahh go ahead.” pic.twitter.com/GuJ2jlAiuU
— JESAL (@JesalTV) June 16, 2017
- If you want to be uber rich, you can’t work for someone else [6:40]
- Malcom Gladwell doesn’t want his kids to be geniuses [7:45]
- Another way to build wealth is by buying stocks [8:40]
- Mandi’s earned over $6,000 without doing anything [9:30]
- Joe’s story from the trenches about a couple who had one mutual fund that started with $5,000 and when he called them it was worth $95,000 [10:15]
- Set it and forget it on long-term investing [11:15]
Identity Theft Survey Findings (Experian – Michael Bruemmer, VP of Identity Protection)
- Joe is disappointed at the results of the survey [11:50]
- 84% of people are concerned, but 66% think it’s too much of a hassle to work it [12:05]
- The threat of identity theft heightens over time [13:07]
- If you’ve ever had any fraud, you’re 25% more likely to have something bad happen again [13:30]
- What you can do [13:57]
- Don’t post your kid’s drivers license on social media! [14:02]
- Turn on, turn off credit [15:04]
- Why do that instead of calling the different bureaus and freeze? [15:33]
Takeaways
- Protect yourself and your identity.
- Want to be rich? Own your own business.
- Want to just be richer than you are? Buy stocks.
<16:35> Dr. Josh Lauer
- Early days of credit = “I like that guy, I don’t like that guy” [19:02]
- Old school data collection and trustworthiness [21:34]
- What kind of person was in the credit business in the early days? [22:24]
- Dun & Bradstreet’s origin story [22:37]
- Abraham Lincoln was one of the original credit reporter [23:11]
- What could someone do if there were errors? NOT MUCH! [24:44]
- Personal character was the #1 most important part of a credit report [26:19]
- Big 3 credit bureaus started in the 1960s [28:22]
- Minorities and credit reporting [29:43
Order Josh’s book (and help the show while you’re at it!):
[amazon_link asins=’023116808X’ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’sbplugin-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’f860d6ae-6750-11e7-88ff-97e4fef37a7b’]
<34:28> Doug’s Trivia
- What is the best month to buy stocks?
<37:39> Haven Life Line
Need life insurance? You could be insured in 20 minutes or less and build your family’s safety net for the future. Use StackingBenjamins.com/HavenLife to calculate how much you need and apply.
- Carl always feels like there’s a better deal online beyond his research. He’s currently looking for a laptop, what can he do to get the best price?
<41:46> Letters
Need help with your financial plan? Use this link to schedule a meeting with OG: StackingBenjamins.com/OG
- Clay gives the basement a lot of props (well deserved of course). He recently sold some funds due to high fees, and moved that cash over to ETFs. He had some capital gains, but will save on fees later on. Was this the right decision?
<> Join us Friday
Want to travel the world? How would you like to take a job on a different continent? Come check out our Fintech segment on Friday featuring Jobbatical.
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