This Woman Had Bad Credit And Debt From 25 Credit Cards...She Now Owns A Multi-Million Dollar Enterprise
She was on every form of government assistance offered. She was robbing Peter to pay Paul. She was living paycheck to paycheck, with a non-existent savings account and an embarrassing, credit score. Finally, enough was enough. Arnita Johnson was fed up.
Arnita took charge over her credit and finances and, by successfully doing so, was led to her purpose in launching Luxurious CREDIT™, a credit consulting agency and financial education empire. Grossing over million dollars, Luxurious CREDIT™ is the fastest growing black-owned female ran credit consulting firm in the country.
“I graduated high school with good credit thanks to my mother, but six months later, I messed it up. I had 25 different credit cards and couldn't keep up with the payments. When you have good credit, credit card offers are literally thrown at you and I believe I got addicted to just being approved. I was working a low paying job and just could no longer keep up with the payments. I let the credit cards go believing in the myth that after seven years, those credit cards would disappear from my credit report. I was 18 years old and felt that within seven years, I would be 25 and I could just live with my bad credit."
In addition to the demanding responsibility of keeping credit cards in good standing, the Dallas native had a baby, was living in the hood, and was just trying to get by with what she had. “I worked long hours at a low paying job and went to school at night. I would cry on my way to work, on my way to school, and at night in my bed. I remember an era where I just cried all of the time. I just wanted to get ahead financially."
Arnita's woes didn't stop there.
When a job opportunity with an annual salary of $60,000 slipped through her fingers because of her poor credit score, it was a glaring wake up call. “I went home, pulled my credit report, and my God; my credit was shot. I was embarrassed. I ended up working at a car dealership and while there, I saw the difference between how people were treated with bad credit versus those who had good credit."
“The majority of people aren't taught how to make money, manage money, and definitely weren't taught how to spend it. Applying for too many credit cards, not having a budget, and spending money before you have it may easily cause one to fall in to debt."
A strong will and determination are Arnita's hallmarks. It was these characteristics that prompted her to begin taking one step at a time towards the life she knew she deserved. She knew her road to financial recovery wouldn't be short or sweet.
“Where there is a will, there is a way. Budget! Budget! Budget! You have to find out where all of your money is going. You will find it very difficult to become financially independent if you are using your credit cards as a source of income. Trust me on this, NOT all of your money is going towards your needs, some of it is going to towards your wants. Make your credit card(s) work for you.
"Pay off the balance on your credit cards BEFORE the end of the grace period, this way you aren't paying interest. Use a credit card with a cash back reward system, this way you are making money while spending it on something you would have paid cash for anyways. After creating your budget, use the snowball effect to pay off your credit cards. The snowball effect is when you pay off debts or credit cards with the smallest balances. By doing so, it will encourage you to keep paying off other debts."
By creating a strategic and realistic budget, as well as living below her means, Arnita was able to pay down her debts. Every extra dollar she found from her tight budgeting went towards her financial goals. Slowly but surely, it became easier and the weight of her financial burdens began to lift. Using the snowball effect, she paid off lower balances while continuing to make the minimum payments on her remaining debts. This strategy challenged some of her spending habits.
“It took a major shift in my priorities and I picked up other hobbies. Instead of hanging out with the girls on Friday nights, I would purchase a cheap bottle of wine and cuddle up with a good book. Instead of taking the kids to the movies and pizza, we watched movies on Netflix and made homemade pizzas. I soon realized that I was also saving on gas because I was staying home more.
"I had to learn something that I was never taught in life and that was how to spend, save, and manage money."
Once she had a handle on her spending habits, Arnita began to save. With an estimated 47% of Americans unable to come up with $400 in the event of an emergency, Arnita highly recommends saving as a close second to budgeting on the list of priorities for financial freedom.
“Saving money wasn't easy and took self-motivation and discipline. Because I was living paycheck to paycheck and was pinching any extra money to pay off debts, I found saving any extra money difficult to do. I was very impatient and felt that the little money I was putting back just wasn't enough. I decided to turn off my cable, shop around for cheaper car insurance, and cell phone plans. The extra money I saved each month went straight to a savings account. Starting to see my savings account grow little by little was very therapeutic and exciting for me."
Arnita, a product of her own advice, goes on to describe her process. Set goals…Smash goals…Repeat, seems to be the pattern for this credit industry maven.
Her process wasn't easy in the least. In fact, like the rest of us, Arnita had to take a few “L's" along the way.
“I set short-term goals and long-term goals. I wanted to start setting goals like businesses did. Corporations had quarterly goals and that's what I wanted to start doing. They planned for years to come and budgeted that way. I soon realized I was cutting myself short. I was making business decisions every day. From the clothes I wore, the car I drove, where I purchased gas, where I worked and ate were all business decisions.
"My short-term goals were weekly and monthly and I connected those to my long-term ones. For example, one of my short-term goals was to save enough money to pay off a credit card with a $500 balance that contributed to my long-term goal of paying off all of my credit cards by the end of that year.
"Again, by me being a self-motivator, being able to scratch off shorter goals encouraged me to keep going and reach towards my long-term ones."
Vision and foresight to carry a dream from conception to fruition are what separate the average from the amazing. Rather than pursuing the instant gratification and relief of closing out her credit cards, Arnita took another route.
Arnita details how she was selective during her own process: “When it came to improving my credit report and credit score, I knew that closing out credit cards and waiting for my credit to repair itself was not an option. What was most important was knowing that closing my credit cards was a huge NO-NO. Closing your credit cards can actually lower your credit score because you'd be closing off your credit history, which is 15% of your credit score. I also knew that 30% of your credit score is your credit card usage. Once I began to pay down my credit cards, I knew that my credit score immediately began to increase.
"During this journey, I began to study credit consumer laws and learned that the information on my credit report had to be reported accurately and verifiable. After reviewing my credit report, I saw that a lot of my bad credit came from credit bureaus not reporting correct information about me and by law, I had the right to dispute these errors. With that alone, I was able to increase my credit score over 100 points."
Many women, like Arnita, with vision, passion, and ambition have the drive for success and are ready to “smash the ignition," so to speak, on their goals but feel paralyzed by debt. Some believe bankruptcy to be a viable option for a new start. Arnita calls this a “myth" and reveals the truth in her own terms.
“The myths when it comes to bankruptcy is believing that once you've filed, you are free of all debts and you will have good credit immediately after it is discharged. Sometimes, filing for bankruptcy can make your situation worse. Filing bankruptcy on debts that are past its statue for being sued it not a good idea. Filling debts on collection accounts that cannot be validated within accordance of the law is a waste of money. Lastly, a bankruptcy can remain on your credit report for 7 to 10 years. Moreover, some lenders will not extend credit to those who have filed bankruptcy because they feel they may be a liability and won't commit to paying their debts."
Arnita explains why bankruptcy was never an option for her, “I knew that a bankruptcy would do more harm than good and I knew that no matter how high my credit score, a bankruptcy would hinder me from larger investments, such as purchasing a home and establishing business credit. Besides, I didn't have large assets and felt that filing bankruptcy just wasn't suitable for me."
No longer did the then-single mother have to wait on tax refunds to purchase big ticketed items. Being denied for a job because she couldn't pass a credit check was the straw that broke the camel's back…a wakeup call…an epiphany to confront those financial hurdles with vengeance. “The success of recovering from my own personal credit and financial journey is what led to me to start my business."
Success from one of Arnita's clients
Arnita knew there had to be countless of other women out there like her and she needed a way to reach them. Soon after, her credit and financial educational blog, Luxurious CREDIT™, was born.
Leveraging social media to create the powerful platform purposed to educate, inform, and assist others to break free from financial bondage, Arnita ushers women into living a “Luxurious Credit Lifestyle" and that lifestyle is having the luxury of being able to get approved for what you want, when you want, on your own terms! She was able to turn her own financial mistakes and lessons in to a platform to teach others on financial freedom, self-investment, and ownership.
Her organizations, Luxurious Credit & AMB Credit, has helped hundreds of thousands of women get out of debt, reach their credit goals of home ownership, purchasing vehicles, building generational wealth, and most of all, feeling luxurious and confident about having happy finances.
Her vision remains revolutionary and successful, not only because it improves the lives of others, but because it teaches them that their alternate reality is just within arm's reach.
“God saved my daughter and I from poverty and therefore, I dedicated myself and business to help others. Good credit really changed my life."
It can change yours too.
To interact with Arnita personally or get advice on how to clean up your credit, simply connect with her on Facebook, Instagram or YouTube. You may also check out the Blog www.LuxuriousCredit.com.
ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LISTÂ HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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When discussing the topic of raising children, discipline is often the first thing that comes to mind. Children need discipline. Full stop. But what is discipline? And how do we draw the line between discipline and revenge?
The origin of the word "discipline" can be traced back to the Latin word "disciplina," which means "instruction" or "teaching." Over time, however, discipline has come to be synonymous with punishment, with parents relying on shame, fear, and/or physical pain to curb undesirable behavior.
Teaching takes time, so nipping it in the bud in whatever fashion parents deem necessary (within reason) has become the norm. But is this what’s best for children? And when does it become less about curbing undesirable behavior and more about getting our licks back for offenses we feel our children should know better to do?
In my work as a parenting coach, I’ve often heard parents say, “I asked him nicely three times before spanking him. He didn’t stop doing it until I did, so clearly talking doesn’t work.”
And the parent isn’t wrong. Talking often doesn’t work the first, the third, or the even the 10th time. And the reason is directly tied to brain development.
Children cannot and do not process information the way an adult can. Auditory processing is not fully developed until a child is 14 or 15 years old. And even then, if a child has auditory processing delays or Auditory Processing Disorder (APD), they may always struggle with processing auditory commands. According to Susie S. Loraine, MA, CCC-SLP, the term auditory processing refers to how the brain perceives and interprets sound information. Several skills determine auditory processing ability—or listening success. They develop in a general four-step hierarchy, but all work together and are essential for daily listening.
Without this understanding, discipline can easily become revenge because parents will then view their child’s misdeeds as a personal slight. Instead of teaching them to do better, parents now want to show them the consequences of not doing better. This is why it's imperative for parents to discern between discipline and revenge to maintain healthy relationships with their children.
5 WAYS TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN PARENTAL GUIDANCE AND RETALIATION:Â Â
​Understanding The Intent
Discipline is rooted in love and concern for the child's well-being. It focuses on teaching lessons and helping children understand the consequences of their actions. Conversely, revenge-driven actions stem from a desire to inflict pain or punishment as payback for perceived slights or disobedience. Parents should reflect on their motives before taking disciplinary actions. Ask yourself whether your intention is to help your child learn or to make them suffer for upsetting you.
Example: If a child accidentally breaks a valuable item, a disciplinary response would involve discussing the importance of being careful and working with the child to come up with a way to replace or fix what they’ve broken. On the other hand, a vengeful reaction might involve yelling, harsh punishment, or bringing up past mistakes to intensify guilt.
​Maintaining Emotional Regulation
Effective discipline requires parents to remain calm and composed, even in challenging situations. It's natural to feel upset or frustrated when children misbehave, but responding with anger or resentment can escalate the situation and blur the line between discipline and revenge. Before addressing the issue, take a moment to breathe and collect your thoughts.
Example: If a child cannot follow instructions, a disciplined response would involve calmly explaining why their cooperation is necessary in working with the child to accomplish the goal. Conversely, a retaliatory response might involve shouting, name-calling, or resorting to physical punishment out of anger.
​Promoting Growth and Learning
Discipline should always aim to promote growth and learning. It involves guiding children toward making better choices and understanding the impact of their actions on themselves and others. Effective discipline strategies include positive reinforcement, setting clear expectations, and providing opportunities for reflection and growth.
Example: If a child repeatedly forgets to complete their chores, a disciplinary approach would involve discussing the importance of responsibility and finding solutions together, such as creating a chore chart or setting reminders with Siri or Alexa. In contrast, a revenge-driven response might involve imposing overly harsh punishments or belittling the child, which can undermine their self-esteem and hinder their ability to learn from their mistakes.
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Building Trust and Communication
Trust and open communication are essential components of a healthy parent-child relationship. Discipline should strengthen this bond by fostering trust and encouraging children to confide in their parents without fear of judgment or retaliation. When children feel safe and supported, they're more likely to accept discipline as a form of guidance rather than punishment.
Example: If a child admits to breaking a rule or making a mistake, a disciplined response would involve listening to their perspective, discussing the consequences of their actions, and working together to find a solution. Conversely, a retaliatory response might involve accusations, blame, or shutting down communication, which can erode trust and damage the parent-child relationship.
Seeking Professional Guidance
Parenting is a learning journey, and, disciplining children is a delicate balance between guiding them toward responsible behavior and nurturing their growth. By understanding the intent behind our actions, maintaining emotional regulation, promoting growth and learning, building trust and communication, and seeking professional guidance when needed, as parents we can help our children built on love, respect, and understanding.
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