

Get The Tea On The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly Of Your Credit Score
Didn't know April is Financial Literacy Month? Well, now you do. And what better excuse to get your finances in check or figure out how you'll add to your already lit bank accounts? Let's get into some knowledge about credit. It's an issue we all face as we look for ways to reach financial freedom and the best road to where the money resides. Sadly, the stats reflect harsh realities for many of us. Fifty-four percent of Black adults report having no credit or a poor to fair credit score (below 640).
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Carmen Perez, Varo Bank's personal finance advocate and creator of MakeRealCents.com, a financial fitness platform, shares the good, bad and ugly on credit. Perez, an award-winning professional who's worked for Citi and Morgan Stanley, successfully paid off $57,000 of her own debt in less than three years.
"My finances were a hot mess up until I was able to commit to a plan," she shares. After facing a lawsuit from a private lender, she had to use her last bits of savings to hire a lawyer. She readjusted her budget, completely cut out luxuries like eating out and investing in cable, and reinvested her time into a photography side hustle to bring in more cash. She also kept a close eye on her finances and savings via the cash envelop system, and by the end of 2018, she was debt-free.
It's always good to know where you are before creating a plan to get to where you want to be. So, let's get into some credit 101:
Your Credit Score: The Basics
A credit score, also referred to as your FICO score, is a number that lets lenders know how much of a risk it would be to lend you money. The score ranges from 300 (the lowest) to 850 (the highest). "It is a benchmark that lenders use to gauge how likely a person is to pay back what they owe based on past data. The more you pay things back and on time, the better your credit can be, which can help you borrow money at a lower rate for things you may need," Perez says.
There are three major credit reporting bureaus, TransUnion, Equifax and Experian, and each uses different reporting methods, thus you could have up to three different scores.
"The misconception is that we have one credit score, which is inaccurate. We have multiple, and it depends on what we're applying or aiming for," Perez says. "Your bank, for example, could be showing you a FICO score that might be conducive to opening a credit card, but your score might be different when applying for financing for something else."
Also, various things can impact your credit score, from late bill payments or rental debts to outstanding medical bills and tax liens. On the positive side, a long history of maintaining accounts in good standing, or taking on debt that you're able to manage and pay back consistently over time, are all actions that can contribute to a great credit score.
You can access your credit scores for free via AnnualCreditReport.com, and each report will have specifics on the types of accounts you have on record (such as credit card, mortgage, and student or car loans), the date those accounts were opened, information on your credit limits or loan amounts, as well as details about your payment history. Credit reports also have history on where you've lived and sometimes where you've worked. You'll want to make sure all information is up to date and accurate, especially since some information could be from fraudulent activity, a reporting misake, or an old debt of more than several years that should have dropped off.
For more information on your credit reports, look into resources offered by the credit bureaus, including apps that offer weekly updates on your credit score, credit report information, and credit products available to you. Other easy-to-use and super-helpful websites on understanding your reports are CreditKarma.com and USA.gov.
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Your Credit Score: The Good
The benefits of having a "good" credit score, which is one that falls generally at a 700 or above, is access to more housing options, more confidence when applying for a loan, and lower interest rates when you get approved. "Good credit allows you to secure better housing and, in some cases, will enable you to bypass having to put a deposit down if you rent," Perez adds. "If you plan on owning, good credit can help you secure a mortgage with better financing terms for you in the long-term. The lower your interest rate, the less you'll pay in interest over time."
"You'll feel less worried about getting denied, which can help you focus more on the things that matter, like negotiating a good interest rate."
But what about if you have no credit at all (i.e. no active accounts being reported to the credit bureaus or your credit history is so limited that there's no score)? Perez recommends getting a secured credit card, one that requires a deposit but offers other great benefits for people who haven't built credit.
"Get one at bank or financial institution that you're looking to have a long-term relationship with---one that offers access to other products. You might put up $500, for example, to open the account, and it will give you access to other products later that you might find beneficial such as home and auto loans."
She also urges women to put some serious thought and research into making decisions about what cards might be best for them. Looking to resources like Nerd Wallet or reading up on your current bank's credit card options (along with the fine print) are your best bet. Be sure to get details on annual fees, card closure policies, and payment protocols.
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Your Credit: The Bad
In some cases, with a credit score that is below 640, a lender sees you as a higher risk for default or nonpayment of a loan. "If you haven't been good at paying back the money you've already borrowed, lenders will be more hesitant to lend you money," Perez says. "Since they are lending you the money, your loan terms, whether it be a mortgage, car loan, or credit card, will be more favorable for the lender than they will be for you. And since the lender is taking on all the risk, their reward is being able to charge you with a higher interest rate. Interest over time can add up and take away money that could be going toward your future self, like investing for retirement."
Though cash is king, when it comes to buying a home or even renting an apartment, you may need a cosigner to vouch for a loan. "Getting someone else to cosign on anything can be pretty tricky, especially when you already have bad credit," she continues. "You may also be subject to paying high deposits, which can deplete you of cash that could be going toward things like your savings or retirement."
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Your Credit Score: The Ugly
In Perez's case, she was sued for an outstanding debt, and this is a common practice for some lenders as well as medical service providers and property management companies. Accounts that have reached collections stages and wage garnishments can not only deplete your pockets, but they can indeed negatively impact your credit score. A bad credit score can even affect your employment opportunities. "Sometimes employers will run a credit check on you before giving you the job," she says. "If your credit isn't in a good place, they may not extend the offer."
But you can take bad credit and turn your situation around. Perez recommends looking at all your credit reports and disputing anything that might be out of date or inaccurate. Then address the open accounts with balances that are past due. "Get on the phone with your lender. Explain your situation. See if they have a hardship program, and get the information on what that actually looks like. Get those details up front first, and then go from there." Perez also suggests freezing your credit card and pausing on use versus closing them, something that could negatively impact your credit. If possible, remain in communication with companies or lenders you owe to negotiate a plan for resolving your debt. "If you get the no the first time, continue to call to see if you can get yourself on a payment plan. That's better than [the lender] hitting up your credit because you're not making payments."
There are also credit-card debt relief options offered with the understanding that many are facing pandemic-related hardships, and community resources to get help in building budgets or exploring other debt-relief options.
Perez is also a big advocate of finding a way to earn more income via a side hustle and paying down at a pace that takes into account your current lifestyle and necessities. "Make sure you're prioritizing your bills. If you're in a hole and trying to make it out, it's time to put a budget in place and figure out where your money is going."
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Smile, Sis! These Five Improvements Can Upgrade Your Oral Hygiene Instantly
This article is in partnership with Sensodyne.
Our teeth are connected to so many things - our nutrition, our confidence, and our overall mood. We often take for granted how important healthy teeth are, until issues like tooth sensitivity or gum recession come to remind us. Like most things related to our bodies, prevention is the best medicine. Here are five things you can do immediately to improve your oral hygiene, prevent tooth sensitivity, and avoid dental issues down the road.
1) Go Easy On the Rough Brushing: Brushing your teeth is and always will be priority number one in the oral hygiene department. No surprises there! However, there is such a thing as applying too much pressure when brushing…and that can lead to problems over time. Use a toothbrush with soft bristles and brush in smooth, circular motions. It may seem counterintuitive, but a gentle approach to brushing is the most effective way to clean those pearly whites without wearing away enamel and exposing sensitive areas of the teeth.
2) Use A Desensitizing Toothpaste: As everyone knows, mouth pain can be highly uncomfortable; but tooth sensitivity is a whole different beast. Hot weather favorites like ice cream and popsicles have the ability to trigger tooth sensitivity, which might make you want to stay away from icy foods altogether. But as always, prevention is the best medicine here. Switching to a toothpaste like Sensodyne’s Sensitivity & Gum toothpaste specifically designed for sensitive teeth will help build a protective layer over sensitive areas of the tooth. Over time, those sharp sensations that occur with extremely cold foods will subside, and you’ll be back to treating yourself to your icy faves like this one!
3) Floss, Rinse, Brush. (And In That Order!): Have you ever heard the saying, “It’s not what you do, but how you do it”? Well, the same thing applies to taking care of your teeth. Even if you are flossing and brushing religiously, you could be missing out on some of the benefits simply because you aren’t doing so in the right order. Flossing is best to do before brushing because it removes food particles and plaque from places your toothbrush can’t reach. After a proper flossing sesh, it is important to rinse out your mouth with water after. Finally, you can whip out your toothbrush and get to brushing. Though many of us commonly rinse with water after brushing to remove excess toothpaste, it may not be the best thing for our teeth. That’s because fluoride, the active ingredient in toothpaste that protects your enamel, works best when it gets to sit on the teeth and continue working its magic. Rinsing with water after brushing doesn’t let the toothpaste go to work like it really can. Changing up your order may take some getting used to, but over time, you’ll see the difference.
4) Stay Hydrated: Upping your water supply is a no-fail way to level up your health overall, and your teeth are no exception to this rule. Drinking water not only helps maintain a healthy pH balance in your mouth, but it also washes away residue and acids that can cause enamel erosion. It also helps you steer clear of dry mouth, which is a gateway to bad breath. And who needs that?
5) Show Your Gums Some Love: When it comes to improving your smile, you may be laser-focused on getting your teeth whiter, straighter, and overall healthier. Rightfully so, as these are all attributes of a megawatt smile; but you certainly don’t want to leave gum health out of the equation. If you neglect your gums, you’ll start to notice the effects of plaque buildup, which can irritate the gums and cause gingivitis, the earliest stage of gum disease. Seeing blood while brushing and flossing is a tell-tale sign that your gums are suffering. You may also experience gum recession — a condition where the gum tissue surrounding your teeth pulls back, exposing more of your tooth. Brushing at least twice a day with a gum-protecting toothpaste like Sensodyne Sensitivity and Gum, coupled with regular dentist visits, will keep your gums shining as bright as those pearly whites.
Black Girls Tennis Club Is Empowering Black Women and Girls To Reclaim Their Space On The Court
The face of tennis is changing, and it’s about time. Over the years, if you were asked to name any Black tennis player, two would come to mind: Serena and Venus Williams — and rightfully so. But as new tennis sensations like Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka rise to fame for their athleticism and tenacity, it’s clear that there’s a new era of tennis taking shape to bring forth a fresh take on representation and reclamation on the courts.
For that reason alone, there’s no better time than now for Black Girl Tennis Club co-founders Virginia Thornton and Kimberly Selden to lead the charge of making tennis more accessible to Black women and girls so the next Serena and Coco can emerge.
What began as your everyday lunch chat between friends to discuss their mutual dream of owning a boutique hotel turned into a proposition to start a tennis club together. With Virginia being a tennis player since adolescence and Kimberly entering the sport as a hobby in her adult life, the two jumped at the idea of making a space where Black women could discover a new hobby and not feel like the “only one” on the tennis court.
“The club kind of started for selfish reasons, but not in a bad way,” Virginia tells xoNecole. “We realized that there was actually a need for this.”
Kimberly adds, “Now we're literally disrupting a whole industry. We didn't plan it, but it felt divine; like we were called to do this. Black Girls Tennis Club has been a catalyst for personal growth in all areas of life, and we would have never anticipated that.”
Since establishing the Black Girl Tennis Club in 2022, the two have made it their mission to cultivate a space for “Joy Equity and Radical Wellness.” Their platform serves as a means to inform, inspire, motivate, and reshape the narrative around Black women and girls in the tennis world while highlighting the transformative power of sports and play for liberation.
With approximately 78% of tennis players being white and only 6.8% being Black, and the average cost of a private tennis lesson being $60 per hour, racial and economic disparities within the sport are vast. To help close this gap, the two founders have banded together to develop free tennis instruction clinics for girls aged 8-18 and local tennis events that bring adult offerings through programs like the Self Love Tennis Club and Cardio Tennis Classes to HBCU campuses in Virginia.
Both Virginia and Kimberly understand the power of their mission and believe that they were brought on each other’s path to execute it together. “It’s the power of alignment,” Kimberly says. “I think when you're doing the right thing and you're obedient, and answer the call, that’s when things start to happen, and the universe conspires to make them happen.”
We caught up with the founders to discuss their mission, the importance of representation, and how they plan to disrupt the tennis industry one court at a time.
xoNecole: Could you talk a little more about your CARE pillars with change, access, representation and exposure?
Kimberly Selden: As we started to do the work, we saw that there were so many equity issues. Although we knew from our own personal experiences that there are barriers to tennis being an expensive sport, we just acknowledged it as the culture of tennis. Because it's predominantly white, that transfers over to the fashion, the dynamics on the court, the attitudes, and the mindset. And so we knew this required a culture shift for us to ever really feel comfortable.
We were exposing kids to tennis, and then after the clinics, they're like, "Okay, now what?" It's still expensive, and they still may or may not have had access to it if they're not with us. We don't want to just pop in like, "Hey, here's a clinic, bye!" So, the culture change is just a reflection of what our existence looks like. Access is about being able to access the sport through courts, programs, or a coach. Representation is that we can't believe it until we see it.
Granted, there are a lot of pro Black women tennis players taking off, and we love that. But we think about media representation as well [as] representation within the USCA, in the boardrooms, and the people that are making the rules around the game.
xoN: Why do you all think it’s important for Black women and girls to reclaim their space on the tennis court?
Virginia Thornton: It's rare, at least in my world, where you're in a space and see nothing but women who look like you. But it makes me feel great when I can be my authentic self, especially on a tennis court. Just shedding all the weight of pretending to be anything else. You feel at home when you're around nothing but Black women. Even small things like seeing a young Black girl being okay with how God made them is amazing.
KS: [In] the Atlanta clinics we did, everyone was crying. It's just clear how desperately we need it. Connection is the key to a long life. So many of us — especially from the pandemic and working from home — are isolated. With every clinic, it's just fun to be there, and it just fills you up. I think people need hobbies. I think a lot of people, especially people in big cities, feel that way and were confronted with that during the pandemic.
xoN: How did sports play a role in helping you two find your voice and confidence both on and off the court?
VT: I think what people don't realize is that tennis is such a mental sport. You could be a 4.0 player and have a bad mental day, and you will play like you've never picked up a racquet before. So, the mental piece is super important. For me, it's like ‘you against you,’ even though you are playing somebody.
If you're able to work through those mental pieces with yourself on the court, that will translate off the court. I had an issue on the court where I have a habit of saying, "Sorry," — I think a lot of Black women do, honestly. Then I realized that they wouldn't say sorry or they’d use my kindness as weakness. I've learned a lesson in that because everything translates on and off the court.
"If you're able to work through those mental pieces with yourself on the court, that will translate off the court."
KS: It's easy for me to do things that I'm good at, but it's not easy for me to do things that I'm not good at. Tennis is still challenging for me, but it pushes me. It’s a reality check for me; I know when things are aligned, and when they're not. It feels like a big metaphor for me because it's pushing me to do something that's uncomfortable and makes me work for myself more.
xoN: What do you hope the long-term impact of Black Girl Tennis Club will be?
VS: We want to have a space for people who might be workaholics or might be going through depression. It's always great to have a hobby, whether that's knitting, sewing, or what have you. For me and Kimberly, it’s about creating hobbies for Black women and girls but also knowing that it’s okay to not be amazing at it. You don't have to be amazing at tennis; you could hit around the court, and that's okay.
The next Serena or Venus might come from Black Girls Tennis Club.
To support Black Girl Tennis Club’s mission, donate to their cause here and follow their Instagram page to stay up to date with new clinics and events.
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