From $32K Debt to Over 800 Credit Score: Jesica's Financial Journey

Show Notes

• Guest: Jesica Naval
• Host: Tara Alderete
• Publication Date: December 10, 2024

Highlights

01:39 | Jesica talks about her realization that she needed help with her debt and how she began that journey.

04:39 | Jesica and Tara talk about how much Jesica learned about personal finance during her time working with MMI.

08:16 | Jesica talks about how empowering it is to simply talk about your debt and get past any lingering shame.

09:50 | Jesica celebrates her successes, including paying off her car and beginning to invest.

Episode Transcript

Tara: Hello. Today I'm talking with Jesica Naval from Riverside, California. Working with us here at Money Management International, Jesica paid off $32,000 in just four and a half years through MMI's debt management plan and brought her credit score from the mid six hundred s to over 800. So incredible. Here to share more about her debt payoff story is Jesica Naval. Jesica, welcome to the show.

Jesica: Hey. Oh, my gosh. Thank you so much for having me.

Tara: Oh, I'm happy to have you. I'm really excited to talk to you today. The amount of debt that you were able to repay along with that credit score increase is crazy impressive. So I want to talk about that, but before we dive into that, can you just tell us a little more about you, where you live, what you do.

Jesica: Hey. Okay, so I'm Jesica. Everyone calls me Jess. I live in Riverside, California. I've been here for almost ten years now, which is so crazy. I currently do freelance work. I'm a part of an ads agency and I run meta and Google Ads for small boutiques. And I also do content creation as well.

So, yeah, that's a little bit about me right now.

Tara: That's an interesting job, and I love your energy. I'm so excited to talk to you today. So, Jesica, I know that you were referred to us by Nerdwallet, and we have a great relationship with them. Can you tell us a little bit more about that and that referral process and just kind of what was happening before you reached out to us here at MMI?

Jesica: Yes. Okay. So by the time that I had reached out to you guys, I was, like, drowning in this debt. I was just doing my minimum payments. And I. I had talked to a friend. Like, I verbalized what was happening out loud because for most of it, I was just, like, internally dealing with it myself, you know, because when you have that much debt, it's like, there's so much shame that's affiliated with it, you know, so you don't talk about that. So when I finally said it out loud, I was like, oh, my God, this is real and I have to take care of this.

You know, I cannot just let this keep going. And I couldn't see an end in sight. So I googled debt management, and Nerdwallet was, like, one of the first sites that popped up. And, you know, I've heard about nerdwallet. They have, like, a silly name. So I was like, I don't know. But the more I, like, dived into all the articles on there, I was like, you know what? There's actually, like, really valuable information here. So I actually used Nerdwallet for basically anything money related.

Now, like, I'm hoping to get into investing really, really soon. So I've been, like, searching, researching about that on Nerdwallet, but basically, Nerdwallet led me to you guys.

Tara: Excellent. It's a great resource, like you said, for a lot of different things. I'm glad you were able to find us through them and come to us.

Jesica: Yes.

Tara: So could you tell us a little bit more about how working with the debt counselors here at MMI helped you to see a light at the end of the tunnel or see a path forward out of that debt?

Jesica: Yes. So, literally, from my first call, it was a lovely girl named Sandra. She pretty much, like, laid out the plan for me. And because we set that foundation up from the beginning, it was simple. I make the one payment a month, and the debt will be done in four years, four or five years. And I was like, oh, my God, an end. Like, what?

Tara: Right? It must have felt so good.

Jesica: Yes. So relieving, because, you know, when you see that, like, 30K, you're like, oh, my God, I'm never gonna get out of this. So, literally just stuck with my monthly payment every single month. And towards the end, I was even able to pay it off a couple months early because I saw that, like, last amount, and I was like, you know what? Let me just clear this out. So I was slated to end in June of this year, but then I was able to pay it off in February.

Tara: Oh, excellent. Congratulations.

Jesica: Thank you.

Tara: So what was your credit counseling experience with MMI? Like, what would you say was the most important thing that you learned throughout the process?

Jesica: It was such a great learning process throughout because, like, within that four years, I learned about money, how to have, like, good, healthy credit and actually, like, pay it off in a timely manner and not just do the minimum payments, the, like, whenever I reached out to MMI through the live chat, so that's how I would, like, reach out after that initial call. Like, they always shared great insight and gave me the tools that I needed to understand this beast that is debt and credit.

Tara: So you have a better understanding of finances and credit, and it sounds like you were able to work with somebody along the way as you needed to. So that's great.

Jesica: Yes, yes, exactly.

Tara: So we've said this a couple of times, but I'm just. I'm so blown away by it. You were able to pay off $32,000 in four and a half years and increase your credit score about 150 points. It's just incredible. So can you tell us a little bit more about that and how you were able to do it?

Jesica: I got the credit karma app and like, you know how we all have our social, social platforms that we cycle through, like Insta TikTok? Credit karma is one of mine that I circle through like every single day. So I just check that religiously. And it's just been so fun to see that climb. But basically, you know, like, when you join MMI, like, all of your credit cards that are currently active get shut down, right? So there's like that little period where your credit, you know, score isn't great. So once I was able to build that back up as my payments were happening, then I opened a card and I, like, safely was using it. You know, like, I was able to open a car that had 0% interest for like twelve to 15 months. So because I was able to do that, I kind of like made my own payments. So, you know, like affirm, sezzle, all those things.

I was like my own sezzle. So, so let's say, like, I wanted to splurge and get myself some clothes, I would be like, okay, so I'm going to spend this much and I have twelve months to pay it off. How much am I going to pay every single month to pay that off? To stay within the 0%. So those kinds of behaviors are what I learned along the way and trust and believe I'm never going to let that credit score drop to anything other than very good or excellent ever again.

Tara: So you're keeping an eye on it all the time, and it sounds like you've done a really good job of allowing credit to work for you going forward. I love that.

Jesica: Yes, yes, yes, yes. I mean, this is something that I wish was taught in like high school, you know, like, I feel like this would be such valuable information for a 1718 year old who's about to get their first credit cardinal. But you know what? Young people be young and they don't do what they want to do. So you are right.

Tara: So, jess, you know, debt is very common, right? And it's something that we don't typically talk about. I mean, we're talking about it today, but like you said earlier, it's just not a part of our regular dialogue. So how do you think debt counseling nonprofits like MMI are working to help break that stable stigma around debt?

Jesica: Oh, my gosh. Like, like I said earlier, literally saying it out loud was the light bulb moment that I needed. So it's. It's kind of amazing to have that first call because when you say it out, like, when you're making these minimum payments, it's kind of like this phantom ghost type thing that's there but isn't really real. So you're kind of just letting it go, you know, but at the same time, when you're doing that and avoiding it, it's creating crazy damage, you know, for you in the long run. So I feel like that first MMI call is kind of like a mini therapy session where you get to, like, share what is really happening with your life in order for you to realize that this is a real, tangible thing and it's something that you need to handle and can actually be handled within the next five years. Like, time goes by so fast that in the grand scheme of things, like, five years is nothing.

Tara: Right. Well, and when you look at the comparison between five years and, you know, when we look at what it's going to take us if we're paying the minimum balance, how long that is, to your point, it's just such a small thing, right?

Jesica: Yep, exactly.

Tara: So I have one last question for you. Well, I guess it's two questions. What does being debt free mean for you? And now that you've been able to achieve this debt reduction goal, what is coming next?

Jesica: Oh, my God. That is so exciting to think about. Okay, so crazy side note. So at the time that I was able to pay off my remaining balance, I actually got approved for the debt, the student loan debt consolidation. That was happening great. So I had about, like six to $7,000 left on a balance. So that got forgiven. So that was happening all at the same time.

And I paid off my car last year, too, so I don't have a car payment at the moment. So to me, being debt free means. Oh, my gosh, it just means that you've handled these big, big chunks of money that you have in the atmosphere out there that you're owing. Obviously, that debt free could mean a lot of things to a lot of people. Everyone is different. Another element of debt free to me is understanding the game of credit and being able to use it to your advantage.

Tara: Yes.

Jesica: So, like, another portion of that is, like, with credit cards, there's a negative stigma, but you can really use these cards to your advantage. Like, I was able to book a hotel in Tokyo for a week for free, all on points. So that's part of being debt free, too, is just like learning this financial literacy. And also, like I mentioned earlier, my next step is going to be investing. So I'm going to open an account with Vanguard and get that going.

Tara: Excellent. So you're using the money that you're saving each month to take trips on points and start to invest.

Jesica: Exactly.

Tara: I love it.

Jesica: Hopefully one day I can own a home, but being here in California, we shall see what happens. You know, you never know what can change in the future. So ever since I've been debt free, I've been able to actually save money. Like, I have a good amount of money in savings. Obviously not where I want to be yet, but there's actually money in savings there when five years ago, I was living paycheck to paycheck, nothing, $0.00 in savings.

Tara: So, yeah, it makes a big difference. And you know, Jess, that savings is going to add up really fast. Just like the time goes bye fast. You make those regular contributions and see how big that savings grows. And before you know it, sky's the limit.

Jesica: Right, exactly. And it's in a high yield savings account, too, so it's growing.

Tara: I love it. Well, is there anything else you'd like to share with us today?

Jesica: Basically, MMI legit changed my life. Like, it's so crazy to say that, but it truly and absolutely did. And I. I tell all of my friends and family about it. I'm like, dude, we all have debt. You know, like, it's, it sucks, but almost every, pretty much every single person I know has debt.

Tara: Sure.

Jesica: You know, and so MMI has the tools in order to handle that stressful, stressful part of your life. So, yes, I just want to say I love mmi and thank you all so much. Change in my life.

Tara: Thank you so much. We appreciate you being a client. I appreciate your time and talking to me today, and I really just appreciate your energy. So best of luck to you going forward and thank you so much.

Jesica: Thank you, Tara.

Return to main podcast page