Managing Debt and Building Credit
This class is for anyone carrying debt who wants a plan instead of just worry. We'll figure out what you actually owe (which is usually a different number than the one in your head), how credit scores actually work, and which payoff strategy fits you—I'll show you the math both ways and let you decide. You'll pull up your own credit report in class and learn to read it without the panic. We'll practice calling and asking for fees or rates to come off, because more is negotiable than people think. No shame about any of it. You'll leave with a written plan you actually made, not a printout I handed you. Thursdays, 7:00 to 8:30.
What you'll learn
- Calculate your total debt without flinching
- Read a credit card statement line by line
- Choose between avalanche and snowball payoff methods
- Spot billing errors and disputable items on reports
- Practice calling to negotiate lower rates or fees
Lessons
- What You Actually Owe
Before any strategy, we get an honest number on the table and take the fear out of looking at it.
- How Credit Scores Actually Work
The made-up number that still decides your interest rate, and why chasing it directly makes people do dumb stuff.
- Reading Your Own Credit Report
We pull your actual report in class and learn to look at it, because nobody ever shows people how.
- Paying It Down
Two strategies, both the math and the human side, and you pick the one you'll actually stick with.
- Calling and Asking
More is negotiable than people believe, and the worst answer is no, which costs you nothing.
- Habits That Keep You Out
The small monthly routines that hold the whole thing together, including the ones I still mess up.
Class discussion
More money & career classes
Family Budgeting Basics
with Joyce
First-Time Home Buying in Utah County
with Jonathan
Retirement Basics for Beginners
with Jennifer