LaKisha is 45 years old and lives in Houston. She runs her own event planning business and loves the freedom of being her own boss while connecting with her clients. When she was in college, LaKisha racked up credit card debt that accumulated over the years. Her credit score dropped to the low 500s. She […]
Nick is a 35 year old marketing director from Connecticut. During his teens and twenties, he maxed out credit cards and missed debt payments. He joined Kikoff to build credit for a mortgage and buy a house with his wife. In two years, Nick’s credit score has jumped from the low 500s to a 754. […]
We’re celebrating Black History Month. We’re striving to celebrate the Black community, while also drawing attention to ongoing marginalization and inequality. Black Americans have been – and continue to be – underserved and discriminated against in banking. Black-owned banks, in turn, fight these systemic injustices while providing their customers with needed access to financial services. […]
Howdy Credit Builders, I’m on the engineering team here at Kikoff, but I’m also a fellow credit builder. Just a few years ago, my score was 511. But earlier this month, I finally joined the 700 club. This was an important personal achievement for me – not because my new score meant big credit cards, […]
Wanda Holland Greene is an advisor for Kikoff. She’s currently the Head at Hamlin School, an all-girls school in San Francisco, and a trustee at Columbia University. What drew you to Kikoff? I think the biggest barrier to financial wellbeing is lack of education and access. But Kikoff is giving everybody a way in — […]
You’re 18. You’re an adult. Woohoo! 🎉🎉🎉 You’re probably starting to think about buying a car, leasing an apartment, or taking out a loan for more of life’s expenses. A credit score is the starting point for all of these 🌟 Your credit score shows lenders how trustworthy you are to pay back what you’ve […]
A 700 credit score is a game changer. Lenders use your credit score as a measure of how trustworthy you are as a borrower. A 700 score — considered high by lenders — will get you approved for more loans and mortgages, and most likely with lower interest rates. There’s no magic formula to getting […]
Shuronda is a 32 year old hotel manager living in Georgia. She loves being able to meet and help people from around the world through hospitality. When she was younger, Shuronda racked up debt and late payments on her credit history. But since she had never worried about income, she never checked her credit score. […]
Credit is everywhere: interest, mortgage rates, security deposits, loan payments, leases. The first step to a good credit score? Seeing just how expensive bad credit is. Car Loan Auto loans vary dramatically with your credit score – from 4% to as high as 20%. Credit Cards Good credit qualifies you for cards with the best […]
Alexus wanted better credit to apply for loans and grow her business. During the year since joining Kikoff, Alexus’ credit score jumped from the low 600s up to 720. She dramatically increased her credit limit, and cut her APR in half.
“When you take control of your credit, you can take control of your life.” John is 33 years old and works in operations at Microsoft. He lives in Atlanta, and is planning on applying for mortgage loans this summer. When John realized that a good credit score could save him money, he got his first […]
When Illianna was 18, she got her first credit card and ended up racking up debt and missed payments. She joined Kikoff last June to repair her credit. After less than a year, Illianna’s score has jumped up almost 200 points–up to 620.
We help you with three crucial factors that determine your credit: payment history, credit utilization, and average account age.
The best money lesson I have ever learned is the power of compound interest. Most of the world underestimates the power of compound interest and usually don’t understand it. In simple terms, your money grows exponentially instead of linearly.
If you’re thinking seriously about your financial future, you’re already miles ahead of the crowd. Still, it can be tricky to know how to get started. One thing you can do immediately is to get smarter about saving your nickels. Here are four quick ways to start saving more money.
May I start by saying welcome to the club? No, you are not a bad person. We all do the comparison act, especially when it comes to friends and their money.
At the beginning of the year, everyone was eager to make a list of new year’s resolutions. We believe that we’re gonna follow through with them and change our entire lifestyle, right? Well usually that isn’t the case. In fact, around 80% of New Year’s resolutions fail by the second week of February. You must be thinking, what do I do now?
So you want to be rich (or, like, pay your bills, have some fun, and start saving) — but aren’t sure how to get there. Here’s a secret: build smart, simple habits.
What does it even mean to be “Credit Invisible”? 26 million consumers in the U.S. have no credit history. Being credit invisible means that you have no credit history with one of the 3 nationwide credit reporting companies: Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. In the U.S., 26 million consumers fall into the “credit invisible” category. Is […]
Does “Good Debt” even exist? Debt that occurs from careless spending can do nothing but harm you, but justifiable loans can enhance your quality of life. The words ‘good’ and ‘debt’ don’t seem like they would belong together. However, big purchases such as buying a car or a home are not often done without taking […]