We recently connected with Terrell Dinkins and have shared our conversation below.
Terrell, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s start with education – we’d love to hear your thoughts about how we can better prepare students for a more fulfilling life and career.
I would make in-depth personal finance courses mandatory in our school system, starting with middle school (6th, 7th, and 8th grade). Our behavior with money gets us in trouble and can have a negative financial impact on our lives indefinitely and generationally. To have a more fulfilling life and career, we must learn to master five different areas of our life: spiritual, physical health, mental mindset, time, and finances. Learning to master these five areas of our life makes us better human beings and in a better position for the rest of our lives. Imagine if a student fully understood the magic of compounding interest and the concept of the time value of money. We would have far more millionaires!
Terrell, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I wasn’t planning on becoming an author until much later in life. Writing a book was on my bucket list. Under pressure to speak at an event on a subject, I am very passionate about (personal finance), I wrote and completed my first book in approximately nine months. My latest book, “Secrets of The 800+ Club: How to Raise Your Credit Score, Maintain Good Credit, and Live the Life of Unicorns”, has become an Amazon Best Seller! I like to package my books as “The Wealth Bundle” because the material from both provides solutions on how to build wealth (one money bucket at a time) and how to leverage your credit to save money over your lifetime.
As an entrepreneur in the finance world (a founder of a financial planning firm), I witnessed many financial mistakes of others and how having personal financial tools early in life could have saved them from financial heartache.
I am very proud of the feedback and the impact my books have had on the lives of my readers. I’ve received direct messages about how my book helped them raise their credit scores. One woman shared with me that she was able to purchase her first house following the methods I share in “Secrets of the 800+ Club”. I am a server by nature, and my books (The Wealth Bundle) along with media outlets and social media allow me to reach a broader audience and spread the word on personal finance topics.
Is there a mission driving your creative journey?
I am driven to help close the wealth gap among women and my community. If we see it, we can become it. Women still make less than men for the same work. We still have less saved for retirement. In the African American community, so few of us are investors, and we all know that the majority of wealth created in this country is through investing, real estate, and life insurance. I want to change the statistics through my work and my voice.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
My goal was to become a thought leader in my field. I made the conscious decision to do all things finance-related. I once owned an interior design business with a business partner. In 2017 I asked myself, during difficult times, would people likely pay for a need or a want? I also dug deep inside and followed my heart, asking myself what was pulling at my heartstring. The answer was clear, so I shut down the interior design business and sold all of my inventory. Because of my decision and messaging, I have built a reputation as a personal finance expert. I moved in the direction of my passion.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://one-bucket-nation-llc.square.site/
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- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/onebucketnation/
- Twitter: @onebucketnation
- Youtube: One Bucket Nation