We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Antoine Miller a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Antoine thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us 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.
WHO KNEW? When you turned 18, you got your very first credit report generated by the three major credit bureaus (Trans Union, Equifax and Experian). Most high school graduating seniors don’t even know what a credit bureau is. No fault of their own, they didn’t learn about it. It would’ve been helpful if they were taught to start monitoring credit before their 18th birthday. Instead, the education system talks very little about financial literacy and upon graduation students are thrusted into the real world, ill paired and lacking much sense of financial literacy.
Upon graduation from high school, we do our best as new adults to make sense of our finances and the importance of things like budgeting, saving and managing credit but it’s tough. Especially, considering, many of us new adults come from households, who are suffering through generational poverty. We are the children who have parents who may not understand finances themselves. How could our parents possibly teach us children about money and how to spend it, save it and invest it wisely? Our parents didn’t understand finances themselves! This is where the schools have a great opportunity to shine. Schools should do more to educate students about the importance of financial literacy.
Somewhere between science, gym and English, the education system should’ve slipped in a course or two about financial literacy. Think about it. All the mathematics you learn means less if you have nothing, like say, money to count and add. If you don’t have an understanding of finances, life gets pretty difficult and very quickly. And I’m sorry, your credit card company won’t accept English or science as payment.
Fast-forward to life after high school. This is when people wake up one morning and feel a rush to fix their finances and credit. We wake up and understand we aren’t in the best financial position to get the house we need to start our family, to get the business loan we need to start building our dream and being productive citizens who contribute to the economy. We feel rushed to fix our financial lives. Unfortunately, for many of us, we’re already in debt. That debt has ruined our credit. Credit repair requires patience. Once you’ve damaged your credit, it can take years to repair. Many of us don’t even know where to start with that. Your credit didn’t get messed up overnight and it will not be repaired overnight. This is why it’s important to get started teaching students, while they’re in school, about finances and definitely about credit.
I didn’t find out about credit until my college years when I started signing up for credit cards. It was easy to get a credit card, but it was hard to pay it back. All of this should’ve been taught because credit is important but who knew? I took out student loans without fully understanding how to pay them back and what defaulting on a student payment truly meant.
The good news is that, t’s a new day. The educational system can choose to do better. Schools can teach students about the importance of financial literacy the real world. The world that doesn’t run on a grading system other than bank accounts and credit scores. Students are graduating. Some are headed off to college. Others are headed to the workforce, trade schools or the military. No matter which path young people take, one thing is certain, financial literacy will remain an important factor throughout the entirety of their lives. I’m excited because schools have an opportunity to feel the financial literacy gap.
Financial literacy is critically important to anyone who wants to live a fulfilling life with a sense of financial security. I know this, you know this, but maybe our youth don’t. It’s up to the educational system to assist heavily in breaking this cycle of financial illiteracy, debt, poverty, and poor credit. If not, there goes our economy. Our financial system can only run on debt for so long. If we don’t get it right with the help of the school system. Eventually, someone’s going to pay.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
Antoine Miller is certified through the IAPDA, (International Association of Professional Debt Arbitrators) as a Certified Debt Specialist. He is also certified through the NACCC (National Association of Certified Credit Counselors) as a Certified Credit Counselor. In addition to professional experience, Miller has decades of personal experience in managing and reducing consumer debt.
Miller’s dedication to learning how to help consumers escape the burden of debt is never ending. Most recently obtaining certification in personal finance and debt management. He has learned the psychology of money, how to invest smarter, reduce loans and retire earlier.
While Miller holds a B.S. in Human Services from Springfield College, he credits most of his interest in overcoming consumer debt to real life experiences with earning, saving and spending. Miller is eager to share his story of how he overcame his issues with debt and provide information on how you can do the same. Miller is a lifelong resident of Milwaukee, WI and can be contacted at 414-219-1976.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
I’m Black and I’ve been in debt. Fortunately, with hard work, financial discipline and some luck, I figured out how to bounce back. Before the six figure income, investments and philanthropy, things were tough. I’m talking about Ramen noodles for lunch and dinner tough. The affordable Little Caesars Hot and Ready pizzas were a godsend. At the time, they were only five dollars a pizza. My family and I ate these pizzas so much that, to this day, my family would freak out if I even thought about turning into a Little Caesars parking lot. I’m grateful to my wife and children for staying the course during those tough financial times. Having no money and no credit was hell.
I mention these facts because I don’t believe in writing advice on subjects I’ve never experienced. I have receipts for the good times and bad times. That said, before I started clawing my way out of debt, life was a challenge. I had a busy life. When I was working on starting up my sales consulting business, I wasn’t making enough money to assist in providing properly for my family and the last thing I wanted to deal with was financial stress. Guess what? I didn’t deal with it. The bills piled up. I let those collection calls go to voicemail because, after all, when you’ve negotiated with the electric company last week to buy time before paying your bill and you still ain’t got it to give, what’s the point in even picking up the phone? I AIN”T GOT IT.
Ignoring debt and ignoring our financial situation leads to an oversight of our financial well-being. This is not good. We have to change this habit. We have to take a look at our finances, our credit reports, our future and vow to make a change.
Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?
One of he best ways to keep in touch with clients is through social media. Facebook, Instagram another social platforms allow me to quickly address thousands of people about current events and all types of matters dealing with financial issues. I’m able to talk openly and honestly with my followers about issues affecting their everyday lives. The majority of my followers are from lower income areas and have small amounts of knowledge when it comes to financial literacy. Because I know this, I’m able to tailor my content in such a way that it is humorous, encouraging and educational. It’s this mix that keeps my audience and engaged and allows me to stay in touch with them.
I’ve been able to build and maintain brand loyalty around my company, Smart Debt Good Credit, by allowing my audience, a peak into my struggles with money, credit, and budgeting. I’ve always made it a point to be real. I’ve made it a point to let my followers know that there was a time that I did not understand , and I was financially illiterate. However, I make it a point to also let my followers know that they do not have to remain in a state of financial ignorance. I give them the power through the information that I share. I don’t just speak motivation. I share actionable facts and I give financial tips that they can put in motion immediately. These tips help them better their lives and they’re appreciative in their feedback and comments. Truth is, and I tell my followers this, I appreciate them for their attention because I feel that I am contributing to making each of their lives a little bit better with the financial advice I’m able to give. Many times I learn from my audience. They are learning and sharing and growing every day. I think in this way, the relationship is reciprocal. We’re all winning and we’re all sharing in the social media community. Because of our trusting relationship, Smart Debt Good Credit fostered brand loyalty itself.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://SmartDebtGoodCredit.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smartdebtgoodcredit/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61558801299544
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/antoinemiller/
- Twitter: https://x.com/G00Dcredit