Another day, Another Money Moment interview. This one comes from Ellanni Credit. With great resources such as a Debt to Income work sheet and a DIY credit repair course, Ellanni Credit is our go to if you want to understand and build your credit score.
As a heads up, this will be the last interview before we get a new set of questions. So enjoy it (we certainly did)
What is the mission of Ellanni Credit?
The mission of Ellanni Credit is to help individuals gain the financial freedom to pursue their dreams through the saving of money and the increasing the entitlement of better financial deals.
If you were to tell us about one high and one low of your financial journey so far, what would they be?
One high was getting a County Court Judgment (a court order) removed from the court system and my credit report after months of battling with the creditor.
One low was sitting at home with my daughter in one hand, close to depression, and calculating all the debts that I owed at the time. The amount of interest I had paid over the years due to not being able to afford to pay bills on time was staggering.
What’s your first money memory?
When I was young and it was “own clothes day” at school.
Having 7 brothers and sisters each of us 18 months apart (you can only imagine what that looks like). My dad sadly passed when I was young, so my mum was a single parent. It was expensive for my mum to be paying for all of us to get nice clothes so we borrowed from each other a lot. So imagine on “own clothes day” there was a tussle for the better outfit. I just remember one of those times my mum had just received a bonus from work so we were all treated to new tops. I remember speaking to her at a young age and she told me I should work hard in whatever I choose to do and that will give me the financial freedom to do what I choose to.
My mum’s joy is to provide for her children and make them smile; with that extra money she was able to do what she loved. I took that so close to my heart.
What is one thing you would tell your younger self about money?
I would tell her to stop buying her favourite top in all the colours available, it is not necessary and it is certainly not worth it. I would tell her to utilise education and seek knowledge before making decisions, save save save and don’t follow the crowd when making financial decisions.
Tell us your favourite credit tip
My favourite credit tip is to keep your credit utilisation below 20%. Never let your total credit outstanding be more than 20% of your overall credit limit. If you are not able to do so then ask your creditor to increase your credit limit but keep your utilisation low. More credit shouldn’t mean more money to spend, it should mean more room for emergencies.
If you could do a Ted Talk on the one topic you were passionate about, what would it be and why?
I would like to talk about what happiness really means.
I have found by talking to clients and doing speaking events that most people are chasing other people’s ideas of what they think is happiness. We are stuck in this era of one size fits all and if you go against that you are the abnormal one. Not everybody should own a house, not everybody should have a car, not everybody should be an entrepreneur and not everybody should be an employee, not everyone should be parents. It is ok to not have those things and also to have those things. I want to spread the message that we need to find out what happiness truly means to you as an individual from an early age. We should promote self-awareness in school and at home and raise a society of truly happy, peaceful people.
Could you give us your typical spending on a Friday?
Well now the virus has tied us to our houses my expenses are extremely low and yes I miss my Starbucks Coffee
Typically if I were in the office:
7:30am – Croissant from Sainsbury (£0.85)
13:00pm – Lunch from Soho Market (£5.50)
4:30pm – Caramel Macchiato from Starbucks, not everyday mind you, my teeth would disappear! (£3.30)
7:00pm – If it’s a Friday then its takeaway night (£30 for the whole family)
Check out Ellanni Credit - we're obsessed!
Comments