That Lightbulb Moment with Patrina Dixon | Ep. 25

• Tiffany introduces Patrina as one of her idols in the financial space, met at FinCon. They bond over similar past money mistakes and the pivotal moments that changed their paths.

I made a lot of money and I had what I would call things going on... my bank account is non-existent. My credit score, I'm like, what is that?

• Both women share how they reached their "lightbulb moments." Patrina had excessive store credit cards with high interest; Tiffany was denied a small credit line due to medical debt despite responsible banking history.

Medical doesn't count. It does. Sure. You get that taken care of, but that's what flipped the switch for me.

• Patrina emphasizes not understanding interest rates led to paying for items like sweaters over six months.

• They discuss the catch-22 of needing credit to build credit and the importance of responsible use. Tiffany avoided credit cards after seeing family bankruptcies post-2008 crisis.

Don't look at credit cards as income. Like it's not free money. Look at it as a tool to build your credit so that way you can leverage later on.

• Patrina cites Maya Angelou and explains her mission as a financial coach to help others gain knowledge they lacked growing up.

My goal is to help more people know and hopefully they make the decision to go along the right money path.

• Patrina discusses her book aimed at ages 13-18, written in journal format with financial concepts, questions, and space for reflection to help youth start their financial journeys earlier than she did.

I wish I knew about this earlier. So my goal with my first book was to get to the young people so that they would start their journeys off differently than I did.

• Patrina shares how pitching her book led to a local TV show on Channel 5 in Windsor, CT, with episodes based on book chapters featuring young guests. Available on YouTube.

When you're looking for other ways to get your message out there, I would recommend pitching to your local... folks that have local shows today.

• They reflect on the power of FinCon, especially the people of color meetup, and the value of "rising and lifting" others in the financial education space.

Always make sure you take somebody with you... as you rise, especially in our community and in this field, we're very few and far between.

• Patrina directs listeners to her website, social media (@itsmymoney_), and her private Facebook group "It's My Money Squad" for financial tips and community.