Theta Omicron Omega chapter hosts financial seminar
The mysteries of credit were unraveled during the Theta Omicron Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority’s latest financial seminar. The group joined hands with Shaun Collings, Financial Wellness Relationship Manager at Regions Bank, who spoke extensively on how to build a credit score, manage payments, and much more.
As always, the event was completely free and food was provided. The sorority has been offering similar events for years in hopes of aiding the community, and when Collings began his presentation, he did so for a packed crowd at the Cedartown Women’s Building.
While many are knowledgeable about the basics of credit and how it can affect your relationship with financial institutions, fewer understand how one’s credit score can affect how employers and others view you. Collings mentioned that the score has become a representation of your character in the modern world and explained that maintaining a positive score is a powerful way to demonstrate responsibility.
“Who would be surprised to know that, if you went to go rent an apartment, they would look at your credit?” Colling asked. “Most people know that kind of stuff. What about insurance? That surprised me. When I found out you had to submit to a credit report to get an insurance policy that was actually going to determine your rate, I was blown away.”
These checks are more common for jobs and applications involving money, but it’s important to maintain a positive score regardless. Numerous late payments could be indicative of poor organizational skills or low levels of commitment, and mishandling one’s own finances doesn’t bode well when agreeing to pay a company for a service.
“The biggest reason is, credit can be used to determine someone’s character to some extent,” Collings said. “If I know you’re gonna pay your bills, or you have paid your bills in the past, chances are you’re gonna pay me, but it also shows you have a kind of healthy lifestyle. You don’t take big risks.”
A credit check isn’t the only means employers and companies will use when accepting applicants, but making sure locals are prepared with this kind of knowledge is something the sorority has worked to do for years. By teaching attendees useful habits on top of financial knowledge, Collings echoed the goals of the sorority.
He discussed secured cards, dissected the elements of credit that impact scores the most, and taught about the organizations that report credit. If credit scores are indicative of character, then those who attend events from Theta Omicron Omega shouldn’t have any problem.
In the past, the group has held a caregivers meeting, another financial seminar about life insurance and savings building, and many other helpful events.
Those who missed the event can find information about future seminars and happenings by visiting https://www.facebook.com/ thetaomicronomega/. The Cedartown Women’s Building can be found at 415 Wissahickon Ave., Cedartown.