Consumer Credit

Happy Halloween from Beyond the Bank!!

Last night's session focused around Consumer Credit. Now that the students have a solid foundation on our previous topics (budgeting, saving, investing, consumer protection, etc), we wanted our last topic to focus on a subject many of the TAY have been either building or re-building since they turned 18.

Unfortunately, credit card fraud and stolen identities are normal among the TAY community. Because their paperwork is constantly being passed, they are prime targets for criminals to steal their identities, which will then cause them to "commit" credit card fraud under their names. In fact, one of the students has claimed there is a person in Arizona using her name to buy a home. With such vital information being used, it was important for the TAY to attend this session.

But alas, the Universe (or Fate, or whoever controls this vast place we call Earth), had other plans last night. Last night a large number of the TAY attended a job fair with other TAY within Los Angeles. There, the students were eager hopefuls to various entry-level jobs throughout Los Angeles. With that said, the instructors, USC undergraduates and LIFT all understood that their priority had shifted for that night alone.

However, it wasn't a complete loss! We had 3 TAY still attend our class, so we made the best of it. It definitely was a more intimate class, but that just made the conversation a bit more lively. The three 3 students were engaged and felt comfortable enough to share some personal stories of their credit history and how some of them are determined to work on re-building their credit.

Despite the class having only 3 students last night, it was still a fruitful conversation. Next week we will conducting a wrap-up session focusing on any last-minute questions. Also, the USC JEP program was kind enough to let us use their space for next week's graduation!

Stay tuned for next week's last class of Beyond the Bank Round 2!