Your Path to Financial Success

Webinar Transcription

2025-10-01-Fizz-Your Path to Financial Success

Anna: [00:00:00] Hello everyone. Good evening or afternoon or morning, whatever time it is from wherever in the world you’re joining us, we’re so happy you’re here for our webinar on, “Your Path to Financial Success.” My name is Anna Vande Velde. I’ll be your moderator today. I’m a senior advisor at CollegeAdvisor and have been with the company for four years working with students one-on-one.

Anna: To orient everyone with the webinar timing, we’re gonna start off with a presentation from our partner at Fizz, then answer your questions in a live q and a. On the sidebar, you can download our slides and you can start submitting questions in the q and a tab anytime. You don’t need to wait until the end of the presentation to submit those.

Anna: Please also note that this is being recorded and the recording will [00:01:00] be emailed out to you all afterwards, so you can always reference back if you, uh, have questions. All right. Without further ado, we are thrilled to have our partner Fizz with us tonight. It’s my pleasure to introduce Sam Lipscomb. Sam, can I hit off to you to introduce yourself further and then get into the presentation?

Sam: Absolutely. Thank you so much. Uh, hi guys. My name is Sam. Um, I’m the product and ops lead over at Fizz. Um, some of you may remember me from the last webinar, but, uh, so, uh, Fizz, uh, the company I work for is a, you know, I’ll call it financial literacy company. So we started out, we, uh, you know, a few years ago and we were just a credit building debit card, um, primarily for college students and young adults.

Sam: Uh, we’ve since expanded, you know, we still have the, the credit building debit card, but we also have financial resources, credit monitoring, um, trivia. [00:02:00] Rewards and a lot of other cool stuff. Um, the whole idea behind Fizz really, and you know, where the company kind of sprang from in the beginning was just.

Sam: Out of a desire and a general need that we saw for better financial education, uh, to sort of promote better financial outcomes for everybody. Whether you’re a young adult college student, whether you’re a graduate, whether you’re just trying to get your feet under yourself and, you know, figure out a better way to have a better relationship with money.

Sam: Um, so without further ado, let’s get into it. Um. And let’s talk a little bit about your path to financial success. So. The topic of our webinar today is why you shouldn’t wait to start building credit and healthy financial habits. So we’re gonna talk a little bit about the trap of waiting and why people do it.

Sam: Um, we’ll talk about the problem with waiting itself, you know, [00:03:00] pitfalls to be aware of, um, really sort of the costs of doing that. Um, and then we’ll talk a little about why you should start early, how you can build good habits and what your next move should be. Um, so. Without further ado, let’s hop into it and then at the end, happy to take any questions and I can talk a little bit more about Fizz and how it ties into all of this and, and what you can do to sort of put yourself ahead.

Sam: Cool. Let’s do this thing. Excuse me. So why waiting to get started? Can talk can cost you? So when it comes to money, one of the most common things people do is wait. They say, I’ll figure it out later. I don’t need to worry about the yet. That yet. I can wait until I graduate. I can wait until I get a job. I can wait until X, Y, Z.

Sam: And honestly, I, I get it. You know, when you’re just starting out, there are a ton of priorities pulling at you. School work, relationships and credit. And, you know, finance in general feels often like something for the future. You know, whether that’s in a macro perspective, se. [00:04:00] Perspective or, or you know, even micro, whether you’re thinking about building credit years from now, or whether you’re saying, ah, I really want to go out to this restaurant, so I’m just gonna put my card down and worry about it later.

Sam: Um, you know, yeah. You think about it. I’ll deal with it when I need a car, when I want to buy a house, or maybe when I’m older and more established when it comes to credit specifically. But the reality is credit doesn’t work that way. It’s not something you can flip on like a light switch. It’s like planting a tree.

Sam: Right. You know, you can’t suddenly plant a tree and have the shade. You need to think about that years in advance. And the trap is that when people finally get serious about credit and understanding their finances, it’s often at the exact moment when they’re applying for an apartment or they’re trying to get a loan.

Sam: Um, and that’s when it’s too late. And you know, really this trap is sneaky because of. Feels really logical, right? It feels safer to avoid credit until you need it. You know, you can tell yourself, I can’t mess up if I don’t use it, if I just, you know, kind of take a step back and just, you know, spend money like I always have.

Sam: But avoiding it isn’t [00:05:00] neutral. Particularly when it comes to credit, it’s actually actively working against you. You’re losing time and time is really one of the most important factors when it comes to building strong credit and a strong fin financial foundation. And so, yeah, I call it the waiting trap because it feels harmless until the moment you need credit to open doors.

Sam: And I know that one. Personally, um, you know, at that point waiting doesn’t feel safe anymore. It feels really limiting and there’s not much you can do about it. Suddenly, you know, the apartment that you wanted, the job you wanted, um, the car you thought you could afford are just completely out of reach.

Sam: And it’s not even ’cause you weren’t responsible. Uh, it’s just because you didn’t have a track record. ’cause you didn’t take the stuff seriously beforehand. So here’s the really the truth and the crux of the matter is waiting doesn’t protect you. It sets you back. And the sooner we break out of that trap, the sooner we can start building a foundation that gives us freedom and choice in the future.

Sam: So, good question, right? Like if waiting is such a trap, why do so many [00:06:00] people do it? And the truth is that most of us were never really taught how credit works, how finances work. So it honestly feels safer to avoid it, you know? Um. For a lot of people, the stuff is intimidating. You’ve heard horror stories about debt.

Sam: You know, you’ve heard from your parents stay away from credit cards and you know, out of fear of messing up a lot of people decided to do nothing and, you know, that included myself back in the day. Uh, it feels safer, but it actually leaves you invisible and, you know, kind of at the whims of a system that, uh, you know, can elevate you if you use it properly, but can really hold you down if you don’t.

Sam: You know why else, you know, other people believe that the, you know, they maybe understand the system but think it’s silly. They think debit and savings are enough, and in daily net life they usually are, right? Like you can pay rent, you can buy groceries, you can cover your bills, but debit doesn’t build your credit history.

Sam: Most debit cards is a little different, but I’ll get into that. Um, you know, so if you take this approach and while you’re being financially responsible, the system [00:07:00] treats you like you don’t exist from a credit perspective, which is not good. And finally, there’s this confusion factor, right? Credit scores, credit utilization, hard inquiries.

Sam: It all sounds really complicated. Um, and when something feels hard, I get it. The natural instinct is to just kind of push it off for later. So people wait out of fear, confusion, false sense of safety. But avoiding credit and finance, it’s not neutral. Again, it’s own kind of mistake.

Sam: So now I wanna talk a little bit about what actually happens when you wait. If you do it yourself, you know people who do it themselves, so you know, right? Like what’s really the big problem. Like on the surface it might not feel like a big deal. You’re paying your bills with debit, maybe you got some savings, you’re not in debt.

Sam: Everything feels fine. But the problem here is that credit isn’t something you build overnight. Right? You know, it’s like the tree. It takes years of consistent history to create a profile. Lenders, landlords and employers would trust, will trust, and it’s the same thing with the rest of your finances. You know, [00:08:00] you wanna be able to build up good habits if you try and sort of pull the trigger on all these things.

Sam: In the blink of an eye, it’s not gonna work out very well. When it comes to credit, you wanna think of it like your reputation. You know, you can’t suddenly decide one day to have a great reputation. It’s all built over time through your actions, through consistency. If you wait until you’re 25, 30, 35, and then start applying through your first credit card, you’re essentially walking into the room saying, hi, I’m new here.

Sam: And lenders are gonna look at that and think, we don’t know you. Why should we trust you with our dollars? Um, and you know, even for yourself when it comes to other financial habits, uh, it’s gonna be tough to make those stick. It’s gonna be tough to think about how to be responsible if you don’t take it seriously, um, quicker.

Sam: Um, but when it comes to credit, like this is a really big issue when you hit major life milestone. It’s like, say you’re ready to rent your first apartment. The landlord pulls your credit report and you have nothing to show, or you wanna buy a car and same thing happens. Um, or you, you know, stuck with a really high interest rate.

Sam: In that case, if you can get a loan at [00:09:00] all, uh, or worse, you know, you apply for a job in finance or government. Or another field where they check your credit and suddenly you’re seen as a risk ’cause you don’t have any. Um, and the kicker really is that by the time you realize you need credit, it’s already too late to build that kind of history that matters.

Sam: Like you can open an account as soon as you realize, but that not gonna do very much for you in the moment. So the real problem with waiting is that it leaves you unprepared, like you think you’ll cross that bridge and you come to it. But when you finally arrive, the bridge isn’t there. And the opportunities that should feel exciting, you know, getting your own place, buying your first car, starting your career, they feel stressful, they’re expensive, they’re even just not accessible to you at all, which sucks.

Sam: So, you know, the moral here right, is that waiting doesn’t keep you safe. It keeps you stuck. And that’s why the decision to delay is one of the most costly financial mistakes people make early in life. And again, you know, I think [00:10:00] it’s important to underscore that credit is definitely an important one to focus on here.

Sam: Um, but all of these concepts apply to personal finance in general. Because if you’re not building a strong foundation, you know, it’s really hard to build anything. And that’s true in like the metaphorical way, like when I’m talking about a financial foundation. But I mean, you know, take that example with anything, you know, you can’t build, literally build a house or a building if it doesn’t have a strong foundation.

Sam: Um, and so, you know, that’s, it’s a good way to think about it. Um, but. It just underscores the importance of not waiting, and particularly when it comes to money, something that is just touches every aspect of your life, really thinking, Hey, this is something that I should be getting on top of now, not tomorrow, because the best time to start was yesterday.[00:11:00]

Sam: But the second best time is today. And I would argue that the worst time to start is tomorrow, because tomorrow never comes.

Sam: So when people finally do start building credit or you know, taking matters into their own hand come hands when it comes to their finances, it’s easy to fall into a few common traps. And these mistakes don’t just slow you down. They can actually really set you back sometimes even for years. Um, so the first pitfall I would say is only relying on debit.

Sam: Debit cards. Again, except for Fizz, is a little bit different type of credit debit card that actually builds your credit and is actually attached to a line of credit. But again, I’ll get into that later. Debit cards like the ones issued by your bank feel safe because you’re only spending money that you already have.

Sam: Um, they don’t build your credit history though, and that’s. An issue, like you can be financially responsible and still end up with no credit profile at all, which again, that [00:12:00] can cost you. Um, another mistake is leaning too hard on your parents, your guardians, people that are financially supporting you.

Sam: You know, it can be a real blessing to have family support in life. Um, you know, and there’s no shame in admitting that, right. But it’s important to realize that like money always comes from somewhere. And whether you’re getting allowance from somebody, whether you’re making your own money, whether you’re, you know, scraping things together one way or another, you know, it pays to think about how that money is coming in and how that money is going out.

Sam: Um, ’cause if not money can kind of become this amorphous blob that, you know. Don’t really think about and you don’t have to think about until it’s too late going back to credit. Another mistake is applying for too many cards at the same time. Every application can trigger a check on your report, and Fizz doesn’t do that.

Sam: We’ll get into that later and too many [00:13:00] checks in a short period look risky to lenders. So sends a signal that you’re maybe desperate, so you know, if you wait too long and then you decide to apply for a bunch of different cards at the same time, if you’re even able to get all of them. It could make you look a little risky.

Sam: Staying in the credit vein. Missing payments early is another huge one. Even a single missed payment can stand your record for literally years, and it’s one of the most damaging things you can do. And finally, people sometimes obsess over small things while ignoring the big picture. You know, when it comes to credit, your credit score’s gonna move up and down, even if you are responsible.

Sam: You know, small fluctuations are super normal. Um, you know, when it comes to your finances, generally, you know, I think I see this plenty, but people worrying about one purchase or one thing that they’re really focused on, um, when it comes to, you know, saving up for something or, or swiping their card. And, you know, obviously you don’t wanna be spending beyond your [00:14:00] means, but you, it’s important to take a look at your finances holistically.

Sam: ’cause if you’re over obsessing on any one piece, you know, there’s probably other stuff that you’re missing. So, you know, generally avoiding these pitfalls means focusing on steady responsible habits, not quick fixes. Um, you know, you don’t wanna max out your cards, you don’t wanna miss payments, you don’t wanna rely on only on debit.

Sam: Um, and so yeah, all these things are, are things to consider now. So like, let’s talk a little bit about what. These costs associated with waiting really are because we, we’ve kind of gone through that, but like, how do they really manifest themselves? Um, now I’ll talk more specifically about credit here.

Sam: Waiting to build credit doesn’t just delay your progress. Like it actually really carries these costs that show up in everyday life, and it really can be every single day. Like the first cost, I would say is opportunity. You know, without credit, you’re gonna struggle to get approved for [00:15:00] things like apartments, car loans, and again, even certain jobs doors that should easily stay.

Sam: Open stay closed because you don’t have a track record, you don’t have that financial reputation. The second cost, and I mean this one you know, is a language everybody can understand is money. It’s monetary, a weak or a thin credit profile. You know, an inability to budget and be responsible with your money, um, is risky.

Sam: From a credit perspective, it means higher interest rates. You know, lenders, you know, they, they see you as higher risk. Uh, they require bigger deposits, extra fees that can add up to thousands and thousands of dollars over not a very long time. Um, you know, same thing if you’re just generally financial, financially irresponsible, and it can really cost you, you know, deciding to make a frivolous purchase that you know you can’t afford.

Sam: Maybe you. You know, take out a loan with a firm or Klarna to pay for something and you’re not able to pay it back and you rack up [00:16:00] interest that can hurt you. The third cost, and you know, this is kind of my, um, favorite one to talk about is stress. If you wait until the last minute, do these things. You’re first forced to learn credit under pressure.

Sam: You’re forced to learn about your finances under pressure, and so instead of focusing on the excitement of getting your first car, moving in a new place with your friends, you’re scrambling to figure out why you’re being denied. You’re paying more than you expected. You’re trying to play catch up. It’s just not good.

Sam: So the cost of waiting really isn’t just about your score. It’s about missed opportunities, wasted money, and added stress. Stress is terrible. It’s three things that none of us want hanging over our heads. This is important things to remember.

Sam: Speaking of things to remember, we’ve talked about the dangers of waiting, so let’s flip the perspective, be a little more positive, and talk about why starting early makes such a huge difference, shall we? So [00:17:00] the single most important reason is that time is your greatest asset when it comes to credit.

Sam: And when it comes to your finances, one of the biggest factors in your credit score is the length of your credit history. That means how long you’ve had accounts open and active. So if you start at 18 or 19 with just one small account, by the time you’re 24 or 25, you already look like someone with a solid track record.

Sam: Somebody who’s been repaying their debts. Favorably for years. On the other hand, if you wait until you’re 24 to even begin, you still look like a total new newcomer newbie at 25, and there’s no way to fast forward those years. You either have them or you don’t, but the good news is that you don’t need to be doing anything fancy or complicated to get the benefits of starting early, just like building healthy financial habits, budgeting, being smart with your money, knowing what’s coming and coming out.

Sam: Even very small responsible actions, things that feel small on a daily basis, build a [00:18:00] lot of momentum. Putting a recurring bill on a card and paying it off in full every month is something that you know can begin creating your credit history can begin helping you think about how to manage money that’s coming in from one place and going into another.

Sam: Thinking about how that fits into your budget. You know, the credit system doesn’t care if it’s groceries, gas, or net Netflix or subscription. You know, paying your bills with credit and paying them off, uh, that’s what matters. It’s showing reliability month after month. Starting early also gives you flexibility.

Sam: Flexibility is awesome. If you make a mistake later, maybe you forget a payment or overspend once. It has less of an impact when you’ve already got years of positive history behind you. You know, it’s like having a strong GPA before one bad test. You know, the earlier you start, the more room you give yourself for real life to happen without it wrecking your foundation, the more context you have as to how everything works together.

Sam: Um, yeah, and you know, there’s also the [00:19:00] psychological side, right? Starting early builds confidence. You know, I think that this is true for credit, but it’s also true for like, pretty much anything you can think of from finance all the way down to learning a new language, you know? Starting early builds this confidence so that instead of things being an intimidating, mysterious system, they’re just a part of your normal routine, whether financially or else.

Sam: Otherwise, you know, by the time your friends are panicking about their first credit card at 25 or 27, you already know how it works now to manage it and that peace of mind can. Be really powerful. Um, and you know, I’ve said it before, but really finally starting early simply sets you up for better opportunities, better jobs, better rates on loans, better apartments, you know, you’ll have an easier time getting approved for apartments and all of this stuff.

Sam: Um, if you start early. And it’s not about perfection, right? It’s just about giving yourself time to build trust with the [00:20:00] system so that when big life moments come, you’re ready. You know, you don’t wanna have to be worrying about this stuff. It comes around the earlier you start, the stronger your foundation becomes.

Sam: And once that foundation is in place, it’s really hard to move. It makes every financial step after that so, so much easier.

Sam: I, so once you’ve started. Building credit, or once you’ve decided to start building credit or decided, start taking your financial life into your own hands. The next step is figuring out a how to do it the healthy way. And the truth is building credit and being financially responsible. They’re not about tricks and hacks.

Sam: It’s about building simple habits you repeat over and over again until they become second nature. And these habits don’t just strengthen your credit or your financial foundation. They strengthen your entire life. It’s really cool stuff. [00:21:00] Sorry on, I wanna make sure I’m the right slide here.

Sam: Yep. Sorry.

Sam: So the first and foremost habit is paying on time. Um, sounds basic, but with credit payment history is the single biggest factor in your score. Missing a payment even once can leave a mark that lasts for years and years. And on the flip side, making consistent on time payments, which if you’ve always used debit card is what you’re already used to anyway, you know.

Sam: Is the fastest way to build trust in the system and build trust in yourself. You know, credit is like your reputation. Every on time payment is another point in your favor showing that you’re reliable. You know, like reputation, it takes a long time to build, but you can. Mess it up with just a few mistakes.

Sam: So you really wanna make sure you start early so you have [00:22:00] many good data points as possible. The second habit is spending within your means. Now again, if you’ve used debit your whole life, you are used to this. Um, you know, you can only spend beyond your means if you’re borrowing money. And one of the most common and easiest ways to do that is with a credit card.

Sam: So if you haven’t gotten started with credit yet, you know you’re already doing this. Once you get one, it might be easy to see. A credit card is extra money, but that’s where people get into trouble because the healthiest way to use credit is to treat it like a tool, not like a gift. Put expenses on it that you’ve already planned to cover.

Sam: Pay them off in full, you know, prove that you’re responsible without creating debt. Um. Once you’ve done that to yourself, you know, proven to yourself that you can be responsible with these financial tools that are really not super complicated, you know, then you’ll be cruising. Then you can start to think about credit card rewards and how you’re getting the most bank for your buck with your spending and so on and so forth.

Sam: But really building [00:23:00] that financial foundation, that central piece of your identity that says, I pay my bills on time and in full. You know, that’s everything. The third thing is managing your balances. Like you don’t wanna max out your cards. Not necessarily because the system cares about the dollar amount that you’re spending, but it cares about utilization or how much of your available credit you’re using, and a lower percentage shows you’re not overextending yourself with the credit you’re being offered.

Sam: So even if you can technically spend more, it’s smarter to keep your use usage modest or just pay your credit card off more regularly. That’s another cool thing about Fizz. Fizz pays you off your balances for you every day instead of every month. Um, but again. I’ll get to that. Um, you know, I think that’s a big credit thing, right?

Sam: But I think that’s also important from a, you know, a personal perspective, like knowing how to manage how much you’re spending and not thinking about [00:24:00] the amount of money that you have coming in, being maxed out in any way. That’s really important. Fourth habit, kind of related to these. Budgeting, you know, credit and your finances work best when they’re part of an overall plan, not just something separate.

Sam: When you track what’s coming in and going out, it’s easier to make sure your credit activity fits in your bigger financial picture. ’cause you’re not just managing a card, you’re managing your money, you’re managing your life. Um, and you know, whether you want to use an app to do that, like Fizz, whether you want to do it on an Excel spreadsheet, that’s what I like to do, um, by hand.

Sam: Anything is better than nothing. Just being cognizant of this stuff, starting to think about it, is a, a huge leg up. And, you know, the beauty of these habits is that they really reinforce each other. You know, if you pay on time, if you spend within your means, you keep balances low, you budget regularly, your credit will naturally improve.

Sam: Your relationship will with money will naturally improve, and you’ll avoid the pitfalls that cause stress for unfortunately. [00:25:00] So, so many people. All this stuff is not about perfection. You will mess up. It happens. It’s just about consistency. When you turn these simple actions into habits, you don’t have to think about them anymore.

Sam: They just become part of how you manage your money, how you handle your money. That’s what makes you not just someone that is good with credit or good with their money, but somebody who is really on top of their finances as a whole on top of their life. And that’s right where you want to be. So

Sam: now that we’ve talked about the dangers of waiting, the benefits of starting early, and the habits that actually build a strong financial foundation, the question becomes what should you actually do next? How do you take this information and turn it into action? The first move is simple. I’ve said it before.

Sam: I’ll say it again. I’ll never stop saying it. Start now. The best day was yesterday. The second best day is today. The [00:26:00] worst day is tomorrow because tomorrow never comes. Just don’t overthink it. Don’t wait until you feel like an expert. Nobody’s an expert, not even me. Everybody’s figuring it out and everybody’s doing the best that they can.

Sam: But really, you don’t even need to know every detail how credit scores are calculated to begin. You don’t need to know the details of every budgeting app out there to get started. All you need to do is take that first step into the system, open one account, create a spreadsheet that tracks your spending.

Sam: Use it for small purchases. Track one type of purchase per month, something like that. You know, just put yourself on the map when it comes to credit. Put yourself on your own map when it comes to managing your money and you’re well on the way to where you want to be. The second move is to build consistency.

Sam: So none of this is about doing something big at once, and we’ve touched on that, right? It’s about doing something small over and over. It’s about the consistency. [00:27:00] You know, what you wanna do is make sure that none of this stuff is one off. You know, you open up a credit card, you open up a Fizz card, use it, learn how it works.

Sam: Um, you know, same thing goes for creating a budget or tracking your credit history. You know, know what your plan is, know what you want to see, know what you want to do. Um. The system, whether that’s a credit monitoring system, whether it’s a credit scoring system or your own personal financial sort of knowhow, rewards, reliability, and not like up and down drama.

Sam: So don’t chase tax tricks, just be responsible, be steady, slow, and steady wins the race. And the third move here is to focus on the fundamentals, right? Not the noise. And there’s a lot of noise. If your score’s gonna move up and down, you’re gonna have months where you spend more than you realize, or more than you want it to, but that’s normal.

Sam: What matters is the overall [00:28:00] direction, and if you’re paying your bills on time, if you are spending within your means, if you’re budgeting, you’re doing everything right, even if the, your credit score bounces around, even if sometimes you have less money in the bank than you want it to, the fourth move is.

Sam: More credit related, and I would say it’s integrate credit specifically into your bigger financial picture. You know, credit is not a separate game. It’s part of your financial health. It’s the same skills that make you good with credit. Paying on time, living within your means, planning ahead also make you strong with money in general, makes.

Sam: That foundation really solid. So don’t just think about credit and isolation. Think about how it supports your future goals, whether that’s renting an apartment with your friends in a new city, buying a car, starting a business, or saving for something big. Be thinking about it. And the final move is your mindset.

Sam: It’s the most important thing of all. Start with patience. All this stuff takes time, but it’s [00:29:00] not that complex and you can figure it out. You can’t build five years of credit history in one year either. You can’t build five years worth of financial habits, healthy financial habits in one year. So just start today.

Sam: Start small, think long term, and your future self. Well, thank you. So if you’ve been waiting. Which I imagine some of you have just based on the fact that you’re here listening to me talk. Today is the day to ba break out of that trap. Open your first Fizz account, build those habits. Stay consistent because the best time to start was yesterday.

Sam: And the second best time is today. The sooner you take the first step, the more opportunities you’ll end lock down the road. Thank you so much. Thank you for listening to me. Um, I hope you guys all had a good time. Um. I would love to take some questions from you guys. Um, before I do though just a little overview about Fizz, ’cause I know I started talking about [00:30:00] how I work there and, you know, didn’t necessarily take a deeper dive into what Fizz actually does.

Sam: So Fizz started, you know, I, and I think I, I covered some of this earlier, but. Basically we wanna be a financial ally of young adults, college students, and really just anybody who’s looking to build a, a better, more solid financial foundation. So our main product is a credit building debit card that helps keep you from overspending and helps keep you within your needs.

Sam: The idea behind Fizz came from the fact that, you know. Credit card’s a really valuable tool, but they can be really difficult to use. And there’s a lot of pitfalls as we’ve discussed. So what we did is we said, how can we take all the good parts of a credit card and strip out all the bad parts and have a product that just works really well for people that helps ’em build credit?[00:31:00]

Sam: So there’s a few things that Fizz does that’s different from a normal credit card. Things that make us tailored. Perfectly towards, you know, a college student, young adult audience. So first thing, and I know this personally, getting your first credit card can be really difficult because if you don’t have any credit history, there’s nothing for a credit card company to look at to make a decision to underwrite you.

Sam: You know, I, I know countless friends who tried getting their first credit card in college and weren’t able to. Because they didn’t have credit history and they applied for different cards and they were just rejected for all of them. So what we did is we said, we’re gonna look at your bank account history, we’re gonna look at your transaction history, and we’re gonna underwrite you based on that.

Sam: So we don’t check credit as an aside to that. There’s no hard pull on your credit when you apply for a S card, so that’s another good thing. [00:32:00] Second, we give you a credit limit based on how much you actually have. Now, most. Banks, most credit cards out there, if they give you a credit card, they give you a arbitrarily high credit limit.

Sam: Might be more money than you have in your bank account. Encouraging you to spend more than you actually have, encouraging you to get caught in an interest trap so that you’re paying money to them. And you know, that’s how credit card companies make a lot of money. We don’t have hidden fees or interest.

Sam: Um, and. You know, we think that’s pretty great because we don’t wanna get anybody stuck in debt. But also we make it hard in the first place because we give you a credit limit based on how much you actually have in your bank account. And that limit will fluctuate based on how your bank account balance fluctuates with the idea being that we don’t wanna let you spend more money than you actually have available to yourself at any given time.

Sam: The third thing that’s really cool about Fizz is that most credit cards [00:33:00] operate on a monthly autopay cycle. So, you know, you can turn on autopay, but you can still spend all month build up a big balance. And even though it might be paid off automatically at the end of the month, um, still easy for you to spend more than maybe you meant to.

Sam: With Fizz, we operate a little differently, so with Fizz. We actually have auto pay, but it operates on a daily cycle. So if you go out and spend a hundred dollars today, that would hun that a hundred dollars gets withdrawn from your bank account at the end of the day. So you’re starting every day with a $0 balance on your credit card or on your Fizz card rather, and an accurately reflected checking account.

Sam: So you don’t run into this problem with, you’re building up a big balance. We have awesome rewards, we have awesome credit monitoring. We have personal finance trivia and courses on the app, and. You know, we’re only trying to expand from there. All that to say Fizz is really great, especially if you’re starting out.

Sam: Um, we have a deal going with College Advisor [00:34:00] right now where you get a $40 bonus when you sign up for a paid membership with Fizz. Um, for students it’s only 5 99 a month, or 59 99 per year. Um, you can make more than that back from our rewards program alone. We offer a hundred percent cash back every Friday at merchants around the country like chipotle, Target.

Sam: I think this week is actually Uniqlo. Um, cool. Stuff like that. So definitely check us out, $40 to sign up. Um, and yeah, thanks so much guys. Appreciate it. Love to hear your questions.

Anna: Thanks so much, Sam. Um, as you said, that’s the end of the presentation, part of the webinar. We’re gonna move into the q and a section.

Anna: Um, just, uh, some reminders. You can download the slides from the link in the handouts tab As we get to each question. I’m going to read it out loud, then paste it into the public chat so everyone can both see and hear them. [00:35:00] Um, and. If your Q&A tab isn’t letting you submit questions, just double check that you join the webinar through the custom link in your email and not from the webinar landing page.

Anna: So you might need to close out, open your email, click that link, hop back in for reminders being recorded. It’ll be emailed to you so you won’t miss anything. If you have to do that. Um, I should also say the QR code on the screen will take you to Fizz’s website where you can sign up and learn more about everything Sam just shared.

Anna: Uh, alright, all the housekeeping outta the way. Let’s get into some of your questions. The first one, Sam, is. Do you know if a parent has a credit card and they add their high school student, I’m assuming they mean as like an authorized user. Mm-hmm. And they get them a credit card in their name. Will that help the student’s credit score or no?

Sam: So this is a really good question that we get a lot, and [00:36:00] the answer to a lot of these credit scoring questions is that, you know, there’s a little bit of an asterisk because credit scoring is kind of a black box. That said, being an authorized user on a parent account shows up on your credit report as exactly that, as you being an authorized user on somebody else’s account.

Sam: It’s not that it doesn’t build your credit history. Um, you know, it, it does to a certain extent. It’s, you know, it, it shows more than nothing. Um, but it doesn’t show you having your own account. It’s definitely not a replacement for you having your own account. Um, if lenders are looking at two people and.

Sam: Payment history, repayment history is the same. Everything’s the same, but one is showing that, you know, as being an authorized user, and the other is showing it through their S card or their own credit card. You know, the person with their own card has the better credit profile. [00:37:00] 10 times out of 10 lenders wanna see that you are being responsible with your own line of credit and your own money.

Sam: And while being an authorized user is not a negative. It just shows exactly that. It shows that you’re on your parents’ account and lenders will see that. And so, you know, again, it’s not a negative, but it’s really not that much of a positive because it doesn’t show anything about kind of your ability to repay.

Sam: So that’s really something to keep in mind. It’s definitely one of the biggest questions I get from the sort of college age audience because, you know, a lot of people are authorized user on their parents card and they think that’s fine. But it also connects back to something that I was saying during the, uh, during the talk, which is that, you know, it’s not good to, you know, a lot of people have financial support from their families in college and, and before and beyond and Right.

Sam: There’s nothing to be ashamed of there. You know, it’s important to build your own habits, to build your own credit as well, and not just rely on somebody else. [00:38:00]

Anna: Yeah, absolutely. It’s good to know that’s how that shows up on a credit report. Um, could you speak again about what the initial credit limit is?

Anna: Uh, if you approve a, a Fizz application.

Sam: Yeah, absolutely. So your credit limit is based on, it’s a, a percentage of how much money you have in your bank account. So if I go out and I apply for a Discover card right now and I get approved, they’ll gimme a credit line of like several thousand dollars. Like my credit score’s pretty good and like, you know, all they’re going off of is my credit score and that’s just kind of how credit cards work.

Sam: And so I could go and I could spend on that credit card way more than I have available to me. To, to repay. And that’s how a lot of people get in trouble. Fizz, on the other hand, doesn’t want to sort of create that dynamic. So if you go and apply for a Fizz card and you have $500 in your bank account, your credit limit with Fizz is gonna be like around [00:39:00] 400 something.

Sam: It’s a percentage of, of, of a slightly variable percentage of how much money you actually have in your bank account. Um. That way, you know, you we’re not extending you money that you can’t afford to repay. And that’s kind of the idea behind Fizz that kind of counteracts that way, that normal credit cards work that encourage overspending is that, you know, we want to be an ally and we want to help people make better financial choices.

Sam: And so, you know, we want to give you a credit line that actually represents how much money you have.

Anna: Yeah, it sort of removes all that temptation of the, the massive credit lines. Um, how old do you have to be to get a Fizz credit card?

Sam: 18. So in order to apply for your own credit card, Fizz card, anything line of credit, you have to be 18 years old.

Sam: That’s pretty global, or not global? National guess in the.

Anna: For sure. [00:40:00] Um, speaking of global, what if you are an American, but you are gonna graduate from high school or college abroad? Are there challenges or opportunities associated with that financially? How might they be building their. US credit abroad.

Sam: So if you like have a residence in the United States and you are from the United States and like, say your parents still live here, um, you can get a credit card or a S card, no foreign transaction fees and use that while you’re in school abroad. Um, and that’ll build. Credit profile in the us. I mean, when it comes to building credit, it’s about the actual line of credit.

Sam: It doesn’t really matter where you’re making those transactions, as long as you’re making them and repaying them. So that’s what I would say to that is, you know, definitely if you’re going abroad for school, that’s awesome. Sounds really fun, sounds really interesting. Um, but yeah, I would, I would encourage you to, to behave similarly, just make sure you’re getting a card with no foreign transaction fees like [00:41:00] Fizz.

Anna: Yeah, take a US credit card with you. Um, and yeah, check out for those, uh, foreign transaction fees. They can be a lot. Uh, so it’s great to know that Fizz does not have any Yeah. Um, what if, uh, say, uh, a child is a US citizen but their parents are not. Um, do you have advice, and I guess maybe this question wasn’t considering the fact you need to be 18 to get a credit card, um, but what advice would you have for a family that situation in terms of credit and financial literacy?

Sam: So if you. Live and are not just visiting the United States, you can grab a credit card even if you are not a US citizen. Um, you know, if you, let’s say, are. You know, working here like a, you know, [00:42:00] a lot of friends from like college who work in college but weren’t US citizens, you still get your social security number, like in order to, to have a job, like you can apply for one, uh, with the Social Security Administration.

Sam: Um, and you can use that to build credit also, if you have an I-10 tax, tax id. You can use that in order to build credit. There’s a lot of different options and you don’t have to be a citizen in order to to build credit in the us.

Anna: Good to know. Is Fizz an independent financial institution or affiliated with another institution?

Sam: So we’re our own company. Um, like we’re not a branch of something else. Uh, we partner with a few other institutions like. Our lender record is Lee Bank. Um, just because, you know, the financials of starting a a, a credit card or, or line of credit business, um, require that you, you know, be partnered with like a bank.

Sam: ’cause Fizz is [00:43:00] not a bank, right? We’re just the card company. Um, but no, we are, we’re our own company. We’re not like a arm of Bank of America or something like that.

Anna: Yeah, good to know. Um, do you know if parents could help their students’ credit score by putting the utilities for their home in the student’s name?

Sam: So again, this is one of those things where like, yes, that can help. Particularly like if. Credit is involved at all. Um,

Sam: kind of similar to the answer about authorized user. It’s not gonna have the same effect as, you know, an unsecured line of credit, like a credit card, for example. Um, or like an auto loan. I guess an auto loan is secured, but you know, more similar, uh. Not gonna have quite the same effect, but [00:44:00] no. That stuff, that stuff absolutely, uh, absolutely can help.

Sam: I would just make sure that, you know, depending on what the bill is, that that info is being reported in some way, shape, or form to the credit bureaus. ’cause that’s not always the case.

Anna: Um, good note. Back to a question about Fizz. How are interest rates determined at Fizz? Say for whatever reason, someone at the end of the day didn’t have that money in their bank account.

Sam: Um, so we don’t have interest rates. Um, there’s no interest rates whatsoever at s like we literally don’t have them. Um, so if, you know, somehow you, you overspend on your Fizz card, um, it works kind of just like any other credit card or similar, but just with no interest. So. With Fizz also, I’ll add like we have guardrails in [00:45:00] place, like daily autopay is one of them, right?

Sam: But also we have this feature called Safe Freeze, which makes it so that like even if you were to turn off autopay and, you know, miss a payment and, and not make one of your repayments in a given day, like your card would lock and you wouldn’t be able to spend more. So that’s like one way we keep people from spending more than half.

Sam: If you disable both those features. Which like legally, like you have to be allowed to do. So if you went in settings and you did that, um, and you spent up to your credit limit, which again is only gonna be so high ’cause it’s only gonna be as much as, uh, how much money you have in your bank account. When you sign up, uh, let’s say you ever spend, you don’t, you don’t pay things back.

Sam: The same thing. So you. We would have a payment due date that’s like anywhere from three to seven weeks after you make a given transaction. And if you miss that payment due date, your card will freeze. So you won’t be able to make any additional transactions and [00:46:00] a month after that, a missed payment would be reported on your credit.

Sam: Um, so we have like a month long grace period, like after your payment due date. Um. ’cause we really wanna make sure people aren’t like harming their financial reputations. Uh, but same thing, like ultimately like the, the sort of safeguard in place there is, you know, credit reporting. If you do miss payments consistently, then you know this type thing will be reported to the credit bureaus.

Anna: And then speaking of credit bureaus, we have some questions about that. How exactly does Fizz report credit activity to the credit bureaus and which bureaus are you reporting to?

Sam: So we report to TransUnion and Experian. Um, we don’t report to Equifax right now, but that’s something that we getting back on board with.

Sam: Um. Same way that a normal credit card does. I mean, when you open a Fizz card, you have a line of credit in your name, um, an unsecured revolving line of credit, the same thing. So when you [00:47:00] do that, that data gets reported to the credit bureaus the same way it would with a normal credit card, um, yeah, on a monthly basis.

Anna: Great, thanks. And we have a question here. How does Fizz generate revenue and make money?

Sam: Good question. So. We make money in two main ways. One is through interchange revenue. So every time you go and spend money on any card, credit card, debit card, do you name it. Um, you know, let’s say you go down to the grocery store and you buy a hundred dollars worth of groceries, and that grocery store has to pay like 3% of that $100 to MasterCard or Visa, whoever issues your card just for the like.

Sam: You know, ability to be able to accept credit card payments. So we take a percentage of that percentage, which, you know, adds up. Uh, the other way we do is we have a membership fee. Um, so we make money through [00:48:00] that, you know, like I said though, it’s only $5.99 a month for students. Uh, $59.99 per year if you pay annually.

Sam: Um, but that’s the other way we make money.

Anna: Thank you. Uh, we got a question about what happens if you add money to your bank account. Will your credit limit automatically increase?

Sam: Yeah, so it’s a good question. Um, your credit limit. Is like, is fixed based on the balance you have in your bank account when you sign up.

Sam: Um, we give you like a spend limit that changes ably like every day or every time you spend money. Um, so that will be more variable and yes, it will increase. Also, we offer credit line increases up to $2,000 if you have. More money in your connected bank account. Um, so it’s kind of twofold answer there.

Sam: But yeah, your credit line can increase. Um, but also like we change your spend limit, which is more just like a suggestion of how [00:49:00] much you know you should be spending based on how much you have spent and how much money you have in your bank account. Um, but yeah, it’ll increase if you have more money in your bank account.

Anna: And can users connect more than one bank account?

Sam: Um, yeah, you can, uh, you can only have one checking account connected at a time, but you can connect more savings accounts to increase your, you know, your total amount available to spend.

Anna: Great. Could you speak a little more, you mentioned that the rewards are, are really cool.

Anna: Could you share a bit more about what they are, what types of rewards, how they’re redeemed, that sort of thing? Yeah,

Sam: absolutely. So. There’s three main categories here. First is. You get 3% cash back in a category of your choosing, and you can change that or keep it the same every, every week. You have the option to change every week.

Sam: That’s the one big one. Second one, we offer these, you know, we have this, this promotion we call [00:50:00] Fizz Friday. So every Friday we offer a hundred percent cash back up to a certain amount of money. Usually it’s about $10 at a certain merchant. Um. Last week, I think it was Starbucks this week it’s Uniqlo.

Sam: Next week it’s gonna be Chipotle. Um, and so, you know, it’s as easy as activating the offer in the app. You go over to Target or Starbucks, wherever, wherever we’re having a Fizz Friday promotion and use your Fizz card. And you get that much back in points based on how you, how much you spent, you un spent.

Sam: $28 and the offer was a hundred percent cash back up to $10, you’d get $10 worth of Fizz points right in your account that you can cash right into your bank account. Um, so that one’s pretty cool. That’s a favorite of mine. Then we also just have ongoing offers that live in the rewards tab of the app that you can always check out.

Sam: A lot of ’em are online, but they’re also geo located based on where you live, um, or where you are. Uh, and those are usually for lower amounts, like, you know, three to 6%, [00:51:00] but still can add up. Um, and then on top of that, we also run like flash promotion deals from time to time, um, in the app. So, you know, keep an eye out for those.

Sam: Those are kind of more like, it’s Friday, like bigger bang for your buck, but they’re cool.

Anna: Fun. I love credit card rewards. Yeah, me too. Um, yeah, they’re great. Um, oh, new question here. Does physics accept cryptocurrency?

Sam: Um, no. So we don’t, um, yeah, we haven’t, we haven’t delved into crypto yet. I don’t know that we would, because, you know, it’s the type of thing where you, you use the card to.

Sam: Pay for things and then you would need to pay that off, but you need to pay that off with actual dollars and not crypto.

Anna: Yeah, that makes sense. Um, do student loans improve folks’ credit scores?

Sam: Um, yeah. This is a good question. So they can, and oftentimes student [00:52:00] loans are the first line of credit that people have in their name.

Sam: Um, but yes, so. Student loans, as long as you’re paying them, you know, on time, uh, you know, yeah. They can have a very positive effect on your credit. You know, missing payments or defaulting obviously can hurt you. Um, but having a line of credit in your name like that is, uh, you know, can be helpful.

Anna: All right, good.

Anna: Um, how long, Sam, do you know, do you know how long it typically takes for Fizz users to see a change in their credit score? Yeah,

Sam: so. If you already have a credit score, uh, it can happen pretty instantly, like within a month as soon as we report you first. Um, but if you’re brand new to credit and Fizz is your first account, usually, and this is true for any, anybody new to credit, usually it takes about six months for you to be able to see your credit profile and [00:53:00] score report, like in the app or, or, or elsewhere.

Anna: And then relatedly, do you know, do you have to add on how big of a difference, uh, your card is making in folks credit scores?

Sam: Yeah, I mean, this is a good question, right? Because it really depends person to person. Um. A lot of people, we’ve seen differences in hundreds of points in their credit score. Um, you know, if you’re starting out from a place where you already have a pretty good credit score, like, you know, credit scores range from 350 to 850, so there’s only so much you can go up and down.

Sam: Um, but yeah, we’ve seen pretty awesome improvements in people’s scores, like I said during the talk, you know, it’s just about being consistent and, and paying your bills on time. And you know, we make it really easy for people to do that. And I think, you know, a lot of people like the effect they see on their scores ’cause of that.

Anna: Yeah, that’s great. Um, I have one more question here then I’m going to invite you, Sam, to [00:54:00] say anything else you’d like to about Fizz. If we get another question in the meantime, we’ll get to it at the end, but if not, we might end a minute or so early. Um, the next question is, does Fizz help transition users to a traditional credit card?

Anna: When the user feels ready for that.

Sam: So we actually don’t do this now, but this is something that we have like very much on the roadmap to build. Um, the reality is, is that like Fizz is really popular among college students and young adults, but it’s also popular amongst people who are older who just want a better way to.

Sam: Sort of manage their day-to-day spending because we make it so easy for people to spend within their means and not have to worry about credit card balances and that type of thing. I would say, you know, as of now, when you feel ready to graduate to a new credit card, you know, we hate to see you go, but we, we love to see people graduate and, and move on in their financial journey.

Sam: So it’s like easy to, easy enough to. Move on and, and, and go [00:55:00] do that. Uh, but in terms of actually doing that handoff process, you know, having a marketplace for new cards or stuff that’s not quite ready, but it should be soon.

Anna: Great. Uh, we have gotten another question since I asked that one. Does Fizz offer any financial consulting to users?

Sam: Yeah, so this is a fun new thing that we’re about to unveil is the, you know, kind of an AI financial consultant slash advisor. Um, basically links to all of your existing bank accounts and loans, credit cards, all that type of thing, and gives you suggestions and sort of reports based on that. Um, so while we don’t have a team of financial advisors, it’s really something that’s important to us to figure out how to give people better financial advice.

Sam: So yes, excited for that coming out any day now.

Anna: That’s super exciting. Um. Alright. Well, like I said, Sam, I, I wanna open it back up to you. Any last thoughts [00:56:00] on Fizz? If folks are still on the fence, uh, why should they really, really consider learning more?

Sam: Yeah, I mean, everything we’ve talked about, right? I don’t need to, I don’t need to belabor the point too much, but I would just circle back to the fact that.

Sam: This stuff is important, you know, and I think it’s easy to get into a mindset that says, ah, I’ll deal with this later, or, it’s really not that important, but it really is. It really pays to be prepared. And especially when you’re starting out, that’s the toughest time that you’re gonna have, right? You’re learning a new language, you’re learning how something works, and it pays to have somebody in your corner who you know is looking out for you.

Sam: You know, I think we got a lot of smart people here. We could all figure out how a normal credit card works. Um, but I think there’s a lot of benefit to what we offer at Fizz and how we sort of guide people down the path towards, you know, better credit scores, better financial foundations. Um, so yeah, [00:57:00] I, you know, I think it’s awesome.

Sam: And on top of that, you get a $40 signup bonus when you sign up through CollegeAdvisor. So, uh, you know. Scan that QR code and check it out.

Anna: Yeah, absolutely. And I’ll just echo all of that from my own personal life. Uh, being aware of your credit and starting early, like as early as you can, is gonna make such a difference in your life.

Anna: It’s one of the smartest things you can do. So I really hope you scan that QR code, get signed up, or at least learn more, uh, and see if it’s the right fit for you. I haven’t seen any more questions come in, Sam, you answered a bunch of them. Thank you so much for your expertise and for your time tonight.

Anna: Um, that’s the end of our presentation unless you have any last thoughts to send people off with Sam.

Sam: Thank you guys so much. Appreciate you.

Anna: Thank you all. Have a great night. Take care. [00:58:00] Bye.