SPONSOR - KIMBERLY D. CONNER (KIM’S CREDIT LEVERAGE

Kimberly D. Conner

Personal and Business Credit Specialist

Colorado Springs kimscreditleverage.com | (719) 377-2432 Proudly Serving Our Military Community

Kimberly D. Conner

Personal and business Credit Specialist

Born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I graduated from New Futures High School, which was an alternative school for teenage Mother’s or Mothers to be in 1983. At the age of 17 Relocated to Denver, Colorado, straight out of high school with my 1-year-old daughter and my boyfriend when he and I attended Barnes Business College of Denver, Which is now Closed. While in college, we became pregnant with our second child. My Highschool sweetheart and I married in 1987 in Denver, Colorado. My husband decided to reenlist in the Army Branch to take care of our growing family. It was the perfect thing to do. 2 weeks after we were married, my husband was P.C.S. to Ft. Stewart, Ga.

The Kids and I Joined him six months later. It was beautiful, and he was my best friend. However, Due to unforeseen circumstances, we ended up divorcing. I believe that our biggest struggle was finances. We were a young couple with no Financial Literacy. A cocktail of disaster. We went into the Army thinking that we were going to have a lot of money. Which we probably did back then. We did not know a thing about financial literacy. Money is something that you must have a relationship with, an understanding of how it works. When people say they have a money problem, it is a misunderstanding or financial illiteracy. Fast forward to today, I have been back in Colorado since 2014.

I am a single mother of a 17-year-old daughter, a first-time homeowner, business owner of Kim’s Credit Leverage, and a pillar of the Colorado Springs community. I like to take quiet walks in the park, gardening, and just living a healthy lifestyle.

What do you do?

The founder and owner of Kim’s Credit Leverage. Where I teach you how to leverage what you have to get what you want. I coach people about financial literacy, including repairing and building personal Credit, Business Credit, Business funding, and Business Loans. My main goal is to provide financial literacy to the Black and brown community so that they can thrive in the way that God has intended. I educate families and individuals about the importance of Credit. You see our people perish from lack of knowledge. Financial literacy is something that we were not taught by our parents or in public schools. I have been in the industry of Financial Literacy for two years.

Why do you do it?

I do what I do to empower our community and give them a new direction on ownership and help break generational curses. In 2014 my mother passed away broke, homeless, working dead-end jobs. She never owned a home because she did not have the education or simple knowledge of Credit, finances, personal or self-development. My mother was passing on her generational curse of poverty on to my siblings and I. I was on Section 8 when my mother passed away. I Never looked into buying. I didn’t think it was obtainable, being that I was a single parent and working for 12 dollars an hour. That was my mindset. My grandmother was the only family member in our family that owned a home. I promised my mother that I would not let her have to live like that be in vain.

My passion is to help our community obtain a healthy understanding of Credit and finances so that they can obtain ownership further, faster, and with less effort. I did not know what it would take, but I was going to make my mother proud. After my mother passed, I had my Section 8 and my Job transferred to Aurora, Colorado. I knew that, for me to change my situation, I had to change my environment. That Is exactly what I did. I do what I do because I am breaking generational curses, not only for me but for everyone that I meet. I Believe that the only way that we can beat Systemic racism is through Economics and Financial Literacy. It is my duty to educate our community on how to begin legacy building, and the only way to do that is by becoming financially literate.

What is the biggest lesson you are learning in that industry?

That we as a community/culture are years behind when it comes to financial literacy. The lack of financial literacy and credit knowledge will lose you more millions than you try to gain. Broke is a mentality. We as a black community lack organized resources and education when it comes to financial literacy. That there are 607 billionaires in this world, and only 15 of them are black. The lack of diversity in the three-comma club highlights the growing wealth gap between black and white Americans. We have got to do better when it comes to our finances. Our culture is not poor. We have poor spending habits.

If you had to advise your younger self, what would it be?

Never settle for less. We are all Queens and Kings. Education is important, but applied education is powerful. Make your messes your messages. You can be more than you even imagine if you just believe. Find you a mentor that is doing the exact things that you wish to do in life and study them in every area of their life. People with a higher level of financial literacy are more likely to cope with financial crises.

Free Credit Tip

5 Ways To Increase Your Credit Score

1. Payment History, 35% or 192 points 2. Credit Utilization, 30% or 165 points 3. Age of Credit, 15% or 82 points 4. Credit Mix, 10% or 55 points 5. New Credit, 10% or 55 points