“The future condition of our lives in all categories lies hidden within the structure of our daily habits.” – Chris Brady
The Financial Fitness Program was created to teach people the simple and basic principles of personal finance in order to help people develop new habits and make better financial decisions, ultimately leading them out of the Financial Matrix.
Recently, we received a story from a young woman who purchased the Financial Fitness Program and started to apply its principles and helped her eliminate over $82,000 of debt. Here is Renee Bishop’s Financial Fitness success story:
I’m Renee Bishop and I’m 30 years old and I live in Brooklyn, New York. My family is from British Guyana (which is located between Brazil and Venezuela) and I’m a first-generation American. I lived in a single parent home so I had to split a lot of time between the babysitter and my mom. My mom was a Registered Nurse who received her Master’s degree; however, she still ended up working two jobs just to help put me through college. She unexpectedly passed away in September of 2011.
I received an Information Technology (IT) degree from Pennsylvania State University. My work experiences range from project management, systems integration, and business intelligence (data analytics) just to name a few. I have experience in the finance, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing & supply chain, government and non-profit industries.
In my earlier days, I developed really bad spending habits and didn’t save as much as I should have. I was also a very impulsive driver and got into several car accidents and received several traffic violations which impacted an already high premium on my car insurance. Once I graduated from college, I landed a good job and the debt my mom was carrying on my behalf eventually was transferred from her to me (welcome to adulthood!). Because of that responsibility, I gained a better understanding of finances and the importance of paying my debts on time.
I incurred over $90,000 of debt during college through credit cards, a car loan, car insurance, and student loans. When my mom passed away unexpectedly in 2011, I used the beneficiary money to pay off all of my college debts. After my mom passed away, I developed a sense of urgency to pursue my passion of becoming a business owner. That’s when I started my IT consulting business.
“Unfortunately, I made some really poor business decisions and partnered with the wrong people and start-up investments. As a result, I incurred over $82,000 of debt which included loans and credit cards.”
Climbing the corporate ladder, like most people, was never part of my plan. I’ve always wanted to be in business for myself and create a company that would solve socioeconomic issues in inner cities and under-developed countries. So, instead of going to get an MBA and accumulating more debt, I explored several direct sales businesses so I could gain hands-on experience on owning a business.
“I was introduced to the Financial Fitness Program in 2012 and began receiving free financial counseling from one of the best business leaders in the industry, Greg Johnson. By using the Financial Fitness worksheets, I was able to create a game plan to get out of debt.”
Since most of my debt was in the form of credit cards and loans, Greg had suggested that I use some of my future retirement money to pay off all of my debt. I learned that servicing the high interest rates on my credit cards and loans would cost a lot more than the IRS penalty for early-withdrawal. I paid off all of the credit card and loan debt within a year and was able to set up a no-interest payment plan with the IRS to pay for the tax penalty- which was also paid off in the same year.
“Because of the principles I learned from the Financial Fitness Program, and great mentoring from Greg Johnson, I have been able to put over $18,000 into my savings account.”
Currently I’m also working on a social enterprise business with a focus on science and technology to solve social issues.
“Today, I’m 100% debt free!!!!”
Congratulations to Renee Bishop for applying the Financial Fitness principles into her life and escaping the Financial Matrix! What an inspiring story of discipline and hope for others who are currently on the journey.
Yitz & Ruthie Weiss says
Renee, way to go! It’s amazing what can happen when good information and the guts to use it come together.
Kudos!
Sharon Hoffman says
Congratulations Renee! It has been a blessing to have a front seat in your journey to financial freedom. So proud of you! Continue to shine your light and to live passionately to serve others.
Dave and Beth Ober says
Awesome job Renee! So proud of you!
Tammy Murphy says
Renee,
This is wonderful to read your story of pursuing your dream and tackling those chains of debt. Congratulations on being debt free!
Mike Leibfried says
Great Job Renee!! I’m so inspired by your life’s story!! Thank you so much for being an inspiration in all our lives!! 🙂 I hope for the best in your future investments and I’m so happy for you!! 🙂
Andy Kosowski says
Great Job Renee. You have a great story to share with others that you come across in life. Best of luck on your future goals and dreams.
Veronica King says
Awesome testimony, Renee. Thanks for sharing. Truly inspiring.
Shannon Gray says
Love this testimony! Very hope giving! Thank you for sharing!