The â€˜Gold Keyâ€™ to the credit economy

Gold Key Consulting founder and President Diana Nichols has launched a sister company ”“ Gold Key Credit Education ”“ bent on getting the credit gospel into the hands of the public and making it elemental to everyday life for the holders of 700 million cards in American wallets.

In 1993, after working for a Westchester County-based mortgage company, Nichols, then 22, founded her company Gold Key Consulting, which deals with consumer credit consulting.

“I had noticed that a lot of the clients had mistakes on their credit reports or issues that they had explanations for and I began to resolve them,” said Nichols. “I rented a desk in somebody”™s office and within a week I needed to hire two employees and the company just grew from there.”

Nichols has done work with Chase, Merrill Lynch, Manhattan Mortgage, Wells Fargo and the Small Business Administration. Eleven years after founding her business, the same principle that inspired her first business gave rise to Gold Key Credit Education.

In 2008, Nichols began impromptu teaching of individuals in the practices of credit.

“I would work with so many people who had graduated from MIT or who were the presidents of news networks and couldn”™t understand why they hadn”™t been taught the basics of credit,” said Nichols. “Nobody tells us how credit works.”

Nichols said that statistics show that three-quarters of students graduating from college are either in debt or have some type of credit issue.

“When you”™re in an economy like we have now, where most people are borrowing money, you hope that when you”™re 18 and you”™re responsible for your credit, you know exactly what the ramifications are: how credit works and what you can do long- and short-term to solve problems,” said Nichols.

Nichols”™ new company has begun by training military cadets, private school and university classes on how to handle credit. John B. Place works with Nichols at the new company. He is the co-founder and president of LifeCare Inc., a Shelton-based company that offers “cost-saving benefits that help clients reduce their most pervasive absenteeism and productivity drains,?including child and elder care, caregiving support, health and wellness issues.”

Nichols said 2008 and 2009 has been a tumultuous period for many people forced to take stock of their credit.

“I think what happens that is key is that when you actually look on paper and see the opportunity cost of money wasted on interest rates and paying too much for your mortgage and you look at how that money compounds over your life, you can have a completely different quality of life at any income level,” said Nichols. “If you don”™t learn this stuff you keep going in circles.”

Nichols said there was a 50-percent increase from 2007 to 2008 in employers looking at credit on job applications.

“Seventy percent of Fortune (magazine) companies interviewed said they weighed credit heavily when they make a hiring decision,” said Nichols

Nichols said she has seen a great increase in individuals looking to improve their credit solely to improve their resumes.

“Credit affects everything,” said Nichols. “It”™s the same thing for a business as a person.”

Nichols said that she believes the credit crisis is the natural backlash to a relatively new uneducated credit dependent society. Nichols said her challenge with her educational business will be to expand into other life skills that are lacking in a similar way as credit practices.

“If you have these basic life skills,” said Nichols. “You”™re definitely in better shape for real life. I”™d like to see this be a starting point for other areas of important but lacking skills. As we can see with this economic crisis, nobody knows this stuff like they should.”

Currently, Nichols is working with U.S. Sen. Dodd’s office to propose mandatory credit training at the university level.

Jim Randel, author of “The Skinny on Credit Cards” and principal of Randel & Gerard L.L.C. and Rand Real Estate Services in Westport, said there are about 700 million active credit cards in the U.S.

“That”™s two cards for every man, woman and child,” said Randel.Â “Total credit card debt is about $1 trillion, with an average of $9,000 per household.”

Randel said there are predatory marketing and lending protocols adopted by some of the credit card issuers, and these practices prey on the irresponsible borrowing and money management by consumers.
“The decisions you make about credit and debt can be good ones and make your life better and more enjoyable,” said Randel.