Give Me Credit

When Debt Stops Driving Growth Pt. 2 with Richard Vague We’re back with Part 2 of our conversation with Richard Vague, and this time we dig deeper into the credit system itself. We talk about credit scoring, the growing use of consumer data, targeted credit marketing, and the psychology behind getting people to borrow. We also explore whether the system designed to measure financial risk can somet...

When Debt Stops Driving Growth Give Me Credit Podcast is available on Substack , Apple Podcasts , Spotify , YouTube , and other Podcast Platforms . Give Me Credit - Apple Podcasts Give Me Credit - Spotify Give Me Credit - YouTube What happens when the debt that helps an economy grow becomes the very thing that holds it back? This week on Give Me Credit , we sit down with Richard Vague, author, ban...

Give Me Credit Podcast is available on Substack , Apple Podcasts , Spotify , YouTube , and other Podcast Platforms . Give Me Credit - Apple Podcasts Give Me Credit - Spotify Give Me Credit - YouTube Give Me Credit is back for Season 2, and we’re starting with a question that can completely change the way you think about financial recovery. What if getting your credit score back on track isn’t the...

Most people think debt collection is about repayment. It’s not. It’s about leverage, data, and getting you to say or do just enough to build a legal case against yourself. In today’s podcast episode, credit expert John Mackey pulls back the curtain on the modern debt collection industry and introduces his course, Debt Collections: Lies, Damn Lies, and Deceit . We talk candidly about how consumers...

As our Summer Encore series nears its end, we’re revisiting one of our most timely conversations. Buy Now, Pray Later takes a hard look at the world of Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) loans and why they deserve far more attention than they get. These payment plans may seem like an easy way to spread out purchases, but they can quietly create financial stress that follows you long after the shopping is o...

Give Me Credit #27: Credit Karma, VantageScore vs FICO, and the Marketing Machine Behind “Free” Credit Scores In this episode, credit expert John Mackey and mortgage underwriter J.S. Whaldo examine the Credit Karma business model and its impact on consumers. Topics covered: • How Credit Karma makes money through affiliate commissions and lead generation• Why free credit scores are part of a data-d...

This week, we’re bringing back one of our most thought-provoking conversations. Ethics professor Neil Tift joined us to discuss something most people never think about until it affects them: the ethics behind algorithmic credit systems. As more financial decisions are made by data and predictive models, where does fairness fit in? We explore how automated systems can overlook the human stories beh...

In Part One of this two-part conversation, John Mackey and J.S. Whaldo sit down with financial expert Gerry Weston to unpack the hidden risks of for-profit debt relief companies. Through a real-world case study, Weston explains how these third-party services often fail to negotiate as promised, triggering legal action, asset garnishment, and long-term credit damage. This episode challenges the fea...

If you missed this conversation the first time around, now’s your chance. This week we’re revisiting our conversation with real estate educator Michael Brennan. We discuss what really happens behind the scenes of a real estate transaction, why education and ethics matter, and the responsibilities real estate professionals carry to help protect consumers. Whether you’re buying, selling, or simply c...

Your credit report is one of the most important financial documents you'll ever have, yet most people have no idea what their rights are when the information it contains is wrong. In this encore episode of Give Me Credit, J.S. Whaldo and credit expert John Mackey are joined by Fair Credit Reporting Act attorney Jacob Hippensteel to explain how the credit reporting system actually works and why con...

In this encore episode of Give Me Credit , consumer attorney Jacob Hippensteel joins credit expert John Mackey and JS Whaldo to break down how the credit reporting system really works behind the scenes. We dig into why credit disputes often stall, how credit bureaus prioritize lenders over consumers, and why reporting errors like mixed files and identity theft can linger for years. This episode ex...

If you missed this one, it is worth circling back to. This episode features a real debt collection call that quickly exposes misinformation, pressure tactics, and legal threats that do not match the facts. John walks through it calmly and clearly, then breaks down what consumers need to know about their rights, debt validation, and how to handle aggressive collectors without getting pulled into pa...

Divorce does not erase your name from a loan. That is the hard truth attorney David Cox breaks down in this Summer Encore episode of GMC #34. Even if a divorce decree assigns a debt to your ex, lenders are not part of that agreement. If your name is on the account, you are still responsible. And if payments are missed, your credit takes the hit anyway. We talk through what actually happens with jo...

The Big Dumb Machine and 7 Truths About Credit, Debt, and Financial Recovery Season One comes to a close as hosts JS Whaldo and John Mackey look back on forty-five episodes of Give Me Credit and the biggest lessons learned from conversations with attorneys, credit experts, mortgage professionals, appraisers, loss mitigation specialists, and consumer advocates. After a year of discussing credit rep...

Experian, Credit Scores and the Hidden Business Behind Consumer Data Are credit bureaus really neutral? In Episode 45 of Give Me Credit, hosts JS Whaldo and John Mackey examine how Experian evolved from a credit reporting agency into a powerful marketing platform that profits from consumer financial behavior. This episode explores the relationship between credit bureaus, credit scores, consumer da...

Attorney David Cox of Two Rivers Law returns to Give Me Credit for a second conversation with hosts JS Whaldo and John Mackey. This episode dives into the realities of legal judgments and debt collection. Winning a lawsuit may establish who owes money, but collecting that money can be expensive, difficult, and time-consuming. Topics include: Why a judgment doesn't guarantee payment Writs of execut...

Most people think a home appraisal is just another box to check during the mortgage process. It is not. In our latest episode of Give Me Credit, we break down what an appraisal actually is and why it can completely change the direction of a real estate deal. We talk about: • Why appraisals are legal, data-driven arguments• The difference between appraisals, inspections, and tax assessments• Why li...

What happens when credit systems stop seeing people and start seeing patterns? In this latest episode of Give Me Credit, John Mackey and I welcome ethics professor Neil Tift back to the podcast for a deeper discussion about algorithmic credit systems and the growing power imbalance inside modern lending. We talk about: • How predictive data can override human context• Why financial hardship often...

In this episode of Give Me Credit, John and I sat down with Mike Brennan, founder of The Realty School, and we talked about a gap in real estate education that doesn’t get enough attention. Real estate agents are not being trained in financial literacy in any meaningful way, especially regarding credit, debt, and how buyers qualify for a mortgage. I Get full access to Mortgage Lending Explained at...

This week on Give Me Credit, John Mackey and I sit down with real estate educator Michael Brennan, of The RealtySchool.com, for a conversation that goes far beyond passing a licensing exam. We explore what real estate professionals are actually responsible for during a transaction, including contracts, disclosures, negotiations, legal liability, ethics, and protecting consumers from costly mistake...

If you’ve been trying to make sense of today’s mortgage options, you’re not alone. In this episode of Give Me Credit, John turned the microphone on me, and we dug into two of the most misunderstood topics in lending right now: Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARMs) and Temporary Buydowns. There’s a lot of noise online about both products. Some people call them dangerous. Others act like they’re magic so...

Most people think credit is just a number sitting quietly in the background of their lives. A tool that measures behavior and spits out a score. But the more time you spend inside this system, the harder it is to pretend it is passive. Credit does not just observe. It tracks patterns, records decisions, and then shapes what happens next. It influences where someone can live, what they will pay, an...

You fix your credit report. Or at least, you think you do. The balance shows zero. The account says settled. The bankruptcy is discharged. And then… it shows up again. In this episode of Give Me Credit, we brought back attorney Jacob Hippensteel for a third time because the deeper we go into this system, the more problems we uncover. This time, we’re talking about the issues that don’t just hurt y...

A powerful, real-life conversation about debt, credit stress, and financial recovery. In this episode, M shares her personal experience with falling behind financially and the emotional toll that comes with it. We discuss why people avoid checking their credit, how to communicate with creditors, and practical steps to regain control of your finances. If you are feeling overwhelmed by bills or unsu...

If you think your credit report exists to help you, this episode is going to change that. In this conversation, John and I sit down again with consumer attorney Jacob Hippensteel to take a deeper look at what is really happening behind the scenes of the credit reporting system. And here is the uncomfortable truth. You are not the customer. The credit bureaus are not built to serve you. They are bu...