ZDT Financial Services

COUSINS, LET'S SAVE SOME MONEY! 💚

Whether you're saving for:

🏡 A new home
✈️ A vacation
🚗 A new car
💰 An emergency fund
🎁 Something special
✨ Or simply building a better savings habit...

This tracker helps you turn your savings goals into action, one step at a time.

AND THE BEST PART?
IT'S COMPLETELY FREE! 🎉

START SAVING WITH PURPOSE, COUSIN!

DOWNLOAD & GET YOUR ACCESS HERE:
https://www.zdthomas.com/store/p/zoes-free-savings-tracker

HELLO SEPTEMBER, COUSINS! 🍂💛

We're entering a new season at ZDT Financials, and I couldn't be more excited about where we're headed.

My Crazy Credit Cousins know we have talked about CREDIT for years. 😂💳 And don't worry, your cousin still knows a thing or two about credit!

But we're growing.

We're talking money. Savings. Budgeting. Financial literacy. Building businesses. Creating opportunities. And ultimately, building generational wealth.

Because I don't just want to help you fix something on a credit report.

I want to help you understand MONEY.

So, Cousins… stick around.

You'll start noticing some changes around ZDT Financials, but the mission behind it all remains the same:

Educate. Empower. Build.

Welcome to September, and welcome to the next chapter of ZDT Financials. ✨

🌐 www.zdtfinancials.com

🏠🚨 COUSIN, BEFORE YOU START CELEBRATING THAT “FREE” DOWN-PAYMENT MONEY—COME READ THIS! 😂

FHA recently clarified parts of its employment-verification process and confirmed that certain Federal Home Loan Bank homeownership-assistance funds may be structured in two different ways:

✅ As a grant
OR
✅ As secondary financing

Now let your Crazy Credit Cousin translate that:

A grant may not have to be repaid if you follow all the program requirements.

Secondary financing may be another loan attached to the property—and it could possibly involve a second lien.
So please do not hear “down-payment assistance” and automatically assume somebody is handing you free money with no conditions! Sometimes it is free. Sometimes it is forgivable. Sometimes it must be repaid. And sometimes that money may
come looking for you when you sell, refinance, rent out, or move away from the home. 😩😂

Before accepting assistance, ask:

📌 Is this a grant or a loan?
📌 Does it have to be repaid?
📌 Is it forgivable—and if so, after how many years?
📌 Will there be a second lien on the home?
📌 Is interest charged?
📌 What happens if I sell or refinance?
📌 Do I have to live in the home for a certain number of years?
📌 Could I owe the money back if I move too soon?

FHA also clarified employment-verification procedures, so get your homebuyer paperwork together:

📄 Recent pay stubs
📄 W-2s or applicable tax returns
📄 Employer contact information
📄 Documentation explaining job changes or employment gaps
📄 Additional income documentation requested by your lender

And please do not leave one job on Friday, start another one on Monday, buy a new car on Tuesday, apply for furniture credit on Wednesday, and then wonder why the mortgage lender is calling with questions on Thursday! Cousin, sit down until after closing! 😂🤦🏽‍♀️

Down-payment assistance can be a wonderful opportunity—but you must understand the terms before signing.

Ask questions. Read everything. Keep every document. And let the lender or housing counselor explain anything you do not understand.

FHA updates:
https://www.hud.gov/hud-partners/single-family-fha-info

FHA INFO Messages: Single Family Housing Industry News | HUD.gov / U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) FHA INFO Messages: Single Family HousingIndustry NewsFor lenders, servicers, appraisers, and others working with FHA Single Family insurance. FHA INFO messages contain FHA Single Family Housing news including policy announcements, Mortgagee Letters, Federal Register notices, Single Family Housing Ha...

🚨 COUSIN, PUT THAT CREDIT CARD DOWN FOR A SECOND! We need to talk. 😂💳

According to the New York Federal Reserve, Americans now owe approximately:

💳 $1.263 TRILLION in credit-card debt
🚗 $1.713 TRILLION in auto-loan debt

And credit cards currently have the highest serious-delinquency transition rate among the major types of consumer debt reviewed.

In Crazy Credit Cousin language: Folks are falling behind, and these balances are not playing with anybody! 😩
But listen—if you think you may miss a payment, do not wait until the account is 30 days late before you start making phone calls.
Here is your “Before You Become 30 Days Late” checklist:

✅ Call the creditor before the payment is missed.
✅ Ask about hardship assistance or temporary payment arrangements.
✅ Explain what you can realistically afford—do not promise money you don’t have.
✅ Review your budget and temporarily reduce nonessential spending.
✅ Write down the representative’s name, date, time, and confirmation number.
✅ Request the agreement in writing.
✅ Continue monitoring your statements and credit reports.

And please do not ignore the calls, letters, emails, and statements! Debt does not disappear because you put your phone on “Do Not Disturb.” Cousin, they will disturb that credit report instead! 😂🤦🏽‍♀️

Hardship assistance is not guaranteed, but asking early may give you more options than waiting until the account is seriously delinquent.

The goal is not to be embarrassed. The goal is to act before the problem becomes harder and more expensive to fix.
Now send this to the cousin who keeps saying, “I’m going to call them next week.” No, cousin—call them TODAY! 😂

Source: https://www.newyorkfed.org/newsevents/news/research/2026/20260811

Household Debt Balances Decreased Slightly; Credit Card Delinquency Transition Rates Remained Steady - FEDERAL RESERVE BANK of NEW YORK At the New York Fed, our mission is to make the U.S. economy stronger and the financial system more stable for all segments of society. We do this by executing monetary policy, providing financial services, supervising banks and conducting research and providing expertise on issues that impact the n...

🏠🚨 COUSIN, WHICH CREDIT SCORE ARE YOU LOOKING AT? Because you have more than one! 😂

Mortgage lending is changing. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are accepting additional credit-scoring models from approved lenders, while FHA has announced plans to permit VantageScore 4.0 and FICO 10T once its additional implementation guidance is released.

Let your Crazy Credit Cousin translate:

The credit score you see on your phone may NOT be the same score your mortgage lender uses! 😩

Different scoring models can review the same credit information and produce different numbers. Some newer models may also consider certain reported rental-payment information or other expanded data differently.

But cousin, please do not assume:

❌ Every lender uses the same scoring model.
❌ Every rental payment is automatically reported.
❌ Paying rent automatically increases every credit score.
❌ Utility payments affect every mortgage decision.
❌ A higher score on one app guarantees mortgage approval.

Before allowing everybody and their cousin to pull your credit, ask the mortgage lender:

📌 Which credit-scoring model are you using?
📌 Which credit reports are you pulling?
📌 Do you consider reported rental-payment history?
📌 Is this an FHA, Fannie Mae, or Freddie Mac loan?
📌 Is this only a prequalification or an actual preapproval?
📌 Will this result in a hard credit inquiry?

And do not get so excited about one score that you forget the rest of the mortgage picture. Lenders may also review:

💰 Income
💳 Monthly debts
📊 Credit utilization
📅 Payment history
🏦 Savings and reserves
📄 Employment documentation
🏠 The specific mortgage program

Your score is important—but it is not the only cousin invited to the mortgage-closing table! 😂

Ask questions, compare reputable lenders, and understand exactly what is being reviewed before applying.

FHFA announcement:
https://www.fhfa.gov/news/news-release/homebuying-advances-into-new-era-of-credit-score-competition

Homebuying Advances into New Era of Credit Score Competition | FHFA In a joint announcement, HUD Secretary Scott Turner and FHFA Director William J. Pulte announced that the Federal Housing Administration and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are implementing their first new credit score models for mortgages in decades. This historic move is intended to lower costs for the...

Happy Terrific Tuesday!!

It is a great day to start fresh, smile, and make the most of your week.

🚨 COUSIN, COME HERE! We need to clear something up before the internet gets loud and wrong. 😂

The CFPB recently stopped publicly displaying consumers’ written complaint stories and related visualizations.
Now, before somebody runs to Facebook yelling, “The CFPB doesn’t take complaints anymore!”—that is NOT what happened. 🙄

✅ The CFPB still accepts consumer complaints.
✅ Your complaint may still be sent to the company for a response.
✅ You can still file complaints about credit reporting, debt collection, mortgages, bank accounts, loans, and other financial products.

But listen to your Crazy Credit Cousin: If you file a complaint, SAVE EVERYTHING!

📌 Confirmation number
📌 Copy of your complaint
📌 Statements, letters, emails, and screenshots
📌 Supporting evidence
📌 The company’s response

Because we are not filing complaints and then losing the receipts! No, ma’am! No, sir! We document over here. 😂
The public display changed—the CFPB complaint process did not disappear.

File your complaint here:
https://www.consumerfinance.gov/complaint/

Now share this before somebody tells your cousin, auntie, or church member that they can’t file a complaint anymore. 🤦🏽‍♀️

Submit a complaint | Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Find information and tools to submit a consumer complaint to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Happy Sunday!!