Prominent Pastors Partner to Expand on the Details of the Week Leading Up to Christ's Death and Resurrection

LOS ANGELES, March 29, 2023 (Newswire.com) - Pray.com, the No. 1 app for prayer and faith-based audio and video streaming content, announced today the release of "Passion Week," a dynamic, eight-episode focused on the events of easter. Exploring in-depth Christ's heroic path from the streets of Jerusalem to the grave, "Passion Week" follows His passionate journey to redeem, restore and renew.

Listeners can expect to: 

• Develop a deeper understanding of the significance of each day of Holy Week 
• Experience what it's like to walk with Jesus during the last week of His life 
• Love the Lord and know of His love even more through this journey

"This powerful, new audio series truly encapsulates the heart of our mission," said Max Bard, VP of Content at Pray.com. "Each engaging episode shares intimate details of Holy Week, from the dark halls of the temple, where whispers of conspiracy condemn God Himself to death, to the brutal march up the hill of Calvary, where salvation was fought for us on the cross. Finally, we behold light bursting forth from a dark, cold grave on Easter Sunday. From Sunday to Sunday, this is the destination for Easter encouragement and a deeper understanding of what Jesus did for us."

The new series is exclusively available on the Pray.com platform. 

Highly sought-after voice actors Sylvia Zaradic and Todd Haberkorn share their talents, joined by Pray.com partners in ministry, who will each narrate an episode:

• Jim Graff, Faith Family Church 
• Beth Jones, The Basics with Beth 
• Kristiann Wargo, Create Your Now 
• And many others 

For more information or to access the "Passion Week" eight-episode audio-cast, visit www.pray.com/series/passion-week, where content is scheduled to go live April 1.

About Pray.com  
Founded in 2016 with a mission to grow faith and cultivate community, Pray.com is the world's No. 1 app for daily prayer and Bible based audio content. Reaching more than 10 million people world-wide through its mobile app and website, it is the easiest way to incorporate prayer into your daily life. Pray.com provides encouragement and inspiration through daily devotionals, Pastor podcasts, and Bedtime Bible Stories. Pray.com founders are Steve Gatena, Mike Lynn, Ryan Beck and Matthew Potter. See https://alarryross.com/pray-com for more information.

Contact Information:
Melany Ethridge
[email protected]
(214) 912-8934


Original Source: Pray.com Launches Exclusive 'Passion Week' Podcast Designed to Prepare Hearts for Easter

NEW YORK, March 29, 2023 (Newswire.com) - Credello: Having a good credit score is an essential tool in any financial arsenal, but studies show time and time again how little the public truly understands about how credit scores work. A recent study found that nearly 50% of those surveyed assumed that carrying a balance on a credit card is vital for maintaining good credit.

Unfortunately for them, the opposite is true: maintaining very low or $0 balances on credit cards ensures you'll have access to the best offers possible with competitive interest rates. On the other hand, high balances show that you may be unable to handle credit responsibly, making you a less desirable candidate for new cards or loans.

That's not the only myth that's affecting your credit score. Here are a few other popular ones we need to debunk.

Myth 1: Applying for credit cards hurts your score

Truth: This isn't totally a myth, but it is misinterpreted so much that it might as well be considered one. Applying for new credit is known as a "hard inquiry" or "hard pull" on your credit report, and having too many "pulls" within the span of three years can make lenders think you're desperate for money. Typically the highest credit scores have 0 - 2 inquiries on their report.

While hard inquiries account for 10% of your total score, their ability to lower your score depends on whether or not you'll be approved. Getting rejected for a credit card affects your credit score negatively but won't do much damage if your other metrics are good.

However, getting approved for new credit will most likely cancel out the damage done by a new inquiry because your amount of available credit will go up, lowering your credit utilization. Since your credit utilization accounts for 30% of your total score, this negates the 10% affected by the hard pull.

Myth 2: Paying a loan off early hurts your credit score

Truth: This is another that started off as technically accurate but has been misinterpreted so much that the way the general public understands it is a myth. Installment loans, like mortgages and car loans, are calculated in your credit score as part of your credit utilization but are sort of their own category (they don't matter quite as much as the amount of revolving credit you have vs. the balances you carry). 

Where they do matter is your on-time payments. The number of on-time payments you make is the highest-ranking factor of your credit report, accounting for 35% of your overall score. So if you're late on your loan payments, your score will be negatively affected. If you keep things up-to-date, you shouldn't have any negative effects.

Now if you're considering paying off a car early to improve your credit or consolidating personal loans, you might be worried that it will affect your utilization, dropping your score. Typically, this isn't the case (which is why we say loans are their own utilization category), but it may affect another aspect of your score: your history.

Your credit history is the average age of open accounts you have and is 15% of your overall score. If you pay a loan off early, the account is considered closed and will no longer be factored into your credit history. Again, this is only 15% of your total score, so if your other metrics are strong, you shouldn't see a significant drop in your score. Plus, paying a loan off early will reduce the overall interest you pay, saving you money. 

The bottom line

Your credit score is a critical factor for your financial foundation, so you need to understand how it's created and what truly affects your number. Do your research to find out which myths you think are helping your credit but doing the opposite. 

About Credello

Credello is a financial tech company offering a personal finance tool that simplifies financial decisions through personalized, on-demand recommendations — so users can borrow, save, or invest with confidence. Credello believes that finding the right financial product should be as easy and interactive as online shopping, and we are on a mission to make that possible. For more information, please visit https://www.credello.com. 

Contact Information:
Keyonda Goosby
Public Relations Specialist
[email protected]
(201) 633-2125


Original Source: Credello: Nearly 50% of People Think Carrying a Credit Card Balance Helps Your Score

ATLANTA, March 29, 2023 (Newswire.com) - MollyTommy, the world's preferred safe and inclusive social media platform, is in the process of beginning to pitch its first round of funding in exchange for equity. The funds will be utilized primarily for the development of an app, and secondarily for targeted marketing spends to aggressively ramp up and expand its reach to both members and allies of the LGBTQ+ community.

Over 80% of MollyTommy's monthly online visitors are new to the site, and analytics show the new visitors are creating profiles, growing the online platform's memberships month after month. MollyTommy's recent launch into Europe also helped fuel the growth in both personal and business accounts. It's unprecedented to see such growth on a desktop-only social media platform.

"For far too long, the LGBTQ+ community has been underground, silent out of fear, and an intricate web of tribal knowledge and community. We are innovating and seeking to establish an entire ecosystem to pull the underground above ground. First steps are with the establishment of our safe and inclusive social media platform. Our website is incredible in lieu of the limited resources we have." - Sophia Hayden, MollyTommy Board Member

MollyTommy has positioned itself to be a top social media platform but needs to secure critical funding for app development. MollyTommy has begun talks with investors who are not only interested in changing the world for the ~780 million LGBTQ+ people around the world forever, but also opening up access to one of the most unique - and largely untapped - demographic cohorts of consumer spending power globally. It is estimated that the LGBTQ+ community has access to over $1.4 TRILLION in spending power. 

MollyTommy's vision is innovative, disruptive, world-changing, and calling out to investors to be part of something big. Their founders and team refuse to fail and will succeed. For those interested in scheduling a pitch call with the Co-Founders and board, or know of any potential investors who would have interest, please reach out to the media contact below. Help MollyTommy help the community (which needs them now more than ever) and create a better, more inclusive world for future generations. 

MollyTommy is a free social media platform where LGBTQ+ communities, their friends, families and businesses can unite with a sense of purpose and use their voices to engage with each other in a safe environment.

To join, visit mollytommy.com.

Contact Information:
Heather Brown
Marketing Manager
[email protected]
602-930-1031


Original Source: LGBTQ+ Social Media Platform Calls Out to Investors

SAN FRANCISCO, March 29, 2023 (Newswire.com) - The LGBTQI+ Economic and Financial (LEAF) Survey: Understanding the Financial Lives of LGBTQI+ People in the United States, released today, shines new light on the financial experiences and issues faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI+) people in the U.S. The report fills in critical gaps left by many federal and financial industry surveys that fail to include LGBTQI+ demographics. The report is authored by the Center for LGBTQ Economic Advancement & Research (CLEAR) and the Movement Advancement Project (MAP). 

The independent survey and report were made possible with sponsorship and support from Visa and Daylight. Visa and Daylight are committed to working with underrepresented communities and helping provide financial tools to those historically underserved by the financial industry.

The report analyzes results from a survey of 2,505 LGBTQI+ and 503 non-LGBTQI+ adults, conducted December 2022-January 2023. Respondents were asked about their financial well-being, priorities and concerns, experiences with exclusion and discrimination, and costs associated with family formation, gender-affirming health care, or legally changing their name or gender marker.

Some key findings include:

• LGBTQI+ people reported losing the ability to rely financially on their families after coming out. While 73% of LGBTQI+ respondents said they could rely financially on their family before telling them about their sexual orientation, only 62% could do so after coming out. The gap was even greater for transgender respondents.
• Over half (53%) of all LGBTQI+ respondents had taken out a federal student loan to finance their education, versus 31% of non-LGBTQI+ respondents. Among borrowers, only 23% of LGBTQI+ borrowers had paid off their loans versus 39% of non-LGBTQI+ borrowers.
• Four in 10 parents (40%) reported having some out-of-pocket legal costs related to family formation. Additionally, 43% of LGBTQI+ parents had spent $1,000+ on out-of-pocket healthcare costs for family formation; nearly a third (32%) had spent $5,000+.
• Most respondents who received gender-affirming care (82%) reported spending some money out-of-pocket. Nearly half (46%) of people who had received gender-affirming care spent $5,000+ out-of-pocket; one-third (33%) had spent at least $10,000 out-of-pocket.
• LGBTQI+ people were more likely to report negative feelings about their finances than positive ones.  Roughly twice as many LGBTQI+ respondents as non-LGBTQI+ respondents reported feeling anxious, overwhelmed, and depressed about their finances.
• One in 10 LGBTQI+ respondents (11%) said they had experienced discrimination in banking or financial services.

"The LEAF report reveals the immense financial pressure many LGBTQI+ people in the U.S. are living under — particularly transgender people and queer people of color. The findings illustrate the urgent need for improvements in the financial industry and in state and federal policies to support the economic needs of LGBTQI+ people and communities who are struggling financially," said Spencer Watson, Executive Director at CLEAR.

"These new findings show the wide-ranging economic impacts of discrimination on LGBTQI+ people. This underscores the urgent need for strong and decisive efforts to counteract this financial toll and other harms. Especially given the escalating political attacks on LGBTQI+ and especially transgender people, federal protections against discrimination are essential," said Logan Casey, Senior Policy Researcher and Advisor at MAP.

"Together with organizations like CLEAR, MAP, and Daylight, we're able to build and advocate for more inclusive financial systems for the LGBTQI+ community around the world," said Erin Pursell, Vice President of Fintech Business Development, Visa.

The report is available at https://lgbtq-economics.org/research/leaf-report-2023/.

CLEAR is a nonprofit that creates research, education, and advocacy to support the financial needs of LGBTQ people, organizations, and communities and to help them achieve their unique economic goals.

MAP is an independent think tank that provides rigorous research, insight, and analysis that help speed equality for all, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people.

Daylight is the first and only digital banking platform for the LGBTQ+ community, creating the U.S.'s first trans-inclusive debit account in 2021. Learn about Daylight's latest family-building products at www.joindaylight.com.

Visa Inc. is a world leader in digital payments, facilitating payments transactions between consumers, merchants, financial institutions and government entities across more than 200 countries and territories. 

Contact Information:
Rebecca Farmer
Communications Director, Movement Advancement Project
[email protected]
303-578-4600 ext 122

Spencer Watson
Executive Director, Center for LGBTQ Economic Advancement & Research
[email protected]
415-278-7358
Related Files
LEAF Survey Executive Summary.pdf
LEAF Survey Report March 2023.pdf



Original Source: New Report Offers Most Comprehensive Look to Date at LGBTQI+ People's Financial Lives

NEW YORK, March 29, 2023 (Newswire.com) - Credello: The Baby Boomer generation includes individuals who were born between 1946 and 1964. Many are parents, and some are grandparents. Most of them are approaching retirement age at the moment. Some Baby Boomers find they have more credit card debt than in recent memory. We will talk about why in the following article. We'll also answer the question, does debt consolidation hurt your credit, since consolidating debt can help some Boomers.

The Pandemic

The pandemic caused a situation where some Baby Boomers who were close to retiring couldn't work. With many companies shut down, some of them didn't have the capability of working from home. 

Because of that, they had to eat into the savings they were stockpiling for their upcoming retirement. Consequently, some don't have as much money saved up now. Some are still retiring, but as they're doing that, they don't have the nest egg for which they were hoping. 

Many of these Baby Boomers are retiring with very little money saved up. They can still collect Social Security, but that's hardly enough to live a lavish lifestyle.

That's not stopping some of them from spending beyond their means. Some have reached the point where they're using credit cards to take expensive vacations, and they're buying costly items, even if they don't know whether they can ever pay that money back. 

Some are spending recklessly with little thought for their futures. If these individuals live for another 20-30 years, they might see significant repercussions for their actions in the not-too-distant future.

Inflation

Inflation is also causing some Baby Boomers to spend more money right now. Even those who still have a frugal mindset see little choice but to use credit cards if they have bills and don't have the money in savings to cover them.

Inflation means the cost of goods and services is increasing. Some older adults with little or no savings don't get enough from Social Security to cover their basic living expenses. In these situations, it makes sense they would get into trouble with credit card debt.

Debt Consolidation

All this is leading some Baby Boomers to look into debt consolidation more than ever before. Debt consolidation means getting a loan from one entity that you can use to pay back all your other outstanding debts.

Some older adults are a little nervous about doing this. Earlier, we mentioned many Boomers trying to determine whether debt consolidation hurts your credit. It can, but usually, the difference is only temporary. That's one reason some Boomers regard it as a viable option in 2023.

Older adults who have outstanding debt on multiple credit cards are frequently looking into debt consolidation as a way to get their spending under control. If they do this, they can usually get a lower interest rate than the average credit card company would offer them.

Younger Generations Can Learn from the Boomers

The younger generations can all learn from the situation the Boomers find themselves in right now. The ones who are spending recklessly can serve as a cautionary tale. Those who are spending beyond their means might get themselves into dire financial straits if they can't control the habit. 

As for the Boomers who are spending more frugally and still getting into trouble with credit card debt, many are finding a path forward by refinancing that debt. The simplicity of having only one creditor and getting a better interest rate is often the more favorable situation they need. 

Younger generations will one day get to where these Boomers are, but in the meantime, they might follow the same habits. If they're using credit cards too much and racking up significant debt, they can refinance. They can also avoid spending beyond their means if they use credit cards only in emergencies. 

Some Boomers who don't have the money to continue living on their own can also move in with their children. That's becoming much more common in America these days. 

About Credello

Website

Credello is a financial tech company offering personal finance tools that simplify financial decisions through personalized, on-demand recommendations — so users can borrow, save, or invest with confidence.

Credello believes that finding the right financial product should be as easy and interactive as online shopping, and we are on a mission to make that possible. For more information, please visit www.credello.com.

Contact Information:
Keyonda Goosby
Public Relations Specialist
[email protected]
(201) 633-2125


Original Source: Credello: Why Baby Boomers Have Worse Credit Card Debt Right Now