An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
Open lines of communication — Hand in hand with honesty is maintaining open lines of communication in all categories of your relationship: finances, emotions, intimacy, your goals as a couple and as individuals.
As a part of our series about lessons from Thriving Power Couples, I had the pleasure of interviewing Megan and Eric DeCrosta.
It’s no accident that opposites are drawn to one another. But oftentimes those same qualities you once found attractive can turn to feelings of resentment and create tension in your relationship. Rest assured, no tension here with Megan and Eric DeCrosta! As the spender in the relationship, when Megan met Eric, she learned the number one thing you can do for your relationship is have good lines of communication. Especially about money. As the saver, Eric’s side gig as a real estate agent dealing with first-time homebuyers, the duo discovered an overall lack of knowledge when it comes to credit and finances. So Megan created Cut the Fiscal Fat to teach teens about finances, tips and advice she wished she knew sooner, but you don’t know what you don’t know til someone shines a bright light on it!
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you two to your respective career paths?
Our extreme differences are responsible for the creation of Cut the Fiscal Fat. Eric and I grew up in lower-middle-class families, and we are both Giants fans, but that’s about it. We are a generation apart, have different music and movie tastes, as well as different lifestyles and spending habits. Eric has always been a worker and a saver. And I have always been a worker and a spender. When we first started dating, Eric owned and lived in a three-family investment property, had a .9% auto loan, and an 850-credit score. I had, let’s just say, a less desirable portfolio.
With Eric’s influence, I am now incapable of making a purchase without hearing him in my ear about sale prices, unit prices, discounts, coupons, and credit card rewards. He learned all he knows after having to repair his credit from identity theft and asking countless questions along the way. In the years I have been with him, I have learned so much about credit, finances, budgeting, and saving; I always find myself saying, “I wish I had known this sooner!’
So, I launched Cut the Fiscal Fat and our #12to1million campaign to help kids who grew up like us learn the financial need-to-know early enough to avoid the mistakes many of us have made (and some of us still make).
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you two got married?
When we met, Eric was working a part-time job taking photos for the NFL and the NY Giants. I had been to a few games with him before; he would buy a single ticket in the nosebleeds for me and have me meet him at his cinderblock booth atop section 301that he affectionately dubbed “low-class VIP.” A private, heated concrete box with food delivery at halftime! After the games ended, I would head to the car while he went to the press box to finish his work.
With kids and marriage and virtually no time alone together, Giant’s home games in the low-class VIP suite became our getaway. Once, instead of waiting at the car after a game ended, Eric made me wait in a stairwell next to a press-box entrance. A few anxious minutes passed, the press door opened and Eric popped his head out and whispered, “Get in here and get to work!” I followed him into the press box where he pointed me to fountain sodas and a buffet of fruit, cheese crackers, danishes, and desserts before slipping me his ID. He told me to make a plate and make myself comfortable at one of the tables in the press box lounge area. And then went back to work. I stood frozen for what seemed like five min before grabbing my Pepsi and snacks. On the retreat to the lounge area, a man in a maroon jacket asked for my ID. The question hit me like a linebacker! I reached into my pocket and found Eric’s ID and showed it to the man. He smiled at me and said, “Sorry, thank you” and walked on.
Less than an hour later Eric had finished the data entry work and found me in the lounge. When I told him about what happened he laughed and said, “GREAT!” When I asked why he said, “They can’t forget your pretty face, so they’ll leave you alone next time.” I thought, who is luckier than me?
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
We started with YouTube self-help videos and had so much fun doing them. Until we realized nobody was watching and nobody cared! From that, we learned the importance of knowing who you want your target audience to be and changing your approach to reach them.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
We are focused on teens and getting them the money knowledge they need before they start getting credit cards and student loans. We are here to disrupt the way teens approach money, finances, and credit. We keep it fun and simplistic in order to build confidence and encourage growth.
We know given the opportunity, those teens who truly want financial security will work hard to find it, and we want to show them the way.
Millions of teens graduate high school every year and enter college or the workforce without the proper money knowledge they need to achieve their financial independence. Eric worked since he was a freshman in high school and left college after his sophomore year. He worked multiple jobs to pay off his student and auto loans, but still lacked the necessary knowledge to thrive financially.
He had his identity stolen a few years later and was forced to fix the issue with the credit bureaus himself. This was his catalyst. While on this mission he bought his first investment property and reached a credit score of 850. When Eric and I got together, I had no savings to go with my 17% auto loan and $5,000 in collections.
I know if I had someone like Eric in my teenage years to help educate me about personal finance, I would have made smarter money decisions. Now my mission is to help as many teenagers as possible achieve financial independence.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
We are currently working on two projects: our 5-hour defensive finance course and the “Need to Know Life Guide (Level 2).”
“Need to Know Life Guide (Level 1)” is an introductory 45-minute online course covering the five keys to financial literacy: Earn, Save and Invest, Spend, Borrow, and Protect. The 5-hour course will be a more in-depth look at each key.
The “Need to Know Life Guide (Level 2)” will be the next step for those interested in expanding their relationship with money and finances. It will cover the three categories of financial literacy that have the lowest comprehension.
What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?
Your employees must know you care about them more than profits while helping them understand without profits there are no jobs.
Also, we should always be learning for self-improvement and the betterment of our business. Knowing how someone else’s job is done can help you establish backup coverage (like cross-training) but also a better understanding of what that specific employee is responsible for, how it fits into the business model, and if outside perspectives/questions can help improve the process efficiency, costs, or both. Transparency should be at the forefront of your business model.
How do you define “Leadership”?
Leadership is like being the captain of a ship. The captain is responsible for making all the decisions while keeping his crew’s best interests and safety in mind.
Your crew needs to know you will fight for them and alongside them to make sure your ship never sinks.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
Megan: For me, it is my mom. She has always been the source of profound support and unconditional love, especially after my father’s death when I was 15.
When I was 18, I was competing in the Miss New York U.S.A. beauty pageant, and the final round was held in Albany, NY, which is a 10-minute walk from where I grew up, and most of my family members lived. I had 10 aunts and uncles and one grandmother (plus scores of extended family members) and only my mother and younger brothers showed up to support me. There have been many moments prior to that event, and many after, where my mom has been the only source of support. No matter the endeavor, no matter the path I choose, she will always be there.
Eric: My family and extended family. I would not have accomplished what I have, so far, without the love and support of my parents, my brother, my grandparents, aunts, and uncles. All have played a significant role in who I am today. Each of them has helped me set and reach goals despite life’s unexpected hurdles.
In February 2006, I suffered a grand mal seizure, was diagnosed as a partial epileptic, and was forced to surrender my license for six months. I walked and biked everywhere, but when weather or extreme distance prevented me from doing so, everyone stepped up to help. I feel blessed to know that in my most vulnerable times, I have been the most loved.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
We will be successful IF we can change the world. Or at least the way teens approach money and finances!
We started in our own community and hope to spread across the state and then the country. Our end goal is to make financial literacy education a main part of the high school curriculum, which would have a direct and significant impact on the wealth gap as more teens equip themselves with the knowledge and protection of their financial futures.
What are the “5 Things You Need To Thrive As A Couple”? Please share a story or example for each.
- Honesty — Be honest about who you are and what you want in life. It is important to note that there is a difference between being honest and being mean. Choose honesty!
- Open lines of communication — Hand in hand with honesty is maintaining open lines of communication in all categories of your relationship: finances, emotions, intimacy, your goals as a couple and as individuals.
- Understanding — “It is good to be loved, but profound to be understood.” Having a true perception of one another is critical to the success of your relationship. This means that you can empathize with your partner and know what is at the core of their actions and reactions.
- Unconditional Support — This is a form of support that lacks judgment. Not easy to do and not easy to find, especially in times of grief, loss, trauma, differences of opinions, and beliefs. You need understanding to have unconditional support.
- Plans — Creating short- and long-term plans together can help ensure you are both on the same page and headed in the right direction. Having monthly reviews can help you capitalize on your strengths and foresee potential obstacles.
You are people of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
We hope our #12to1million campaign IS what inspires a movement, and the result will be lifting an entire economic class and decreasing the wealth gap. We want to educate young adults and teens on how to beat the “system” that’s programmed to keep them in debt.
By filling the personal finance education gap with our “Need To Know Life Guide”, we are giving every student an opportunity to start off on the right foot.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
Megan: “A person who risks nothing, has nothing, is nothing.” — Portia de Rossi
Eric: From Confucius, “Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising each time you fall.”
On Eric’s journey to financial independence, he encountered his fair share of nay-sayers and those who ultimately proved to be disingenuous. Some of these encounters cost him money while others cost him his time and energy. They always cost him emotion.
In our house, and in our relationship, he is infamous for repeating “One step back to take two forward.” He chooses to treat these obstacles objectively and always finds a way to overcome them. Neither the bad encounters nor obstacles have ever deterred him from taking on risks for the betterment of our family or sharing his knowledge with anyone who will listen.
We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂
My choice for a male would be Eli Manning. He’s a two-time Super Bowl winner and MVP, and I am a huge Giants fan. Eli is amazing off the field too. He is a businessman, he is a husband and father, a philanthropist, a comedian, and a total class act. For a man who was born into a famous family and blessed with talent and success, he seems just as genuine and relatable as the next guy.
My choice for a female would be Kim Kardashian. As the owner of two, billion-dollar companies, and a current law student, she is the definition of a hustler. While she capitalizes on her image, she uses her celebrity status to raise awareness for social issues and has made sizeable charitable contributions. Her philanthropic efforts are hardly broadcasted by the star. Did you know she charted a plane for an Afghanistan girls’ soccer team and their families to be flown to safety in Britain? That is the Kim Kardashian I would love to have a sit-down with.
How can our readers follow your work online?
https://linktr.ee/cutthefiscalfat
@cutthefiscalfat
Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.
Lessons from a Thriving Power Couple, With Megan and Eric DeCrosta was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.