Damirra & Damien Bolden
Chicago, IL
Former Occupation: Utilization Review Manager

For years, Damirra & Damien Bolden, of Chicago, IL, thought they were doing the right things to protect their family and prepare for the future, but they just kept hitting roadblocks on the way to their success.

“I worked as a utilization review manager at a hospital, calling insurance companies to argue on the patient’s behalf to try and extend insurance coverage when the patient needed to stay hospitalized longer than the insurance wanted to cover,” Damirra says. “I made the hospital millions of dollars in insurance payouts, but my income didn’t reflect that value.”

That’s when the Boldens learned about the Primerica business opportunity.^{1, 2} “I tell people all the time that if I hadn’t found Primerica, I would be unhappily employed, underinsured, and definitely not on track to retire,” Damirra explains. “Damien and I had life insurance, but it was a whole life insurance policy with just $30,000 of coverage. I had a 401(k) through my job at the hospital, and Damien had a deferred compensation plan through his work as a Chicago police officer, but neither of us had anywhere near what we would need to reach our goals. We didn’t know how to make a change — or even that there was another way.” ^{3, 4, 5}

A NEW OPPORTUNITY

In their personal lives, the Boldens love giving back by investing in their community. Primerica offered them a way to turn changing lives into a new career path.

“We’ve always been passionate about helping families,” Damien says. “We run a basketball league for inner city youth, Damirra offers dance fitness classes to help people take charge of their health, we’ve participated in mentorship programs, and we are in a position to financially support those we care about when they need it.

“We’ve always been geared toward doing good in our community — it’s everything we breathe, think, and live in our personal lives. Primerica allows us to use that same passion for making a difference to help people live better financial lives and prepare for the future. And, at the same time, the more success at that we have, the closer we get to achieving our own family’s goals.”

A GAME-CHANGER

Almost immediately, the Boldens were blown away by the financial concepts they were introduced to in Primerica’s How Money Works™ financial education guide.⁶ Building a business on sharing this knowledge and Primerica’s financial solutions was simply a no-brainer.

“In the African-American community, a lot of us have whole life insurance policies for our kids because that’s the only thing marketed to us,” Damirra relates. “We meet so many people who have spent hundreds or thousands of dollars on these policies with very little to show for it. When we break down our ‘Buy Term and Invest the Difference’ approach, it’s a game-changer!”

Damien continues, “People often have this idea that having enough life insurance coverage is too expensive. What really gets us excited is being able to show a family how they can get what they need at a premium they can afford. When we go on to show how they can actually start saving for the future without needing thousands of dollars to start an investments program — that absolutely changes lives!”

BEING THE CHANGE

Damirra and Damien find a tremendous amount of fulfilment in what they do every day across the kitchen table. They say it’s not just about making an impact on the people they care about the most. It’s about being the kind of change that they had desperately hoped for themselves, not too long ago.

“There are millions like us out there waiting for someone to offer them hope,” Damirra reflects. “We know so many hard-working people who are praying for an opportunity like Primerica — they just don’t know where to find it. So, when I get to show someone how they can make extra money each month through Primerica’s part-time opportunity, or even make a full-time career change, those earnings aren’t just ‘money’ to them.⁷ It’s tuition. It’s paying down debt. It’s groceries. It’s paying bills. It’s an answer to prayer, just like it was for us when we found this business.”

“I love what we do for our community through the financial education we teach and the solutions we offer. But to us, it’s the Opportunity that truly allows you to grow as big as you want to, earn as much as you are willing to work for, and live a life without limits. I don’t know of any other business out there that would allow us to have what we have here — or to do for others what we can because of what we’ve built.”