Financial Fitness

Don’t feel that you are alone. I was also one of those people who started all wrong in my late teens. My problem was with store cards, gas cards, and credit cards. I used and abused them and didn’t think twice about it. Luckily I had family members who cared about my financial health. Two family members sat me down, spoke to me, and told me it would be okay. What they said made all the sense, and I asked myself why I didn’t look at it like that. 

My family asked why I needed store cards when one major credit card would do the same. Just because I was asked if I wanted to apply for a store or credit card doesn’t mean I had to. I had to learn how to say “NO.” I thought the more cards I had and the more credit I spent would improve my credit score even if they were paid on time. A lot of credit can work against you than for you. I felt a sense of obligation, and boy was I wrong.

My family members’ words meant so much that day, and that was the day they told me to gather all of my cards except for one or two major credit cards I wanted to keep. My family members pushed a trash can in front of me, handed me a pair of scissors, and gave me instructions. As I cut up each card, they told me to say, “In the name of Jesus.” I repeated those words until there were no more cards except for two. That was when I promised myself I would never get into that much debt anymore. I broke that promise years later, but I learned from those mistakes. Today, I have enough debt that I can easily control.