Impulsive, Undisciplined, Impatient.
If any of the words above describe your financial personality, then maybe you should stay far away from anything having to do with credit.
Now be honest with yourself here because this is important.
If you are the type of person possessing impetuous behaviors then attempting to handle the responsibility of using a credit card may be as dangerous as a baby handling a chainsaw.
Trust me, I know this from personal experience, because at one time in my life, I could not resist buying everything in sight that was bright and shiny, so long as I had the limit on my credit card.
When I maxed out one credit card, I would just apply for another credit card.
When I could not qualify for another credit card, I would quickly pay down one of my credit cards, just enough so that I could go out and buy more bright and shiny things.
Most times, I did not even need the things that I purchased, I just had an ‘impulse’ to use my credit cards.
Even though I knew I was buried up to my neck in debt, I thought I looked good being broke, but it sure did not feel very good.
Imagine getting your paycheck on Friday and then having no money left over by Monday because all your money went towards making the minimum payments on your credit card bills.
That was my way-of-life for quite some time and I learned some hard lessons along the way.
For example, I learned that credit cards were never meant to be used for day-to-day expenses.
Credit is in fact meant to be a convenience to make purchases without having to carry a large amount of cash and also to establish a credit record of how you manage money so that a person can take advantage of a diversity of financial opportunities that are only available to those with a good credit report and a good credit score.
In reality, managing credit and credit cards all comes down to knowing-your-financial-limitations and developing a discipline to manage the money which you earn by creating a budget and sticking to the budget each and every week.
Honestly, if you cannot master financial discipline, you would do yourself a good service by staying far far away from all types of credit.
However, I certainly hope that you take the time to study and master your financial acumen, which is the ability to think clearly and make good financial decisions, so that you may harness the power of the many different ways that credit can actually help you grow financial wealth and provide financial security.
