{"id":1121,"date":"2017-06-23T03:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-06-23T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kerryaclark.com\/?p=1121"},"modified":"2018-01-18T19:57:46","modified_gmt":"2018-01-19T01:57:46","slug":"discipline-of-using-credit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kerryaclark.com\/blog\/discipline-of-using-credit\/","title":{"rendered":"The Discipline of Using Credit"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bad, Great, Not Enough, and No Credit – Part 1<\/h2>\n

Banking is an action and not an institution! \u00a0I wish to shout this before I begin talking about credit cards. \u00a0Pamela and I, when in the worse financial shape of our lives, thought we needed a credit card to help improve our credit. \u00a0Don’t let others hang the “good” credit score over your head. \u00a0We’ve been there and with bad, great, not enough, and no credit, it’s never stopped us from being able to get the things we needed and desired. \u00a0We accomplished this because we’re surrounded by God\u2019s favor and would be lost if we weren’t operating in it. \u00a0That’s a topic for another day, but don’t push me! \u00a0Back to the credit card we thought we needed. \u00a0Pamela and I were so excited to receive it in the mail. \u00a0We had a whopping $350 credit<\/a> limit. \u00a0We thought we were on our way. \u00a0BTW – it doesn’t take long to reach a limit of $350 and we did just that. \u00a0Here’s the funny part and we still laugh at this today, we couldn’t pay off the $350 credit card and add that to what we already had, needless to say we ended up bankrupted. \u00a0Ouch, the credit card was just icing on the cake.<\/p>\n

Through this experience, we realized two things: 1) we have a problem and 2) everyone doesn’t have this problem.<\/p>\n

\"\"We have a problem.<\/strong>
\nWe had a problem with money. \u00a0We didn’t know how to handle it. \u00a0We spent more than we made. \u00a0You might find yourself right where we were. \u00a0Just admit it, you have a problem with money. \u00a0And you are not alone. \u00a0Unlike others in this situation, when we don’t know something, we know it’s time to go to school. \u00a0We needed someone to teach us how to use what we so often think comes natural. \u00a0Money management isn’t a natural skill; it’s an uncommon skill.<\/p>\n

Everyone doesn’t have this problem.<\/strong>
\nWe noticed that not everyone has a money problem. \u00a0Could it be that we are not all created equal when it comes to knowing what to do with money; I think so.<\/p>\n

We made the decision that we want to be those people – the people who know what they are doing with their money. \u00a0So how do they do it? \u00a0You won’t believe this. \u00a0Every person, book and podcast we studied led us to this conclusion. \u00a0They all have a plan. \u00a0They have a “Family Plan” and now so do we.<\/p>\n

\u201cFools [common individuals] think their own way is right, but the wise [uncommon individuals] listen to others.<\/a>\u201d – \u202d\u202dProverbs<\/p>\n

The Family Plan Binder<\/a>\"\"<\/a> is available now!

<\/p>\nOur team has worked very hard putting it together. We designed it to help you and your family move the needle forward in making your life your business. \nFind out more about the Family plan here.<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/strong><\/p>\n

Discipline of Business and Travel<\/strong>
\nAfter we sent to school, we were determined to never ever have nor need a credit card. \u00a0That too was bad knowledge and thinking. \u00a0I had a career that required a lot of travel and there was no way for us to do this using our debit card. \u00a0So we had to do the unthinkable, get another credit card. \u00a0Pamela and I thought back to that $350 credit card<\/a> and said, we’ll never repeat that cycle ever again and we haven\u2019t. \u00a0You see a credit card is a catch-22. \u00a0It lets you spend without having the money in the first place.<\/p>\n

The way travel works, it’s designed to have a credit card for use. \u00a0Just one example, rent a car and see how many charges are applied to your debit card as opposed to a credit card. \u00a0You’ll soon run out of available funds.<\/p>\n

This time we used a technique called “discipline”. \u00a0This new card was only good for business travel. \u00a0The card could only have charges that we were guaranteed a company reimbursement. \u00a0We had learned our lesson.<\/p>\n

With prayer and researching, we put our travel card into use. \u00a0This was ingenious. \u00a0We didn’t know it at the time, but this move paid off later. \u00a0You see we would incur all those expenses, get reimbursed and pay off the credit card. \u00a0Almost instantly we were building credit-good credit, not that we cared too much about that, but it made us feel better that we were finally getting control of the one thing that we too often take for granted, our money.<\/p>\n

Have a card for business travel only.<\/strong>
\nWe started with a card for business travel only. \u00a0This banking action helped us build confidence in our plan to get ahead. \u00a0It gave us confidence that having a plan works. \u00a0It ended our embarrassment. \u00a0It’s embarrassing trying to book all your travels using a debit card, especially when funds are tight. \u00a0What I want you to know is that with a plan, you can become disciplined and use this method of banking to your advantage. \u00a0More about that to come in our next post. \u00a0If you have trouble with discipline, get help. \u00a0Stop trying to do it alone. \u00a0A wise man knows how to ask for help when he needs it.<\/p>\n

Today is Friday!
\nToday we have one card we use for all our travels. \u00a0Remember our life is our business, so we treat these expenses like any business does. \u00a0We must reimburse our expenses and pay our travel card. \u00a0We’re not going to make payments or borrow the money; we pay for it. \u00a0I feel for those who do life without a plan. \u00a0They’re like the mouse on that wheel, spinning in circles and never going anywhere. \u00a0Learn from your own mistakes, like Pamela and me. \u00a0Stop chasing life.<\/p>\n

What challenges have you faced with using a credit card? \u00a0Leave us a comment below.<\/span><\/p>\n