As a minister and relationship consultant to unmarried adults, I find it very interesting when I come across individuals (men and women) who feel as though they are truly ready for relationship and become consumed by the desire. The first question I typically ask is, “Have you, or are you continuing to develop yourself in all areas (spiritual, physical, social and financial) of life?” The initial response to this question is usually a resounding YES! However, there is often one stone left unturned that many of us hide from, neglect or ignore…CREDIT. Finances are a big reason for the failure of relationships and marriages after the glamour of the wedding and sex have worn off. When two individuals come together they inherit the financial and credit history of their mate. What will your mate inherit when they marry you?
Credit is often the big pink elephant in the corner of the room that no one wants to talk about. I am by no means advocating that you pull a copy of someone’s credit report or offer-up your own credit report on the first or second date. However, I do encourage you to begin working on your credit during your unmarried season and during the early part of courtship. You need to understand your current credit standing in order to develop an action plan for cleaning-up and improving your credit rating. Wouldn’t it be embarrassing for you not to assist in the qualification process of obtaining a home or automobile loan because of your credit? Make it a priority to clear up the little items (e.g. $30 past due bill owed to Comcast) on your report and develop an action plan to address any larger items (e.g. $2,000 owed to an apartment complex). Money is the primary excuse many people use to avoid dealing with debt and/or past credit issues. Bishop Bronner (Word of Faith Cathedral) said something very powerful during a seminar I attended and I will share with you as a reader. He mentioned a couple of options to maximize your financial situation:
1) Downsize and downgrade your current lifestyle and spending to accommodate a savings plan. You should never go a month without contributing to a personal savings account. All gurus advocate that you pay yourself first (after God of course :)).
2) Position yourself so your time is more valuable to the market and/or your current employer. Obtain certification, licenses or advanced degrees so employers have to compensate you for your skills/knowledge.
3) Obtain a second job in order to generate additional cashflow to payoff outstanding debt and build a personal savings.
Please use the season that God has you in currently to take care of the little issues that can blossom into big issues when you connect with your lifemate.
5 Steps to Improving Your Credit
1. Start by ordering your credit reports – Visit http://www.annualcreditreport.com or http://www.myfico.com.
2. Examine your reports for errors
3. Dispute and document errors
4. Create a debt elimination plan
5. Add stability to your credit file
If you have really bad credit or even filed for bankruptcy, don't let your credit status go dormant. A secured credit card offers those with no credit and those rebuilding their credit an opportunity to start over and establish a new and solid credit history. Shop around for the best deal available, but limit your applications.
If you have questions or would like assistance going through this process, please visit my credit management website at http://www.integrityconsultinginc.com.
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2 comments:
Awesome! I am encouraged and on the move in improving my credit. I'm already beginning to downsize and learning to live below my means. I make sure something is set aside in a savings account,even down to the leftover change. I wish more single Christians would realize that there is hope even if your credit is not so good. It will take work,faith and patience, but you can have a good & solid financial future. Even if you marry or remain single....
This blog always starts some interesting conversation with my friends and myself. One of my closest friends shared a similiar story with me and with their permission I share the story. I will share that their first problem was communication. The gentlemen in question thought he had told my girlfriend everything about his intentions. However, my girlfriend had an accident and only heard about 20% of everything he told her. In fact he thought because she was still functioning that she was ok. However, she was on medication that prevented her from hearing everything clearly. So confusion set in and she could feed the devil so easy. Her behavior became different. Each call for help to understand just did not come out right and was interpreted as impatience. What my girlfriend was trying to say to that gentleman or anyone who knew the situation was slow down because pieces were missing but she couldn’t express herself right. Her mind was under a complete fog and she couldn’t even see what she knew, That God is not the author of confusion. She acted out in strange ways in every aspect of her life. She did not realize until much later that the medication was the first attack. Well like I said the gentleman thought he told her everything and it was just her desire to catch him. Well my girlfriend is just is not that type of person. In fact if the behavior was not consistent with what the gentleman already knew about her (because he had taken her apart piece by piece) then her thought was that red flags should have been going off. Anyway, it was during this same time that he indeed felt the need to check her credit without her knowledge. What he found out was that she had bad credit. But what he did not get from the credit report that only my girlfriend could share was that my girlfriend was checking her own credit at the same time to eliminate errors and make corrections. Also he would have known that she had a savings, a continual plan to save, a budget, investment vehicles, and a plan to payoff her debt. He would have known that small debts on her credit report were scheduled for short term payoff. He would have learned a lot more with her than without her. Plus her lifestyle does match her budget. The list goes on but basically he would have gotten the rest of the story. However, when this happened they both just stopped talking to each other. She had what she thought were her reasons and he had his reasons. My girl friend realizes the part she played in what happened. For that she admitted she was wrong. My girlfriend removed all medication because it was obvious the situation required focus and her mind was easy prey with the medication. So my girlfriend is praying for healing as she is still in pain. My girlfriend and the gentleman have since made up but only time will tell how their story ends. She now has more of an understanding of what was going on during that time through much prayer, study of God’s Word, and playback of conversation. She learned that during her foggy moment that he told her that she was a gift. However, she shared with him that she still wondered “Was it more about the process than the gift itself?” “Did he ever really view the gift as a gift at all?” or credit liability? “Did he ever think something was seriously wrong because the person he knew was not acting the same?” (I won't share the answers at my friends request:) My girlfriend also told me that she long since asked God to forgive her, She forgave herself and God has given her a set of instructions (His Word), a plan, budget, and goals. He is working on her everyday and the issue is settled for her. She is trying to be a good steward over all that God has given her... I just thought I would share their story because it was related to the topic at hand and it taught me some valuable lessons about relationships, credit, trust, and communication.
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