Credit and health go hand-in-hand. The rules that govern revolving credit also govern our ultimate health. As most of us are overweight and out of shape, so is our credit. But, if we apply good practices in spending and in our lifestyle, both our credit and health will improve.
We all need to establish credit in order to survive in our society. We cannot do many things without credit. One of the first things we set about doing as young people is establish credit. But we all know youth is wasted on the young, so we use our credit card to buy us things NOW, and we promise ourselves we’ll pay it back later. It’s okay, though, we tell ourselves. We are young and strong and we can easily bounce back. There is plenty of time.
We all know we should eat in a healthy manner and maintain some sort of exercise. But we’re in shape, we’re young, we look good, and our metabolism has never let us down. So we indulge and tell ourselves that we’ll start eating right and exercising when the scale begins going up. It won’t be difficult, we tell ourselves. Those extra few pounds will mean we just don’t eat as much cake, and they’ll go away.
In the beginning, everything is okay. But then, life happens. Job changes. Marriage. Kids. Moving. Bills. Divorce. Unexpected expenses. Before we know it, the sun that once shone so brightly down on us is creeping over into the western hemisphere. The time for us to fulfill our promises comes and goes.
We start making minimum payments on our credit card debt. We make small, half-hearted attempts to eat better. We join a gym with the best of intentions. But the damage has already been done. Once we realize our balance is uncomfortably high, it is too late. The accruing interest on our debt practically keeps us where we are and we realize we can’t make the headway we thought we could. Our metabolism slows down. Our new, healthier eating habits and spurts at the gym are not enough to overcome our expanding waistline. Our willpower is weak. We are in denial. We know we should not use our credit card until the balance is paid down, but resistance is futile. We know that the Oreo cookie will cost us 30 minutes on a treadmill, but we don’t want to believe the cost is that high.
A few years pass like this. We’re not ready to admit our initial assumptions were wrong. If only we could hire a financial analyst or a personal trainer. But we don’t. We just tread water.
The spark of youth is visibly diminishing. We notice we don’t have the fire that our younger counterparts do. Instead, we struggle in a mire of debt and we mourn the death of our high metabolism. We still aren’t ready to do anything about it except whine.
Then, some of us will start being hit with late fees. The doctor tells us our cholesterol levels are high. With the late fees, our interest rate spikes. Now our minimum payments aren’t enough, but we can’t afford any more. Then the over limit fees begin. More serious health consequences loom in front of us if we don’t get a handle on things right away. Diabetes. Clogged arteries. Stroke. Heart attack. Early death.
Some us will heed the call and make the drastic changes necessary to get ourselves on track financially and physically. It will be the hardest thing we have ever done. Others of us will wither and file bankruptcy, both financial and emotional. Sometimes the bankruptcy is enough of a wake-up call, and those will become better because of it. But some of us will give up entirely. Nevertheless, we never know how we’re going to react until we face our own twilight.
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