Actively manage your money or someone else will have an interest in managing it for you.

How you go about making money is your business. It’s hard work. Money doesn’t come free. Young adults can often apply for a credit card and get one for free because the lender is invested in helping them establish their credit. As you’ve seen many people, young and old are poor. Less people are in the middle class and fewer people are financially wealthy. That’s life. If you are financially poor it's up to you to do something different to increase the amount of money you make every month. You got to do whatever you can to achieve your goal. When you get your first credit card protect the opportunity it represents. Use your credit card by buying products and services with it and pay it off in full every month before the end of the billing cycle. This is how you build your credit score. The higher your credit score the more credit card offers will come your way. Signing up for every credit card offered to you won’t help your credit score. The total amount of dollars in credit you have on your credit card when you first get it should be less than the amount of money you spend every month. Spend within your means. That means buy only what you can afford to buy. That is difficult for some people and they end up missing their credit card payments. The credit card company charges fees every time a payment is late and they charge more money to a credit card account if it is not paid off in full at the end of its billing cycle. Don’t fall for the illusion that all the money in your credit card you own. In fact the money in your credit card is more like a lease. It’s similar to your home if you rent it. Your home rental agreement might be monthly or an annual agreement. Having a lease agreement with the owner of the Real Estate where you live doesn’t mean you own it. It’s still the place you call home and is most likely where you make decisions to spend your money and to save your money. Actively manage your money. Your money is yours, act like it. As long as you pay your credit card off in full before the end of the billing cycle you won’t be charged fees for the purchases you made.If you are late making a payment to your credit card, the credit card company will charge you fees. The lender will also charge you interest on the amount of money you haven’t paid back to your credit card account every day your credit card account is overdue. When you make purchases using your credit card make sure the total amount of all the purchases you make on your credit card you are able to pay back to your credit card balance in full before your payment cycle for the credit card is due. The credit card is yours. Protect it and build your credit score using it wisely. It’s important for you to keep your money in your bank account. Actively manage your money. Your payment cycle for your credit card starts over every month. A few days before your payment cycle for your credit card is due, pay your credit card off in full with a payment from your bank account. That’s how to actively manage your money and build your credit score at the same time. When you want cash dollars to spend make a withdrawal from your bank account where you bank with a Teller, or at your bank's ATM. A Bank Teller is a person who works at a Bank and can help you with many of your banking needs. A bank Teller won't charge you a fee for making a withdrawal and won't charge you a fee for making a deposit. Be sure to keep your bank account balance positive and in the green with your money in it to avoid fees. If you can't keep your bank account balance positive your best bet might be to close the account to avoid fees piling up. Avoid paying a withdrawal fee by only making withdrawals at an ATM your bank owns. The ATM should have the name of your bank displayed on the ATM screen clearly in big bold letters including your bank's logo. An ATM located at your bank won’t charge you a fee for withdrawing your money from your account. Remember, it’s your account with your bank. Your checking account is for your money you own for safekeeping in your bank. Your credit card $ balance is money the credit card company is lending to you. Build your credit score with your credit card by owning the loan, repaying it off in full before the end of every billing cycle instead of the loan owning you’re time. Time is precious and so is yours. Your goal is to make enough money so you don’t have to think about money or your bank or your credit card often. The thought of money can be on your mind in confidence. You can do it. No one else is going to do it for you. Your couch is comfortable because your dog doesn’t shit on it. Because it’s clean and there’s no left over pizza on it. There’s no spilled beer on your couch and there’s no trash on your couch. The cushions on your couch are in good condition and don’t have holes in them. You know your couch is comfortable better than anyone else. The same goes with your money. Your money is yours to actively manage. Know the difference between a lender, a loan, and money loaned to you. Money loaned to you is your loan to manage, and you are responsible for. Money you own is your money. You're not money, it's your money.

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