Is your ego hurting your credit score or your credit score hurting your ego?
March 18th, 2007 by Mark Flanders
We all have different strengths. Some people are creative geniuses yet housekeeping disasters. Some people paint. Others can do complex mathematical equations in their heads. We all have things we do well. We also have things we don’t do well at all.
Many men are taught from childhood that being completley self-sufficient is a sign of manliness. Women seem to ask for help more easily and naturally. It seems they automatically know that ,as individuals, we can’t be great at everything and it only makes sense to collaborate. When it comes to building and maintaining really good credit, the “I don’t need anyone’s help” mentality can be a serious roadblock.
Play to your strengths and delegate the rest.
If one of your non-strengths (notice I didn’t call it a weakness) is in the area of consistency when it comes to bill paying, consider asking for help. With couples, one of partners will generally be good at this while the other partner is not. That’s great if you are in a commited relationship, but if you aren’t? It doesn’t mean you can’t use the same technique to advantage. Do you know someone you trust who is really good at budgeting and has the credit to prove it? This could be a brother or sister, it could be a close friend, it could even be an uncle or a grandparent. Be open minded about who you can approach to get help. I have several clients each year who are fisherman in Alaska but reside in Washington State. They all have someone in WA handling the chore of getting the bills paid while they are fishing for months at a time. It seems to work very well for all of them. Why can’t the same thing work for a non-fisherman?
How do you pay them back?
How do you even up the scorecard if someone agrees to take on the task of managing your bills? Be creative and think about the old-fashioned idea of barter. When America was young, settlers had very little cash. They traded skills back and forth. The farmer traded grain for livestock. The blacksmith traded horseshoes for clothing. The same system can work vey well today. You probably have a skill that you are good at. Are you a roofer, or a handyman? Believe me, there are many folks who wouldn’t know where to begin tackling jobs like those. Trade what you are good at for the help of someone who is good at maintaining great credit. Do you have more money than time? Cash is always in demand.
Don’t let your ego trip you up.
If you have ever been in a management position you know that one of the most powerful tools a manager has is delegation. Important tasks are assigned to the employee who is best able to handle the task well. Approach your credit report as a manager, not as an employee. If someone else is better suited to handle that job, delegate it. When managers do this they are viewed as efficient, they are not viewed as lacking skill. You do not need to be great at everything to reap the benefits of a great credit report. That is your ego talking.
Don’t let your ego get in the way of a great credit score, or your credit score will end up hurting your ego.
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