How was your last week?
Last week was challenging for a lot of people, I know.
I grew up in Texas, and many of my family and friends still live there, including my 92 year old grandmother. Most of them didn't have power or water all week.
The pipes broke at my uncle and aunt's house, and the water was just raining down on their kitchen. When my uncle tried to shut off the water, he slipped and fell, hurting himself. Luckily, one of his neighbors is a nurse and helped him, literally, get back on his feet.
They have insurance, however it's going to take time for the insurance money to get to them. They need a plumber but an appointment is harder to get than gold right now.
I felt helpless. I wanted to magically transport there and help my grandmother get out of there, to come live with me here in Southern California.
And then, this affirmation arrived in my in-box:
My most important goal is to be at peace, regardless of the situation.
Along with the affirmation, the author, Ally Rose, shares one of her favorite quotes:
"Ships don't sink because of the water around them; ships sink because of the water that gets in them. Don't let what's happening around you get inside you and weigh you down."
- Author Unknown
Of course, it's easier said than done. However, it's such a good reminder than when we are in crisis, it's important to first, take a deep breath. I do Box or 4-7-8 breathing.
Next, get resourceful. What can you do to make the situation a bit easier? When we're talking about money, it may be using your credit cards, especially if you don't have an emergency savings. However, even if you do have one, credit cards may be the most convenient and fastest source of money, in times of need.
You may think it's strange that a money coach is advocating for credit cards, and in "normal" circumstances, I wouldn't. However, when we are in crisis, we must use every resource available to us.
Sometimes, it's really about survival.
You can always pay off credit cards later, but you can't get your life or your time back.
If you see credit cards as just another tool to fix the crisis, then it will actually calm you down, rather than stress you out.
The stress and the worry comes from that future thinking part of our brain that tells us spending on credit cards, in any circumstance, is bad because how are we going to pay this off? Can you just feel the stress bubbling up, when I said that? I certainly felt it, as I was writing it.
Instead, I want you to tell yourself, I'm a creative, resourceful and whole person, and I have a lot of tools I can use to make this situation better, and using my credit cards is just one of those tools. In fact, my husband and I did use credit cards , when we had an "emergency" home repair.
We could've gotten a home equity loan, but it would've taken too long.
We needed to get it solved pretty quickly, so we maxed out a few credit cards, and then once the situation was taken care of, we got our insurance check, which paid off most of it. This past month, we paid off the remaining $10,000!
So, we're now back to no debt. However, I wanted to tell you this story, so that you can see that credit cards can be extremely useful and if done right, just another tool in your financial toolbox.
What do you think of using credit cards? Let me know by subscribing and commenting below.
With Gratitude,
