The Value in Perseverance

Perseverance: Even though the road may be tough, and the way may not be made clear we must still persevere.

I can say that I thought everything was going to go a bit smother than they have been going since the start of this journey, but I am glad that I have been persevering. My plans are not always going accordingly but the end results will still be the same. The increasing in the credit score region has slowed tremendously which is not at all bad, simply because the score is not decreasing either. The amount owed on my car has decreased, finally, because of the pandemic, I had chosen to defer a few payments in order to catch up on a few other things. I do not regret my choice because of proper planning and putting things where I originally intended for them to go has caused my reoccurring payments to be on time.

This is a good thing because now I have a positive track record of good payments on my utility bills and the likes. I have one last payment to make on the PC I purchased for my business and I was able to make every payment date on time. This is a great achievement for me because in the past, I would always start out with good intentions, but things always took a turn and the good intentions turned into a struggle and then into debt. This is a financial stronghold that I am so thankful has been broken.

I feel confident that I will make the proper educated decision when it comes to large purchases as I have learned in the financial courses online and via the podcasts offered through PenAir. I have learned to put necessity before want. Now that doesn’t mean that I will never obtain the things that I want, it just means that I will weigh the opportunity costs of getting it versus saving and waiting until I can either afford the payments or pay it off up front as to not incur a debt that would later hurt my financial heartbeat.

Did you know that many finance companies charge three times the cost of the item if not more if you make the minimum monthly payments? Did you also know each finance company should have an option to do a 90-day same as option? In my journey to financial knowledge and ultimately financial peace, I have learned that these such options are available and that you have to call and request to be placed in this option to avoid the additional fees, charges, and interest. Most companies will take the total cost of the item plus maybe 30 to 70 dollars processing fee and split your payments up over 6 bi-weekly payments. If you can safely afford the payments, then you can achieve the pay off date with in the 90-day period and you would have only paid the cost of the item plus tax and the mentioned processing fee.

This is something that I feel was very valuable to learn because it taught me to budget and plan so that I am not caught in a 24-month payment plan that seems small but is costly in the long run. I am also learning that if I commit myself to pay something over a set period, I can do it! I am also learning that if I budget and plan my finances instead of haphazardly deciding financial decisions with out counting the cost, then I can achieve the hopes and dreams that I have held for so long.

When I purchase a home for my family, I will have entered a long-term financial commitment which includes upkeep and small maintenance situations that I alone must be responsible for. With this stated, the financial conditioning that I have been learning through the NOW program and the lessons I am learning in the Balance classes will have prepared me for a new way of thinking – a more financially advanced focus on how things and situations should be handled.

So, as I stated earlier, the road sometimes does not seem to be clear and the path not made known, but I must keep striving to learn and save. I must persevere until the end and with God on my side, I know that all things are possible and faith with out works well you know how that goes.