How do you pay for things you like?
In college I thought the answer was credit cards. Making a call to my bank, I soon received my first credit card in the mail. I still remember the moment; tearing the envelope open and pealing the plastic away from the congratulatory letter. Carefully signing my name in the small white rectangle on the back, all the while feeling as if I had become somewhat more responsible. This card was my key to seemingly limetless possibilities!
To me, our perception of financial credit and debt has become a catalyst in the corruption of our health and wellness. In a way we have found ways to live on a nutritional debt.When it comes to eating habits and financial habits they are similar to each other. Unhealthy eating, like compulsive shopping, is something that we oftentimes foresee being an issue before giving into it. Letting ourselves splurge on a super size butterfinger blizzard at Dairy Queen or purchasing a $120 pair of jeans when we've had 'a really rough day.' These are heat of the moment decisions in which our emotions get the best of us.
We treat our bodies often like we do our credit cards. It seems like we are in control of our bodies in the short term. "A few french fries here, a yoo-hoo there, it's only one time whats the big deal? I want to enjoy my life!" However, like a credit card, it's that one extra swipe once a month that adds up in the end. Weight gain "may have been caused by consuming, say, 250 calories more than were used each day..." which equates to "— the amount in a small bar or chocolate or half a cup of premium ice cream —" (NYT) Remember, those baby steps can be as much of a hinder as a benefit to our health.
If we want to live a positive, productive and powerful life we must invest in our health as well as we do in any other area. We have to remember that our bodies are not easily replicated, replaced or restored to their original status. It's one nightmare to default on a mortgage and face your debt problems, it's another mess all together when our bodies turn bankrupt.
In college I thought the answer was credit cards. Making a call to my bank, I soon received my first credit card in the mail. I still remember the moment; tearing the envelope open and pealing the plastic away from the congratulatory letter. Carefully signing my name in the small white rectangle on the back, all the while feeling as if I had become somewhat more responsible. This card was my key to seemingly limetless possibilities!
I, like many Americans, had started down one of our society's most dangerous roads towards financial debt. One day you're buying one piece of swag a month, but the next thing you know you're in the hole 600 dollars thinking: "where did I spend it all!?" It's almost an absurdity to think of buying a car these days and paying cash for it. According to the federal reserve each U.S. card holder has an average credit card debt of over 5,100 dollars. (Consumer Debt) Savings on the other hand haven't been lower in a while. We peaked at saving around 12,000 dollars a year in the mid-1940's. That was over 60 years ago! In 2008 the average savings per household was a mere 392 dollars. American Way of Debt.
How My Credit Card Company Sees Me
To me, our perception of financial credit and debt has become a catalyst in the corruption of our health and wellness. In a way we have found ways to live on a nutritional debt.When it comes to eating habits and financial habits they are similar to each other. Unhealthy eating, like compulsive shopping, is something that we oftentimes foresee being an issue before giving into it. Letting ourselves splurge on a super size butterfinger blizzard at Dairy Queen or purchasing a $120 pair of jeans when we've had 'a really rough day.' These are heat of the moment decisions in which our emotions get the best of us.
If we want to live a positive, productive and powerful life we must invest in our health as well as we do in any other area. We have to remember that our bodies are not easily replicated, replaced or restored to their original status. It's one nightmare to default on a mortgage and face your debt problems, it's another mess all together when our bodies turn bankrupt.
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