“Man, I can’t wait to get
this new Camaro. I’m gon be fresh to death. I just got the new Jordan’s (new as
in a pair that came out in the 90s and are simply being repackaged in a
different box), two Ralph Lauren Polo’s and this Gucci belt. The hoes finna be
all over me,” says Jason (fake name to protect the innocent) while waiting for
a decision on his auto loan for the latest Chevy. “Once they see me step out
that blue whip wit some 22’s and all my fly gear on, I’m guaranteed to be smashing
all them bitches one after the other. Straight like that.”
“Jason,” I say. “I regret
to inform you that your request for an auto loan has been declined.” “Declined!!??
What the fuck you mean declined?? I got the money to pay for it!!” “Well the
reasons stated by the loan officer were recent collection action and judgment,
serious delinquency on numerous accounts, and poor credit performance with others.”
“What does all the shit mean?” “In short, it means you haven’t made good on
debts you had or currently have and therefore are not deemed trustworthy to pay
us our money back if we loan it to you. Would you like to see a copy of the
credit report that was pulled?” “Yeah, lemme see that shit cuz y’all trippin’
up in here.”
I turn the computer
screen his direction, so he can get a better look. After scrolling down to the
derogatory account section, I ask Jason if he recognizes the three credit card
accounts, two of which have been charged off and one currently in collection
along with a delinquent cable and cell phone bill. “Yeah, I know what those are
about, and I’m gon get to paying them soon,” he replies. “Well, be that as it
may, it was because of those accounts and the 456 credit score that resulted in
the denial of this application. Do you have any questions regarding how credit
reports and calculations work?” “Nah, I’m straight on that shit. I don’t give a
damn about no credit stuff or nothin’ like that. I just came here to get money
for a new whip, so I could look fly for these hoes, but y’all ain’t tryna help
me with that, so I’m out,” he says while storming out of my office.
As he left, I couldn’t
help but replay the scenario and some of the things he had said. One of them
being his claims of the Ralph Lauren and Gucci items. Both high end name
brands, and those Jordans, while certainly not new were anything but cheap. Despite
his dismal credit score and numerous account delinquencies, he still felt
plenty okay to go spend whatever money he had on these name brands instead of
attempting to pay down some debt. It led me to one conclusion. He was part of
the group that Kanye West (back during the College Dropout phase, a time where
he still made sense), had mentioned in the classic song, “All Falls Down.”
Jason hated himself but loved their wealth.
“Their wealth” being the
owners of those high end name brands that he squandered his money on. While the
Kanye we know now may be far gone into some distant universe none of us have
ever heard of or can even comprehend, he was spot on with that comment. If
Jason really loved himself instead of “their wealth,” he would have invested
that money into himself. Self-investment can mean several things, but in his
case, it surely would have meant paying down some of that debt he had and
working toward building his credit back up. It was hurtful to see that he didn’t
realize paying down that debt would go a lot further for his long term future
than those clothes or the car he was trying to buy.
But the sadder part is
that Jason is not alone. In fact, not only is he not alone, he is in pretty
heavy company. Every year during tax seasons, one business that booms is that
of automobile sales. Folks get that refund, use it as a down payment, then head
straight to the bank to apply for a loan, take the check back to the dealer,
and drive off the lot with their new toy. Bear in mind, some of them may have
had a perfectly good working car that was either paid for or pretty damn close
to it. Yet, here they are ready to start that uphill battle to free and clear
car ownership once again. But it doesn’t stop there. Many of these people who
go this route end up with a visit from the repo man between four and six months
later because they have started missing payments already.
So, let’s review who won
in that case. The car got repossessed, you still owe the bank, and the dealer
got a fat ass commission off of your uncontrollable desire for a new set of
wheels. Here you are with no car and a debt you can’t pay…let me know when you
start to feel like a winner in this scenario. I could go on and on with
examples, but I’m sure y’all understand by this point. So, the question is why
do some people not love themselves enough to be willing to invest in
themselves? Why are they so thirsty to hand over their hard earned duckets to
Michael Koors, Ralph Lauren, Gucci, the club owners, Michael Jordan, Beyonce,
and anyone else who won’t be bothered to take 2.5 seconds to tell you to do
anything with your money other than give it to them in exchange for some
material items that will be outdated in less than six months of ownership?
When was the last time
Michael Jordan publicly hosted any forums or seminars to teach folks how to
reach that entrepreneur status he was at? Do you ever hear LeBron James telling
folks to stop spending so much on my products because I am set for life even
without your money? Exactly. And you will never will hear any of the people I have
mentioned make any attempt to teach you about self-investment because that
would be slightly counterproductive for them. The one thing all these folks
have in common is that they love themselves. Not in a bad, stand in the mirror,
egotistical type of way either. More like a personal value and know my worth
type of way.
Because they love
themselves, they don’t give their hard earned pieces of green to material
things until they have invested in themselves first. They love themselves
enough to say they wanna be set for life, and you can’t get there if you are
constantly giving your money to rich people with good credit. Do some research
and discipline yourself to start doing things with your money that will have
long term effect. Don’t do it simply because of this blog post. Don’t do it
because you feel ashamed of your previous spending missteps. Don’t do it because
someone is forcing you to. Do it because your love yourself more than you love “their
wealth.”
