Financial observations from a bank teller

[Monello]

Fairly sound advice that many people ignore.

1. Expensive possessions do not signify wealth​

What I would see as a teller over and over again was that a high percentage of the people wearing the flashy designer belts or handbags dotted with a brand's logo often had the smallest bank accounts. The people driving luxury cars were as often those who were financially secure as they were those whose bank accounts were often negative or on the brink of negative.

In other words, there was little to no correlation between expensive objects and wealth.

Oftentimes, the expensive objects people owned to look wealthy were often the same things that brought them closer to poverty.

2. Credit cards are not a tool to buy things you can't afford​

Credit cards make things you can't afford, exponentially less affordable. And of course, it provides an all-too-easy trap to fall into that can prove exceedingly difficult to get out of.

The key is to only use a credit card as you would a debit card.

3. Good credit is not good enough​

There's an all-too-common belief that having good credit is good enough. But the point of having good credit is not simply to get credit line and loan approvals, but to get approved at the best rates. And the difference between good and very good credit can be the difference between thousands of dollars.

For example, the difference between the average mortgage rate for those with very good credit versus those with fair to good credit is just over one percent. It might seem small but it will cost over $125,000 more in interest alone for a $500,000 mortgage over 30 years. Again, just a mere 1% difference in interest.

bank teller