Aisha’s in tune with her credit.
Like many Canadians, Hamilton resident Aisha grew up in a household where finances weren’t often discussed. “As a kid, you think money grows on trees,” she said. While not discussing finances was done with the best of intentions, it led to a private adulthood journey of navigating the world of credit and finances on her own.
“I’m sort of doing everything by trial and error. No one really taught me to maneuver finances. Growing up, I could have benefited from open conversations. What I [took] from that is finances are your business, and no one else’s.”
Aisha experimented with credit in moments both big and small, from paying for school to discovering new restaurants and going to movies. It didn’t take long before she realized she needed some help. “I didn’t even want to look at my credit. I didn’t want to think about it.”
As her spending produced daunting statement balances, Aisha slowly started to shift her focus to paying off and rebuilding. Her behaviour and mindset began to evolve.
“I wanted to be in a better place in my life. I wanted to be in a better place for myself. That’s when I switched my relationship with credit.”
Now, Aisha is in a more comfortable place on her credit journey.
“I had to look at my credit as a relationship. I had to treat it respectfully, and not overuse it. I’m constantly building a more responsible relationship with credit. It’s give and take – if I want to be able to use my credit, I have to be able to pay it back.”
To make these changes, Aisha turned to Capital One. “I chose Capital One because they allowed me to build my credit at a pace that was comfortable to me. They didn’t force me to make exorbitant payments, or take on high interest rates. I could just do it and slowly build my credit.”
Aisha is currently focused on building her credit and being secure with her finances, so that she’s able to invest time into her love of music and the arts. And with Capital One Alerts, she’s comforted knowing she has reminders to stay on top of her payments and keep on track.
“The goal was to pay all that off so I can pour it back into my art. Once I did that, I was able to buy equipment instead of renting it. Thanks to Capital One, I was able to buy my microphone that I use to record all these songs, so I was pretty happy about that,” Aisha says with a smile.
“To me, credit is the currency we use to successfully build the life that we want.” We couldn’t have said it better ourselves. Keep hitting those high notes, Aisha.
See how Capital One can help you on your financial journey, too.