"I need a good credit score to be successful with money!" WRONG!

Does it matter how great of a chef you are when you don’t have the ingredients to create that seven-course meal? You could be the world’s best chef, but without those ingredients, you aren’t any better than someone who doesn’t know how to cook at all.

You could say the same for the almighty credit score. What good are high credit scores when you don’t have any money in the bank? When you make payments on everything you own, you aren’t in any better position than someone who has a terrible credit score and no money in the bank. Now, you may have a slightly nicer wrapper, meaning you look better on the outside because you have nicer stuff, however, you are the same from a financial standpoint.

A credit score does not indicate how well you are doing financially. It shows that you like to play with debt, it says you don’t save up and pay cash, and you choose to make payments and pay interest. Credit bureaus then score you on your ability to play their game.

They will then take your score, determine your punish—uh…interest rates, and use it to sell you more debt products in the future.

Just like a chef needs ingredients to make that seven-course meal, your financial life needs ingredients to create the life you want.

Here are the ingredients to WIN with money:

• A good financial plan.
• Pay yourself first.
• Minimal debt (I prefer NO DEBT).
• A 3-6 month emergency fund.
• A working budget.
• REAL MONEY in the bank.
• Actively save for retirement.
• Live on less than you make.
• Learn to be content with what you already have.
• Be patient for the things you want, save up for them and pay cash.

Start working on building your financial life the right way with MONEY and not believing that your financial well-being is based on some silly score. Don’t believe that lie any longer; you must think differently if you want to win.