Money Mastery with Marshy #112 - How Credit Cards Change Your Spending Psychology
In this short, sharp episode of Money Mastery with Marshy, Daniel dives into the hidden psychology of credit card use—especially for business owners—and why even the most disciplined people can get burned.
Credit cards change your behaviour.
Even Daniel—naturally disciplined and structured with money—saw his spending creep up after using a business credit card for two years.
Despite paying the balance off in full each month, his cash reserves dropped by over $30,000 simply because the card created permission to spend more.
This is Parkinson’s Law in action: the more you have access to, the more you naturally use.
Even when used “responsibly,” credit cards:
Blur the lines between personal + business expenses
Encourage emotional or convenience spending
Make it easy to tap → tap → tap with little friction
Leave a painful lump-sum surprise at month’s end
Daniel’s client experienced the same pattern—great revenue, poor behavioural boundaries around credit.
Instead of ditching the card entirely, Daniel helped his client build strict rules to use it only for true ROI-producing investments:
Ad spend
Business coaching / mentorship
Everything else? Eliminated.
The game changer:
➡️ Allocate the money to the card before spending it
Instead of tapping all month then scrambling to pay it off, you intentionally top it up at the start of the month.
This makes credit usage:
Purpose-driven
Pre-funded
Emotion-free
ROI-focused
And it keeps cashflow healthy while still leveraging the strategic benefits of a card.
Use the credit card as a tool, not a safety net.
Fund it first → spend intentionally → track ROI → avoid the end-of-month panic cycle.
This psychological shift alone can transform how business owners use credit.
Daniel would love to hear how credit cards have influenced your money behaviour—good or bad.
Email: daniel@danielmarshallcoaching.com
Instagram: @danielgmarshall