Don’t Steal the Peas

R. Nelson Nash used a simple grocery store story to illustrate an important principle. Imagine a store owner taking peas off his own shelves without paying for them. It may seem harmless because he owns the store, but every time he takes inventory without replacing it, he weakens the business.

The same idea can apply to a personal banking system. When you use a policy loan to finance a purchase, the “honest banker” approach is to treat that money as borrowed capital and make a plan to repay it—with interest—just as you would if you had borrowed from an outside lender.

Policy loans accrue interest according to the policy and insurer’s terms. If loans and accumulated interest aren’t repaid, they can reduce the policy’s cash value and death benefit and may affect other policy values. Repaying the loan helps restore capital for future use and keeps you thinking about the system as a source of capital to be managed—not simply money to be withdrawn.

Being an honest banker is ultimately a discipline. The goal isn’t simply to access capital. It’s to build a system you can use, replenish, and continue using for years to come.

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