You CAN Be Your Own Bank.

The phrase “you can’t steal the peas” comes from an analogy used in Nelson Nash’s Infinite Banking concept. In his book, Becoming Your Own Banker, Nash compares running your own banking system (or financial strategy) to operating a grocery store. Imagine you own a grocery store where every item (like a can of peas) costs you a small amount to procure and is sold for a little more to make a profit. If you, as the owner, start taking peas from the back without paying for them. Essentially “stealing” them. You’re not only losing the profit on each can, but you’re also diminishing the store’s future earning potential.

In financial terms, this is used to illustrate the importance of treating loans from your own system (like policy loans from a whole life insurance policy) with the same discipline as you would a regular business transaction. If you take money out without properly repaying it (with interest, to mimic a true transaction), you’re effectively robbing your future self of potential growth and profit. This analogy encourages financial discipline. Always “buy” your own assets rather than taking them for free. So that you build a solid, sustainable system for generating wealth.