I’ve been reading this book about a man who can time travel. He keeps returning to the past to learn what happened to his baby sister who disappears from a carnival when they were young and was never seen again. The man, and his family, are devastated by her disappearance and the effect it has on their lives
The story got me to thinking…If we could go back in time, what financial mistake would we want to “undo”?
Most of us have lived long enough to make some kind of financial mistake. Whether it was overspending, getting in debt, making a bad investment, missing out on a good investment, not planning for retirement. The list of possible missteps is long. The bottom line is the error had a ripple effect in your life that you could still be dealing with now.
That, for lack of a better word…SUCKS in a few ways.
Financially.
The mistake you made could still be costing you money. For example, if you owe a large amount in credit card debt, the payments could be straining your current budget and hindering you from adequately saving for retirement.
Emotionally.
There is also the strain on your emotions. Continuing with our credit card debt example. Worrying about money problems can cause stress in your mind and body. People have been known to be unable to sleep, eat or even withdraw from friends and family.
Mentally.
Trust can become a factor as well. It can be hard to trust yourself after a major financial loss, especially if you feel it is was due to your own bad judgment. Self-doubt can creep in and cause hesitation in future financial decisions.
Since, unlike the character in my book, we can’t time travel and undo mistakes, we have to figure out how to recover and move forward from our mistakes. Again, using our credit card debt example, that would mean creating a budget, talking with creditors to lower interest rates and/or close accounts, understanding the reasons the debt accumulated and making changes in our behavior to reduce the chance of it happening again.
It would also mean giving yourself grace. We make mistakes…period. We do. It is a human thing, not a “you only” thing. Grant yourself the grace you would bestow on a friend if they made the same mistake. Learn from it and do better.
Until Next Time♥…
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