Dwelling on past financial mistakes is no solution

Steps to forgiving yourself

Everyone has financial mistakes in their past; maybe you ran up credit card debt, or sold a valuable investment at a loss to get cash, or allowed yourself to be conned into buying something worthless. It happens. You need to move on, but how do you do that? Here are some tips.



• Talk about it. Tell someone else what happened and why you regret it. It’s like confessing. It will make you feel better.

• In that same conversation, say what you believed at the time that led you to make the mistake. If you’re not sure, ask the other person for their take.

• Remember you’re human. You did the best you could with what you had at the time. You’re not perfect, nobody is. Carrying the burden has physical and psychological effects. You need to move on.

• Think about the positives. What did you learn? What would you do differently?

• Pick a course of action to help you move forward. Whether it’s cutting up your credit cards, or seeking the advice of a money coach. Write down what you did and how you would handle it differently now.





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Material prepared by Raymond James for use by its financial advisors.