The song, “Dear Younger Me,” by MercyMe, has been stuck in my head recently. The song is full of advice the singer would give to his younger self. So I wondered: What money advice would people want to give their younger selves? So I posted the above picture of me and my best friend, Nicholle Bays, with this caption on social media: Dear younger me . . . What one piece of money advice would you give your younger self?
Here are some the responses I received:
- “The credit card is NOT your friend.”
- “Go to community college until you get credits built up to finish at a university.”
- “Have a GREAT relationship with it!!”
- “Invest in a retirement plan as soon as you begin your career – no matter what it is. And LEAVE the money there…period.”
- “Stop spending it!”
As you can see, the majority of the responses are tinged with regret over past financial transgressions. Unfortunately, regret is unproductive unless we learn the lesson it has to teach us. What’s the advice that I would give myself? Dear younger me, you are not responsible to clean up the financial messes of others.
In writing my forthcoming book, “Money is Emotional: Prevent Your Heart from Hijacking Your Wallet,” I discovered that I was still harboring regret over many of the money messes I had made in my 20’s. I realized it was time to finally forgive my younger self for those financial transgressions and use them for good. By sharing them, I can help others avoid the same money mistakes.Rather than wallow in regret and beat ourselves up over our past financial mistakes, let’s vow to forgive ourselves, accept the money lesson, and change our behavior going forward.
What money advice would you give your younger self? What financial mistake do you need to forgive yourself for?