Perhaps the most painful mistakes you or I will ever make will involve money. Bad buying decisions, late payments, or even bouncing a check are all extremely embarrassing life events. We all struggle to let go of dumb money mistakes that we’ve made in the past. Yet, your mistake might not even be an external money mistake. Sometimes money mistakes involve only your family, like going over budget on something. Even though it only involves your family, it’s still embarrassing. It's incredibly important that you be able to forgive yourself and to forgive your wife for money errors.
We're all sensitive about money mistakes. Money is like a scoreboard, so when you mistakenly blow some, you feel dumb. Paying fees, fines, or penalties stings because there are so many other great things that you could've used that money for. Not saving enough for your child's college may cause them to miss out on their dream school, running that red light could set you back a month on your goal, and forgetting to pay a bill could cost you late fees. Whenever we have a negative money event, it hurts us on a personal level.
Money mistakes will happen. If you're working, generating income, and making transactions, you're going to make a mistake somewhere. It’s a statistical reality. Consider the sheer number of transactions that go through your bank account every month! Learn your lesson and move on; don't let it be a drag on your life.
If your wife is the one who committed the mistake, be exceedingly patient with her. Empathize with her. After all, you know exactly how she feels. Help her work through the issue by showing her that it's not a catastrophe, just a bump in the road. This can be a moment that either devolves into a fight or brings you closer together. Support her and build up your relationship.
The most important reason for you to move on from money mistakes is that if you obsess over it, you make money your god. You lost some, ok, go out and get some more. Work a little harder, sell something, do whatever you need to in order to get things going in the right direction again. But don't let this become the headline that dominates your days.
You're bound to make money mistakes. When you do, fix the problem and move on. Your family will be glad you did.
Tags: Communication Money
