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“I’m smart, I have my MBA. I’m so ashamed I’m not being better at managing my personal finances. I don’t even know what investments I have…”
A client told me that today.
So, let me be real with you. When I started out as a financial adviser, I was NOT great at managing my OWN money. In fact, I was bad at it. Not bad in a way that I was racking up credit card debt, but bad in the way that I wasn’t intentional with my spending.
Burying Myself
In my first year, I made it my personal mission to pay off my student loans. I became obsessed with it and sacrificed any extras (I lived off of popcorn, sweet potatoes, and water kind of lifestyle). So, while that was in some ways brilliant, year two was a much different story. It was the first time in my life where I had an abundance of money, so, well, I spent it! I spent it on way too many pairs of shoes (if there is such a thing) new suits, a fancy car. Part of this made me feel good. I thought if I bought these things, I’d be successful and they would fulfill me.
Adding fuel to this was the unfortunate fact that I started to buy into the corporate mantra around me and bend my authentic beliefs to fit in. I wasn’t confident enough to heed my own advice and bought into my manager’s motto: come to work, work hard, make money, go spend all your money, come back for more. They built the belief around image vs value. I was too interested in playing follow the leader vs following my own beliefs. IF I SAW THAT GIRL TODAY I WOULDN’T EVEN RECOGNIZE HER!
I thank god every day I was able to snap out of it, gain more support, perspective, and awakening from outside mentors, books, and that thing called CONFIDENCE.
I thank god every day I was able to snap out of it, gain more support, perspective, and awakening from outside mentors, books, and that thing called CONFIDENCE.
It wasn’t easy to recognize what I was doing, I did not want to admit I wasn’t headed toward my internal happiness, but just good at filling an empty home.
That girl who was 22 is long gone.
Give Yourself Grace
***Wait a minute… I had an MBA, I was smart. I was learning to be an expert in finance and planning. What was I doing? Shouldn’t I have known better?… No!! College doesn’t teach you how to manage your emotions and internal desire to fit in and feel accepted.
They don’t teach you the consequences of UNINTENTIONAL SPENDING and the impact that it can have on your long-term goals. College doesn’t teach true financial planning, how to build your wealth, and truly set your goals.
THEY DON’T TEACH THIS.
So, girl, if you’ve said anything similar to yourself, allow some grace and know that it’s ok! You can ask for help. You can turn anything around. You just need to take action! I’ve 100% got your back!
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