Ashamed of Your Money Mistakes? Ready to Reflect?

Feeling stuck with your finances? You're not alone, my friend—63% of Americans feel the same way! Today, we dive into how looking back at our financial decisions can actually help us grow instead of just bringing us down. Ashamed of Your Money Mistakes? Ready to Reflect? We’re all about changing the game and breaking that cycle of financial shame. I’ll share a super handy plan called CLEAR—celebrate, learn, examine, accept, and refocus—because let’s be real, we’ve all made mistakes, but it's all about how we bounce back. So grab your favorite drink and let’s get ready to reflect and reset for a money-savvy new year!

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Feeling stuck in a financial rut? You’re definitely not alone, my friend. Today, we’re diving deep into how to reflect on your past financial decisions without getting swallowed by discouragement. You see, around 63% of folks in the U.S. feel they’re lagging behind on their money goals—yup, two-thirds of us! But don’t sweat it; we’re here to flip that script. With a little help from psychologist Brad Klontz, we’ll see that financial reflection is like the bridge to growth. It’s not about punishment; it’s about progress, where we can spot God’s faithfulness in our journey. We’re kicking off a fresh series called the December Reset, where we’ll reflect, refocus, and prep for an epic new year. So let’s chat about celebrating those little victories, learning from our past, and embracing the process of examining our finances with a kind eye. It’s all about changing our patterns, and trust me, you’ll want to stick around for the practical tips we’ve got lined up!

Takeaways:

• Feeling stuck about finances? You're definitely not alone; 63% of Americans feel behind on their goals.
• Reflection isn't about guilt; it's about seeing how far you've come and growing from there.
• We introduced the CLEAR plan: Celebrate, Learn, Examine, Accept, and Refocus your financial habits.
• Celebrate the little wins in life because they help you see God's provision in your journey.
• Mistakes are just lessons, so learn from them and don't beat yourself up over it.
• The journey of examining your finances doesn’t have to be scary; it’s a way to grow.

Links referenced in this episode:

• financiallyconfidentchristian.com/join

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Episode Transcript

(00:28):
Let's start with today'slistener question. Ralph I feel stuck
looking back on my financeslike I didn't grow enough. How can
I look back and learn from mypast financial decisions without
getting discouraged? Well, letme tell you right now, you're not
alone in that. In fact, listento this. Bankrate reports that 63%
of Americans say they feelbehind on their financial goals.
So listen, you're right therewith most of us, two thirds to think

(00:51):
about it. But I love whatpsychologist Brad Klonz notes. He
said financial reflection is,is the bridge between frustration
and growth and it's how wechange the pattern. So today we're
going to talk about how tochange patterns because when you
feel stuck, it is so temptingto avoid looking back. But reflection,
that looking back isn'tpunishment. I want to start by telling
you that it's preparation andit's where progress becomes visible

(01:13):
and God's faithfulness becomesclear. Let's change the pattern of
how you think on today's show.
This is Financially ConfidentChristian, your daily dose of gospel,
grounded insight and faithdriven tips for to help you break
the cycle of financial shamewith confidence.
Hello and welcome back. I'mRalph. This is the show where we

(01:34):
come at you every day helpingyou to break that cycle of financial
shame with confidence. And I'mso excited today as we launch a new
series for the month and I'mcalling this the December Reset.
Reflect, refocus and preparefor the new year. Because listen,
if we're going to besuccessful in the new year, guess
what that's going to take?It's going to take a little preparation.
It's not just going to happenon its own. And you might be saying,
okay, who is this guy, Ralph,Listen, I'm gonna tell you right

(01:56):
now, I've been helpingfamilies and business owners just
like you for 30 years. I'vehelped people evaluate their finances
with grace, not guilt, becauseit's so easy to feel bad about yourself.
Today's listener question isall about that I've seen in my own
life where that reflectionturns regret into gratitude. That's
what we're gonna talk abouttoday, is gratitude. Now you might

(02:16):
be saying, ralph, okay, thatsounds good, but have you ever felt
this? Well, let me tell you, Ifelt this and I felt it real deep
in my bones. I never Forgetback in 2008, the economy in the
United States really wasstruggling and my business started
to struggle a little bit, tobe honest with you. I don't like
to admit this sometimes, butit got a Little bit tough. And I
thought to myself, well, howam I going to fix this problem? That

(02:38):
would have been real easy tojust push forward and say, well,
you know, everything will befine. I'll just keep moving forward.
But I thought about it. Isaid, you know what I really have
to do? I told clients thistime and time again. I said, go back
and reexamine where you are.And to be honest with you, as the
accountant, I had never donethat. I never really examined those
nitty gritty details. And Ithought to myself, why are you worried

(02:59):
about it? To be blunt, I wasafraid of what I'd see. But when
I finally did it, it wasactually a reassuring thing because
I realized how far I had come.I look back to when I'd started my
business with just a handfulof clients, and by this time in 2008,
man, that had grown out. Did Isee some warning signs on the horizon?
Sure I did. But when I wentback and looked at it, I learned

(03:21):
where I could improve. Theother thing I did, which is super
important, is I accepted somesmall victories along the way. Because,
listen, you got to embrace thevictories because if you stay mired
down and, well, this didn'twork, and this didn't work, you're
going to get discouraged. ButI accepted those small victories.
At the same time, though, Ireflected on some things that I could
change when I was reallyhonest with myself and I looked back

(03:43):
at the business that, well,here sells some things I could change.
Well, you could do the samething with your personal finances,
but when you reflect, and I'mgoing to give you a way to do that
on today's show, but when youreflect, you can see some things
that might need to change. Solet's get back to our question, and
that's how can I look back andlearn from my past financial decisions
without getting discouraged?Because, yes, it's super easy to
get discouraged. Well, we cameup with what we're going to call

(04:05):
the clear plan. That's C, L,E, A, R. I'm going to break these
down for you. But basicallythe clear plan, number one thing
with the C, celebrate. See,gratitude opens your eyes to God's
provision. So start bycelebrating that. That's the first
in the letter. Clear C, L, E,A, R. But celebrate. Because when
you celebrate, when you havethat gratitude, you'll see just how

(04:27):
much God has actually givenyou. Well, the second letter is L
and that stands for learn. Weall have to learn that mistakes are
lessons in our stewardship.Listen, I'm going to let you out
a little secret right now.You're not going to be perfect. You're
going to make mistakes. I makemistakes. I have a degree. I have
a master's in businessadministration and degree in accounting.
Guess what? I make financialmistakes. You're going to make mistakes

(04:51):
as well, but the key is tolearn from them. So number two is
the L, and that's learn. The Estands for examine. Now, a lot of
people don't like theexamination thing. You picture this
light bulb above your head andit's pointing down on you. But you've
got to critically look at yourdata. You can't sugarcoat. It's real
easy to say, well, you know,things aren't too bad. Wasn't a big
deal. That's calledsugarcoating it. Sugarcoating it

(05:14):
isn't going to help you. Yougot to critically look at the data.
If you're examining yourpersonal finances, look at where
you're spending your money.Look at the direction of where your
money's going, which leads usto A, and that's accept. Listen,
we all make mistakes. Istarted by saying this a little while
ago. None of us are perfect.If you're looking for perfection,
you're going to constantlystruggle. So accept that you've made

(05:36):
mistakes. But the last is R,and that's refocus. So once you examine,
once you learn, once youaccept. But then you have to refocus
because you got to use whatyou've learned to plan faithfully
for the year ahead becauseit's real easy to stay stuck. But
listen again, clear.Celebrate, learn, examine, accept,

(05:56):
and refocus. Well, let me tiethis into the Bible. We got a great
verse from the Bible today. Itcomes from the book of Lamentations.
I don't think I've actuallyever used this one on the show, but.
Lamentations, chapter 3, verse40. It says, Let us examine our ways
and test them, and let usreturn to the Lord. Well, think about
that. Examine our ways. That'sexactly what I'm talking about today.
It doesn't say to get mireddown in this feeling like you can't

(06:19):
do it. Listen, you are goingto struggle. You are going to fail.
I remember the first time Irode my bike. I got on that bike
and, man, I was tearing offfor a couple seconds, and next thing
you know, I'm laying in theside again. Well, you got to get
back up and try again. Andthat's what it takes to really start
the new year off with thatclear focus. Well, let's pray together.
Father God, we come to youright now. We just thank you for

(06:40):
the growth that you've givenus, that we've overlooked. And Lord,
as we examine this, as werefocus in this season, Lord, help
us to understand how we canchange things. And Lord, give us
grace to learn without guilt.It's so easy to get stuck in that
fear and that situation ofguilt. And Lord, we just ask for
your wisdom to help us planthis next season of our lives, understanding

(07:01):
that we've made mistakes. Andwe ask for your grace. Grace. And
we ask for your mercy in this.Lord, show us how to be wise stewards
of the things you've alreadyprovided for us. And we ask this
in the name of Jesus. Amen.All right, you ready for your action
item? Today we're going tostart off on the positive note. I
want you to list three wins,three lessons, and one area growth
from this year. What is thatgoing to mean? It means you're going

(07:22):
to go back and look at whathappened this year. Don't sugarcoat
it. Go back and look what wenton. Look at the things that worked,
look at the things that didn'twork, but really celebrate those
wins. But then also take sometime and say, you know what, I could
really work on this. And thenjust take a minute and thank God
for his faithfulness duringall of this. And one of the ways
you can continue yourfaithfulness. We just launched a

(07:43):
new group. It's called theFinancially Covenant Christian Community.
And this is a wonderful placewhere you can go and share wisdom
with other people. We cansupport one another and we can pray
through every financialdecision. It's a place to connect.
It's a place to grow, and. Andit's a place to walk in confidence
together. If you're interestedin joining it, it's absolutely free
as a simple membership. Youcan go to financiallyconfidentchristian.com/join

(08:05):
again. That'sfinanciallyconfidentchristian.com/Join now.
When you get there, you'regoing to find that there are some
ways that you can upgrade ifyou want to support the show. So
I encourage you to do that.But you can join absolutely free.
Again, that's atfinanciallyconfidentchristian.com/join. So
today take a moment to reflectbecause that reflection brings clarity.
Once you take time to do that,then you can help God to use you

(08:29):
to review and renew your pathforward. Remember, you're not behind.
You're being refined. So stepforward in faith, knowing every season
has, and we all have seasonsin our lives. Every season is shaping
what's next for you. So go outthere today. I encourage you to be
that financially confidentChristian, because, listen, I know
you can do this. Even amidstthis time of really going back and

(08:50):
seeing what happened. You havethe skills to do this. You have the
ability to do it. But betterthan all those things, God is with
you. And if God is with us,who can stand against us? So today
I want to encourage you, stayfinancially savvy out there. God
bless you. And I'll see youagain tomorrow on the show.