We all make money mistakes (even Martin Lewis)
A few years ago I was at a financial education conference where the big finale was a Q&A with Money Saving Expert, Martin Lewis. (It was pretty exciting. Yes, I am that much of a nerd.) He was a great speaker, as expected, but only one thing has from that session really stuck with me. That's the question he didn't answer.
A member of the audience asked if he'd ever made any money mistakes and, if so, what were they? Martin laughed and there was a flash of pain and embarrassment across his face, as if he'd been reminded about a proper blunder. Then he said he had made mistakes, but he didn't want to give details. Now, that's totally within his rights. Maybe his biggest mistakes involved other people's private business, or maybe he just didn't want some silly tabloid article coming out the next day, taking what he said out of context. But it also says something about how we talk about money in this country.
There are the experts who are often portrayed as if their financial decisions are flawless, and then there are the rest of us with our forms we haven't posted yet and our unopened bank statements and that insurance that auto-renewed, even though we know if we shop around we'll get a better deal. I hear so many people say they are 'bad with money'. I also see a lot of people become overwhelmed by the idea of sorting out their finances. I think it's because they compare themselves with the 'perfect' experts, who seem to have it all sorted out.
If you relate to that feeling, I want you to take heart, even Martin Lewis has made money mistakes. (Though he's keeping them to himself.) Instead of trying to reach financial perfection, just aim for a bit better than yesterday. See if you can get good enough with money. Good enough is just that, good enough. Better than yesterday is still better. Take action to improve and then celebrate your progress, instead of getting down because you're not perfect. We're all still learning every day.
When I started my podcast, Squanderlust, being open about my own money fails was an important part of the philosophy of the show. You can hear my former co-host, Alex, and I talking about it in our very first episode.