Yesterday some friends gave Khaleef and I an impromptu invitation to a local carnival. I was happy to go, and took a $100 bill with me (all I had) because we don’t usually carry cash and figured we may want to play some of the games.
When we arrived I decided I didn’t want to carry my pocketbook, and so I placed it in the trunk of the car and after a couple moments of indecision, decided to put the money behind my phone in its holster on my waist since I had no pockets.
… I am sure you can guess where this is going.
So we met up with our friends and walked around for about ½ hour to an hour with them, and they played a few games. We weren’t really interested in playing anything, but at some point I decided to check on the money and, BIG SURPRISE, it was gone.
I was highly upset, felt totally stupid, careless – after we parted ways with our friends, Khaleef had to repeatedly tell me to let it go. There was just no end to me beating myself up.
I pictured all the things I wanted but was refraining to purchase that I could have used the money for. I thought about all the people that could have used $100 that I could have just given it to. I was hoping that someone who needed it was actually the person that found it, instead of one of the rowdy, miscreant, or thoughtless teens (oy, I feel my age!!!!) that filled the carnival.
After a while of calming down and putting things in perspective, I realized that the only difference between losing that money and some of the debt I have accumulated is the regret that I did not get to enjoy it on myself!
The same feelings of carelessness, shame, and anger exist in both situations. The act of going through why I made the silly decision that set a particular ‘loss’ in motion, and questioning myself to why I did not take the obvious, better choice. In the case of the $100, I could have just given it to Khaleef to keep.
I am still embarrassed about losing the money, but that one loss is nothing compared to the many poor decisions that has culminated in our current striving to get out of debt.
I don’t think I want to spend $100 to attend a carnival EVER again, but I am glad for the opportunity to reflect and refocus on our financial goals.
Questions:
Have you experienced a similar situation where a quick decision had embarrassing consequences?
Were you able to learn any valuable lessons that you have kept with you through your experience?
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4 Reasons Why I Will Not File For Bankruptcy
We all make mistakes sometimes. I posted about a move I made that made me feel so foolish, paying ATM fees on a machine not affiliated with my bank, when an ATM that was with my bank was literally sitting right next the other machine! How could I have been so careless?
The feedback I got and my conclusions are what I’ll pass on to you, which is that we all make mistakes, and we shouldn’t beat ourselves up over it. Rather, learn from it, don’t make it again, and move on. About all we can do, right?
I remember when I was in High school on a band trip I had lost $40 of my money. Luckily my friends all donated their change to me and I got back enough money for the rest of the trip. Now I make sure I don’t stuff loose bills in my pocket anymore. They all go in the wallet.
Probably fell out when you went to get your phone. Tough break. Hopefully you can get past it though I’m sure an amount that big will eat at you for awhile.
Actually, I realized after writing this, that’s EXACTLY what happened. When we first got there, I took my phone out to locate our friends, and I totally forgot the bill was in there at that time. Silly me 😀