Does Your Financial Past Define You?

Originally when I was asked this question, my response was instantly no – of course your past doesn’t define you. Who would say such baloney?

Then after a few minutes, I realized that in a sense that was not true as your financial past does indeed define you as it shapes who you become. If you had not had your financial wake-up call, would you be as frugal as you are now? Or were you as responsible now with your money as you were six months ago? I don’t think so. Our financial past is now to me a jumping off point of what we want to be.

Take for instance, one of my favorite movie characters – Scarlet O’Hara. If you have never seen the movie (It’s four hours long) this scene is at the end of the Part I. I personally relate to her speech. I may not “cheat or kill” but I will make sure that my family survives our debt snowball trip and that we will indeed get through our own personal financial crisis.