These are true confessions.

Financial prowess has been a struggle since I was 5 years old.
I remember standing in line for the Saturday matinee at the Orpheum Theatre with 40 cents in my pocket.  The money felt good as I jiggled it in my pocket.  I pulled the coins out for another quick look and to my horror they bounced once and rolled between the boards of the wooden sidewalk.  Gone!
Tears replaced smiles and I walked home filled with remorse.
“How could you be so careless?  What were you thinking?  No, I’m not giving you any more money. You’ve got to be more careful.”  This was Chapter 1 of my money story, it has been reinvented many different ways since.
I confess I’ve made mistakes in handling money and while losing 40 cents may have been my smallest financial stumble there have been a number of other monetary blunders, investment losses and unprofitable plans over the years, best titled “the expansive chapters”.
Telling my money story is uncomfortable.  The shaming voices (in my head) hiss at me, “careless, foolish, inept” and derogatory self-talk has an emotional price tag.  This was the nastiest part of my story and thankfully the last chapter.
Determined to turn errors into learnings, I am indebted to my money lessons.  Today I am rich with knowledge, confidence and invested in sharing my story; the good, the bad and the ugly.
The daily panic moments have morphed into teachable moments.  Since I’ve failed and recovered (more than once), I’m no longer breathless when I think about money.  I’ve made financial peace with the mistakes I’ve made and absolve the scorn I’ve assumed.  My money story has been rewritten, leaving me with a lesson, a message and feeling like a million bucks.