96 – 3 Steps Can Turn a Money Mistake into a Victory

August 29, 2023 / John Putnam
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Have you ever found yourself making the same financial mistakes over and over again?

Well, that stops NOW.

We’ve all been there – overspending, accumulating debt, making poor investments. The list goes on. But in this episode, let’s talk about how we can break free from this cycle. Let me share an amusing scene from the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving special that captures this perfectly. It’s a story of Lucy, a football, and Charlie Brown’s repeated attempts. Sound familiar? This tale underlines the importance of learning from our mistakes and turning them into valuable lessons. Remember, mistakes aren’t all bad. There are ‘good mistakes’ – the ones we learn from. I’m going to walk you through a simple model, inspired by a military process, to help you consistently learn from your financial choices. So, please tune in as we uncover the power of learning from our money situations for making better money decisions.

In this episode, John discusses:

  • The importance of learning from financial mistakes
  • The psychology of repetitive financial mistakes
  • Applying after-action reviews to personal finances
  • Turning mistakes into learning opportunities

Key Takeaways:

  • We’ve all made financial mistakes, whether overspending, debt, or poor investments and acknowledging this is the first step to improvement.
  • Just like Charlie Brown falling for Lucy’s football trick, we often make the same financial errors despite knowing better, highlighting the importance of learning from our mistakes.
  • Embrace a simple after-action review strategy – analyzing what worked, why it worked, what didn’t work, why it didn’t, and then taking action to improve – to consistently learn from financial decisions.
  • Just as Peter urged us to remember and grow, embracing the process of reflection and learning can transform financial missteps into valuable lessons that shape our better financial decisions moving forward.

“Now, there wasn’t a whole lot of truth being shared by Lucy to old Charlie Brown, but after a while guys, we just need to learn from the past and make better decisions and an after-action review can help you get there.”

ARTICLE LINK: Harvard Business Review – Learning in the Thick of It: https://hbr.org/2005/07/learning-in-the-thick-of-it

Additional resources:


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John Putnam