10/12/2026
I recently found a picture of me when I was 20 years old hidden away in the back of my closet. I stared intently at this picture. My smile. My 20-year-old skin. My very dark hair. I’m sure my mom had to beg me to take the picture. I didn’t like my picture to be taken because I was self-conscious about my wandering left eye. The surgery to correct it wasn’t for another few years.
I started talking to the younger me from 30 years ago.
✝️ Find God, cling to Him.
🌎 Dream big.
🌎 See the world, make it better.
🌎 Work hard, but enjoy life.
🌎 No job is worth your health.
At 20, I didn’t know what I didn’t know. My future self made mistakes financially, relationally, and health-wise. Like buying a brand new SUV WAY too expensive for a young woman fresh out of college. 😳
Making mistakes is part of the journey. Own them. Learn from them. And then…move on.
Your identity is not your mistakes. You are not the bad decision you made five years ago, or the debt you accumulated, or the money you wish you had saved. You can rise above it.
And maybe that’s one of the reasons I love what I do now as a personal financial coach. I get to sit with people who are looking at their own financial decisions and thinking, “How did I get here?”
I get to help them look forward and see what’s possible.
We can’t go back and give your 20-year-old self better advice. But we can make a different choice. That can change everything.
~Julie
💡If you could sit down with your 20-year-old self for five minutes, what would you tell her? ⬇️
