A year after the collapse of Lehman Brothers investment bank, President Obama reminded Wall Street to not forget the errors of their ways and to beware of the financial road ahead. However, this is a great time for everyone to review their personal finances from a year ago and further correct their financial plans to prevent or at least stifle any future economic meltdowns. Although the collapse of Wall Street is being marked as a year ago, it was the spending and borrowing habits of the entire nation over a decade…banks and consumers alike that caused the problems we marked as beginning just last year.

So in reflection, what would you have done differently within your financial life to prevent or encourage your current financial status? What do you need to change, today, to improve your financial literacy to the level you desire? What past financial mistakes or “hard knocks” would you like to prevent? Understanding your past is half the battle and your actions moving forward are the other half of the solution to most problems. With an understanding of your financial past, you will find patterns for which you can better prepare. And with this in mind, what are your plans for the spending frenzy known as “the holidays?” If you haven’t written out your spending list and reviewed your budget for the last part of the year…now is the time.