What is a Financial Flashpoint?

Financial Flashpoint is a term I learned when I was taking my MBA in Financial Psychology and Behavioural Finance. It is a term coined by one of my professors, Dr. Brad Klontz. (FYI, follow Dr. Brad on TikTok and YouTube, his posts are great!)

Financial Flashpoints are emotionally charged events that shape our beliefs and attitudes around money and finances. These Money Memories don’t always need to be large, significant events, they can be positive or negative, and they often occur when we are young – too young to even understand what is happening!

For example, my very first Money Memory is when I was 5 or 6. My mom and I were shopping at Zellers (there’s a throwback!), and I was begging for a new toy – a Popple. For those of you too young to remember, a Popple was a stuffed toy that could roll into itself into a ball. My mom told me no and that we couldn’t afford it.

At the time, I was too young to understand what not being to afford something really meant, but that memory has stuck with me, and created a script in my head about money – that it is scarce.

Financial Flashpoints can also be tragic. Another one of mine is when I am about 19 years old. I was a new mom, single, and in college. I am sitting in the front seat of my beat-up old Toyota and my new baby is in the back seat in her car seat. I am crying, she is crying. I had just left a grocery store, and I was upset over having to choose between food or diapers and formula, as I could not afford both. This memory added to my previous ones that money is scarce.

Now, not all my Financial Flashpoints are negative! I have some positive ones, such as my first summer job (painting for neighbours) or hanging out with friends I made in college and picking stocks to follow.

By pulling these memories out off the depths of my mind, I have created what Dr Brad Klontz calls a Money Script. This is the story I tell myself about money and finances. By knowing my Money Script, I understand why I make the financial choices I make, which helps me make better choices in the future!