Bad financial decisions can happen to the best of us.

Someone may have bought something expensive they don't need and suffered from buyer's remorse. Or you may have fallen victim to bad investments because of greed or FOMO. Other times, you may have lent too much money to the wrong people.

While you may feel stupid, hopeless, or both, it's crucial to remember there's still hope.

Step 1: Assess the damage.

Once you have settled your emotions, it's time to determine how much it costs you.

Depending on the financial decision, you'll have to gather your facts, crunch the numbers, and see how it affects your financial standing. It can be money lost from an investment, a bad purchase, ballooning debt, or lending money to someone who doesn't pay you back.

Once you have assessed the damage, it's time to face your reality head-on.

Step 2: Stop the bleeding.

If you already realize the decision is terrible, it's time to stop the bleeding.

The biggest mistake people make when making bad financial decisions is continuing because they have already invested money, effort, and time — sunk-cost fallacy. However, that's unproductive. It's time to face reality and stop the bleeding.

If you bought a car or house with your entry-level salary and realized it's unsustainable, surrender it to the bank. If you have tons of debt, avoid getting more. If you're down 50% in your stock portfolio, suck it up and sell it to save your sanity.

Whatever it is, you can't heal a wound if you don't stop the bleeding.

Step 3: Adjust your budget.

Review your cash flow. How are your income and expense columns?

Depending on your situation, you need to adjust your budget accordingly. If you're in massive debt, allocate more of your income to paying it off fast. You can also find unnecessary expenses to remove.

It may take some time, but you must sacrifice more money and time.

Step 4: Rebuild slowly.

Once you have paid off any debt and have accepted your bad financial decision, it's time to move on and rebuild.

If you don't have an emergency fund, start building at least three to six months' worth of your expenses. You may also start learning about legitimate investments, talking with knowledgeable people, and reading books.

It's also crucial that you don't let your emotions get the better of you. Bad financial decisions are learning opportunities where you already paid your tuition fees.

Rebuild brick by brick and hope for better days ahead.