Posts Tagged ‘Financial Success’

As a general rule it makes a lot of sense to use delayed gratification when it comes to money.

You should endeavour to only borrow money for things that do not lose value. If you borrow money to buy things that do lose value, you are not getting the most out of your money and you run the risk of never reaching your full financial potential.

Sure you can have lots of things now, but you have to wear the consequences later on and the pleasure now may not warrant the pain then.
I have seen people run up huge credit card debts for things they just ‘had to have’.

This is a common situation, and my recommendation to get back on track is using a method called “snowballing”. What this means is to concentrate as much extra money as possible onto one of the loan payments until it is finally paid off.

There can be confusion as to which loan to tackle first, and certainly an argument could be put forward to suggest it should be the one with the highest interest rate, but there are other attributes to take into account also.

Accelerate Your Debt Reduction

Click here to find out how thousands of people have gained financial freedome using our DebtBuster Software.

To work out how to best snowball your credit payments get our FREE debt calculator!

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We are continually being bombarded with junk-mail and constant advertising.

We are subject to mega-shopping complexes designed to lure us into parting with our hard-earned dollars using the credit cards cant afford to pay back. By ‘hanging around’ shopping centres where we unwittingly tormented ourselves by looking at all of the things being offered for sale we really can’t afford and consequently making ourselves miserable wishing we had more income so we could buy more of the things we keep seeing.
Our way of life is speeding up.

Every body is so busy rushing around trying to earn a living that many of us miss out on the simple ‘free’ things.

Before you decide to hit the shopping centre for family treats you may find it more cost effective to take time out to spend with your family doing the things that really create great family memories such as simply taking your children to the park, the beach, the library, for a picnic in the country and a swim in a stream etc. etc. Stress levels come down and your financial burdens reduced!

Want to enjy spending money without the burden of unexpected debt?

Our Simpy Budgets Home Budgeting Software will show you right up to the minute just how much free cash you have.

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1. What’s easier, getting fat or getting fit?
2. Which gives the most satisfaction?

Hopefully you said getting fat to question one and fit to question two!

It’s the same with money. Going broke is easier than working towards accumulating wealth, but it doesn’t give a lot of satisfaction! I heard a saying many years ago that really took my attention.

It goes like this – “I will do today what others won’t, so I can do tomorrow what others can’t.”

Poor Planning is a major reason for people not achieving the financial growth or success they desire. That is, a lack of a plan and no road map to follow.

Another common cause of financial trouble is that most people want nice things and the credit card or bank loan says they can have them sooner and so they embark on a debt growth program. It is millions of times easier to get into debt than it is to get out of it!!!!

The journey of 1000 miles begins with one step. If you have been struggling with your finances there are a number of things you must do.

1.Take a long–term approach to increasing your job skills and knowledge so you can increase you income. Anyone can empty a rubbish bin so no-one will pay a lot to have it done! Very few people can operate successfully on a brain tumor so the people who know how to do it can name their price!

2.Look at what is happening with your spending and get a plan – Simply Budgets will certainly help you with this!

3.Get advice and assistance from someone who is qualified to give it, and get more than one opinion.

4.Don’t be impatient, quick is rarely good.

5.Be prepared to be different from those who couldn’t be bothered to put in the effort. If you take what seems like the easy way like everyone else, you will end up like everyone else! Most people end up broke! Being different is probably one of the best things you can be!

6.Never let others steal your dreams by telling you “you can’t do it”. You can do whatever you believe is possible for you. Believe in yourself!

We have a financial health plan to suit you.

Click here now to view the different tools that can help you on your road to financial fitness.

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The mind is an incredible thing and its power is unmeasurable.

I would be safe in saying that nobody even goes close to harnessing all the power of their mind. For all the examples I have given above there is one key element of the mind that makes all the difference. That element is belief. Once people saw these things were possible they could believe it was possible for them and then they could achieve them too. Belief is such an incredible power.

So, the big question is;  how do you change your beliefs about yourself and your finances and for that matter, any other area of your life you might want to change?

Maybe you believe managing and succeeding with money is just too hard for you, or that you just don’t earn enough money. The fact is Nothing is hard once you can do it. I would love to help you if you have a challenge with budgeting and managing your cash flow.

At Simply Budgets we offer online courses, software, clinics, whatever suits your style to make financial management easy. Don’t resign yourself to more of the same.

Click here to visit our home page now to find a financial management plan that suits your style of learning!

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Have you been waiting to see what Big-‘E’ number three will be?

I originally thought I would deliver the Big-‘E’s in order of impact but I have decided I am not going to pretend to be that clever. Besides I think it will differ from person to person.

For new readers, I am currently writing a series of messages based on all the Big-’E's that determine our financial outcomes in life.

We have looked at Emotions and Environment. Today it’s Ego or (Self) Esteem. Some would say these are two totally different things; but I’m not gonna get that technical!

During the last week I received an e-mail from one of my readers and it was as if the person who sent it knew my next topic and wanted to give me an example to talk about.

I had made an offer to this particular person to organise an event and offered to pay him for promoting and organising it. He is a member of a group interested in improving their finances so I thought the offer would be an opportunity for him to earn some cash, help his fellow members and at the same time allow me to do what I love doing, and that is sharing my knowledge, experience, passion and skills around money management with other people.

To my surprise the response came back that while he was really keen to share what I do with his associates and friends he said “I’m not into making money off my friends’.

Now this surprised me and it told me a lot about where he was at and how the rest of his financial life would unfold if left unchecked.

Over the years I have had e-mails from many people who described how they had difficulty asking for or accepting money from friends. One example that comes to mind was a lass who had been doing bookkeeping for her friends for free as a hobby and then when she started her own business as a bookkeeper there was a problem asking for money. The way I see it, this is an Ego or Self Esteem problem.

If you think about it, if you can’t get paid by your friends for providing a benefit then why should you be able to ask someone you don’t know to pay you for doing something for them? If you follow that on to its logical conclusion then basically you are destined to go broke and starve because you should not get paid by anyone!

Flip that over. If it is alright to get paid for what you do for people who are not your friends, why does the equation change the moment you are dealing with friends?

Clearly if you have an issue with making a profit from providing a benefit for one person but not another and the difference is that you are friends with the person you are uncomfortable accepting payment from, then you have a belief that money is, in some way, a bad thing.

Let’s dig deeper!

If you often provide a service for a low fee or for free and someone else is in business charging a significant price for the same service, then you probably have a problem with self confidence which is really a form of lack of Ego or Self Esteem. The person charging a high price knows they are offering high value and has no problem confidently asking for payment.

That’s not to say you can’t do a friend (or someone you don’t know) a favour and give them a discount, but if you know in your heart that you have a problem asking for money or for payment for something you have done, then it is because of a lack of confidence and you need to develop a bigger Ego.

Be really clear about this; you actually allow people to place low value on what you do because you place low value on you. When someone pays a high price they usually get high value and when they pay a low price (or nothing) for the same service or product they usually get low value!

I know what I just said might seem totally ridiculous but it is true.

If I gave you a brand new car I will guarantee you would not look after it as well as you would if you paid $50,000 for it. If you came to me for advice on how to get your personal Cashflow in order and at the end of the consultation I said there would be no charge there is a good chance you would never implement the information I gave you because you would place $0 value on the info. If I charged you $1,000 you would be much more likely to follow through because you would place $1,000 value on what I did for you.

If you are a person who is always looking for a cheap solution and bargain prices everywhere you go then ask yourself the question, “How much value do you place on you?” If you want everyone else to give you their time, service and products on the cheap then that probably reflects the value you place on you as well! If you want more, improve your Ego!

In the words of the 1970’s hit song, ‘Ego is not a dirty word’. It is an important ingredient in success.

Of course I am not suggesting you become an egotistical, stuck-up, pain in the neck, pushing and shoving your way to the top in everything and walking over others to get there. I’m sure you were brought up to be polite, have good manners, to not push in, to go to the end of the line, to be considerate of others and put their needs ahead of yours. These are all great virtues, but if you learnt from that that you are worth less than everyone else in the process you will find it very hard to succeed.

You need to understand the difference between being considerate of others and not allowing yourself to have an ego. Otherwise you will be allowing other people to dictate your level of success.

Of course it is easy for me to say you need to be confident, have a strong ego and high self esteem but if you lack in this area it is not an easy thing to change.

The first thing you need to do is recognise that you have a problem in this area. You then need to search within to see if you have enough desire to change. Ask yourself what is the reason you want to change? If you can’t find a big “WHY” then just accept that your lack of Ego and Self Esteem is going to keep you where you are and continue on with your current life.

If you are not prepared to accept that, then focus on finding all the reasons why you are worthy of success. List all the good things about yourself in a journal and read them often. Write them up on a display that you will see regularly.

One way to accelerate your development in this area is to change Big-‘E’ number two, your Environment. Why not join a toastmaster’s group or similar where you are required to stand up and voice an opinion? If you can learn to present a point of view with confidence you will automatically become more confident within yourself. That will be great for your Ego!

I also find that people who are usually quite meek and mild around something they don’t care much about can become confident and outspoken when they engage Big-‘E’ number one, Emotions as well.

Stir up some emotion and you will witness a quick change in displayed confidence. For Example, my wife is quite shy but if someone says or does something against one of our children she quickly finds some courage that normally does not appear to be there!

So if you can find and work at something you are Passionate about, you will automatically be more confident because you will be more sure of your knowledge in that field and you will be more positively Emotionally charged all day long!

So take a good hard look in the mirror and ask yourself how healthy your ego is. Remember, if you don’t value you, nobody else will either.

Hopefully today’s thoughts on Big-‘E’ number 3, Ego, will stir up some productive thoughts and help you to become more active in pursuing a better you who attracts more of everything, including financial wealth.

Back again next time with Big-‘E’ number 4.

Regards
David Wright

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In one of my Money Hints and Tips newsletters I refer to a strategy I call Repayment Snowballing. This is used to speed up the process of debt management quicker . There are a few different opinions on how best to implement this strategy so lets have a look at which will save you the most money. There are basically two trains of thought.

Debt Management Strategies

1. Pour any surplus cash into paying off your smallest debt first and then when that debt is paid off, adding (snowballing) that repayment onto the next smallest debt until it is paid off or the debt management is achieved. Continue this process, always adding the repayments from the paid-off loans to the next smallest debt until all debts are cleared. (At which time you could give your self a big pat on the back and swear to never put yourself through such agony again!)

2. Pour any surplus cash into paying off your highest interest rate debt first and then, when you’ve achieved debt management for and paid that debt off, adding (snowballing) that repayment onto the next highest interest rate debt until it is paid off. Continue this process, always adding the repayments from the paid-off loans to the next highest interest rate loans until your debt management is complete.

These look very similar don’t they! The point in question here is, do you tackle the smallest debt first, or the highest interest rate debt first?  I simply suggest there could be an argument either way. Psychologically, paying off a small debt quickly can give you a sense of actually achieving something. This can do wonders for your sense of mental well being and provide motivation to go on working at the problem in a positive frame of mind. Mathematically though, it is easy to show that tackling the highest interest rate debt first will always save you money.

Click here to download our FREE Debt Calculator to work out the best strategy for your credit card management.

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