 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
 |
Tame The Financial Beast
Are holiday bills surprising you? Are you hoping that if you ignore your finances long enough, maybe they will fix themselves? Let's liken our finances to a garden. If we neglect the garden, weeds will grow and take over. The garden gets so bad we don't even want to look at it! But, with a little maintenance and tending the garden becomes a joy. The first step towards creating a joyful financial garden is learning to save. Why bother saving? Before we delve into the often scary place of finding out how much of the money is going in and out, we need to find a motive to dig deep. You need to know why you want to save mo'ney. Do you want to own your home, reach financial independence, get a vacation home on an island? Or do you simply want financial peace so you're not worrying about money? Once you get that vision of what you want to achieve you will have the motivation to examine your finances. Financial Dream. How much will it cost to fulfill your vision? Work out some figures, and write down your estimation. This is your financial goal. When do you want to achieve your financial dream? 5 years, 10 years, 20 years? Now you know not only how much you need by when. This tells you how much you'll need to save each year to reach your goal in your required timeframe. Look at your finances. You can't bury your head in the garden sand of your finances or you will end up with pricker bushes and weeds the size of trees. You know what you want, when you want it and how much you want to save. Now you get to see if you can save that much. Look at your in'come and expenses. Do you have more coming in, then going out? If you do, you have a great start. If not, we'll look at how to create savings in a minute. Save first. The biggest mistake people make is to say "I will save whatever is left over." Don't try this at home. Your expenses will expand to use up any money that is there. Instead, put money in savings first. Many companies allow you to automatically deduct money to put into a savings account. You won't miss it, because you'll never see it. Now you get to play the "How Can I Live on the Rest" game. Challenge yourself and be innovative. Are we having fun yet? I can't save that much! If you can't save as much as your goal, don't sweat it. Start saving whatever you can. The psychological impact of bringing in more than you spend will help motivate you to save even more. And it feels great! Starting with $10 a month is at least something! Prune those expenses. The easiest and quickest way to save more is to cut your expenses. First, get rid of cre'dit card de'bt. If you can't use your card responsibly cut it up or put it in a block of ice in the freezer. Next, list everything you spend money on. For each item ask if this is something that you can cut with no pain. Or will it cause a little pain. Or will it feel like taking off a limb? Beside each item, list how much you would save each month by eliminating or slashing that cost by 50%. That number is what you could save for your dream. Imagine what you could do with that cash! Some suggestions for cutting expenses. Get books and magazines from the library instead of buying them Get rid of things that don't add to your life Cancel the gym membership and workout with a buddy Ditch the cell phone till you can start saving Think about your car- can you get around without it? Do you really need a second car? Can you replace your newer one with an older car? The car is one of the biggest expenses when you include repairs, insurance and depreciation. Selling a car could give you thousands of dollars in savings. Rent a cheaper place! At least until you have 6-12 months of living expenses stashed away in a savings account. If the mortgage is killing you - give yourself a break. Talk to a financial planner or accountant about selling the place and renting cheaply, or renting out your expensive place and renting cheaply. Eat out less. Go out for coffee instead of lunch with your friends. Or invite them over to your place. * * * OK - there's a blueprint to start taking financial responsibility, and to begin to enjoy your financial garden, instead of dreading being attacked in it! And coaches - feel free to use these ideas with your clients. David Wood is a personal and business coach, and an original founder of the International Coach Academy - a global coach training school. Looking to become a life coach? Get your free copy of '50 Power Questions' to use with your life coaching clients, and to take charge of your own life. Download here: http://www.solutionbox.com/freedownload.htm And find out how these ordinary life coaches are making $30,000 to $1.4 million per year! Finally they share their secrets: http://www.10SuperCoaches.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
 |
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Leadership Coaching at Gettysburg The battle at Gettysburg is one of the most notable events in U.S. Personal Core Values: Your Key to Success and Happiness Each of us has our own set of personal values; these are the things which we believe are important, which motivate us and to which we give priority. If I asked you what your personal values are, the chances are that you would struggle to find the answer. New Definition of Retirement A new definition of retirement is evolving. It's one that's focused on continual exploration, learning and growth. Difficult Challenges? -- What If? Sometimes life can seem like one long series of unsolvable problems. I know there have been times when I would much rather find something else to do and quit whatever I was doing simply because it was too much trouble to continue. The Rewards and Risks Of Personal Freedom We all need to decide whether to "play it safe" in life and worry about the downside, or instead take a chance, by being who we really are and living the life our heart desires. Which choice are you making?One of the first things I noticed about my newly purchased parrot, was that he couldn't fly. Still Wondering About Coaching? A friend called me the other day from Lower Alabama. He has followed my career as a coach with enthusiasm, and continually refers clients to me, and I'm sure has done his part for making coaching known in his neck of the woods. Be Better at Business - And Lose Weight, Too! In business, individuals often secure the services of a success coach like myself to "fix" certain areas of their professional life. The desired fixes typically range from a desire for a promotion and/or a salary increase, to on-the-job performance enhancements, to improving one's personal productivity, to boosting one's level of enthusiasm about their job. Coaching Prime Time An awful lot of fantastic coaching has been coming out of Hollywood lately, have you noticed? Whether it's Morgan Spurlock's feature film debut "Supersize Me".. Mailey's Introspections [Monday, December 6th 2005] As I work with clients as their introspective Inner Peace/Relationship coach, an issue that has come to my awareness is the tendency we have as human beings to stray away from the present moment. Some people tend to live mostly in the past, some live in the future, while still others ricochet from future to past and back to the future again. Passport to Passion Passion is a feeling of excitement and intensity. The energy of passion fuels a fulfilled life, and supports the growth and development of our personal purpose and potential. Life - Is It Just An Illusion? It's a well-known fact that electrons and atoms move at the speed of light, technically flickering in and out of existence. In other words, half of the time we are actually not here. Say Adios to the Fear of Rejection! Do you ever get an uncomfortable feeling in your stomach when you have to approach someone?In situations like this does your mind go blank?This is not unusual. That feeling is often the fear of rejection. Can I Be My Own ADD Coach? Quite often I am in contact with people who discuss acting as an ADD Coach for their child or spouse. While supporting and helping loved ones with ADD is a great idea, acting as an ADD Coach really isn't a great idea. A Numbers Game! Three years ago, Paul left his corporate job to launch his freelance writing career, and he's done relatively well. He has a group of regular clients that keep him going, and they are happy with his work. Personal Life Coaching And How It Can Help You Coaching is an effective process used to support individuals in creating something new for themselves. I work side by side with my clients' coaching them by providing perspective and support for self-knowledge as they accomplish their business and personal goals. Just Listen, Please! When did you last do that? When did you last listen to yourself? Is there a small voice inside you calling out "Just listen to me" Just listen. Please". Are You Worth Investing In? Do you realise that if you're green you're growing and if you're ripe you're rotten? So says Winston Marsh, Business Marketing Guru in his recent newsletter.Here's an excerpt from it . The Difference Between Approval and Appreciation Having worked with individuals, couples, families and business partners for 35 years, helping them learn to resolve conflict, I have often been faced with the difficulties that occur when people are confused about the difference between approval with appreciation. Have you ever wondered about the difference between approval and appreciation? Most of us have never actually thought about it, yet if we do think about it, we realize that we feel very differently when we receive approval as opposed to receiving appreciation. The Right Coach Who is the Best Coach For Achieving Your Goals?A friend of mine was recently at a Mark Victor Hansen and Robert Allen workshop. They were promoting their Enlightened Millionaire Program. Is Your Life Coach Manipulating You? Five Signs to Watch For Did you hire a "life coach" to help you sort out your complicated existence? The coach is a growing occupational choice for folks who feel the call to lead others who may feel overwhelmed or wish for personal fulfillment but don't know where to begin.As someone who belongs to entrepreneur networks, I've come across quite a few life coaches.
|
|
|
 |
 |
