Starting a business might be scary, but for those already invested in a venture that’s underperforming, knowing when to pull the plug is by far the more terrifying prospect. To be an entrepreneur, you require a certain amount of blind faith, drive and ambition. At some point in your business venture, and long before you have too much invested though,...
No matter who you are, no matter what you do, no matter how much income you earn each year, if your debt is growing, even just a little bit, your lifestyle is not sustainable. Why? Because eventually, that debt will start eroding your lifestyle. Even before you get to that point, you will probably feel stress, or other unpleasant emotions....
Watch your pennies. It’s not terribly difficult to do, and the pennies, the little things, are usually what add up to big savings over time. I was speaking with a client recently who was introduced to the concept of tracking his daily expenditures. This task of “watching the pennies,” really had him questioning things. “What’s the big deal?” he asked...
The urge is typical. You’ve completed your tax return, happily confirming your hope the government owes you a refund. Before you’ve even received your refund in that recognizable brown envelope, it’s likely you’ve already earmarked that money for goodies you want, but haven’t had the chunk of cash to pay for. In the back of your mind though, you know...
There are two, very common, hurdles people face when attempting to budget. Unfortunately, these hurdles often go unacknowledged, setting a lot of people up for failure, almost before they even get started. Quite simply, there are two hurdles or speed bumps people encounter with the process: The first challenge is the not-so-simple task of getting started. Unlike starting a diet (which...
For some people, it can be incredibly difficult to discern the difference between what they want and what they need. Here is just one practical example: Let’s say someone goes to a mall to replace a broken dish. Walking through the mall, they see a shirt in the window that would go perfectly with one of their outfits. (People generally...
Unexpected expenses are, hands down, usually the biggest budget breakers out there. (An unexpected expense is anything that you did not foresee or plan for in your budget.) A clinical look at all cash flow for three full months, including all income and expenses, is one of the first exercises we conduct when working with new clients. During this time,...
Why are some of us natural savers, while others are spenders? In a way, it’s a matter of perspective. The main difference is that savers take in the big picture, while spenders only see things as they are, or as they appear to be at that moment in time. We say savers tend to have an Encompassing Perception, where spenders...
A lot of people are under the impression that having a budget, or being able to create a budget, is all they need in order to get ahead of their finances. In reality, this is not the case for most of us. People fail with their finances because money is far more emotional than any budget might suggest. It’s one...
A lot of us have the pre-conceived notion that the more money we make, the better off we will be. This is so engrained in us, we assume this cause and effect will be automatic and guaranteed. In reality, this is an illusion, albeit a very powerful one, that people fall into. Let’s look at it honestly: When we get...
