Have you written your Christmas budget yet? If you haven’t, now is the time to start! It’s such an easy time to overspend which then puts a whole dampener on it afterwards when you find yourself with a credit card balance you can’t pay off or struggling with cashflow for months to come. My tips: Write a list of Christmas gifts you need to [...]
We all know that having a plan is a better way to achieve success than just winging it, and this is especially true of a financial plan. Whether you're just starting your career, midway through, or heading towards retirement, it's important to have a well thought-out financial path to follow so you know where you're heading, what you're working towards and the steps needed [...]
Do you have a “fun money” allocation in your budget? In my experience, this is the secret to successful budgeting. Fun money is an amount allocated every month to nothing - or anything - with no accounting for it. You can spend it on whatever your heart desires without guilt or explanation. You can save it for a few months and buy something ridiculously [...]
We all have routines, but sometimes they work for us and sometimes against us. I’ve got a couple that I love that really serve me well. The first is about managing my start and end of day at work. I start with a 5-10 minute stand up meeting with my team so we can all check in and be aware of any priorities for [...]
Do you have savings goals? Like all goals, they're so important to keep you on track, focussed and working towards something. And the best part about goals is that you get to celebrate when you achieve both the goals and the milestones along the way! If you have a plan to buy or renovate your house, upgrade appliances, take a holiday, buy a new [...]
We all have financial challenges - or have had them. But how do we manage them? My first major financial challenge was to stop spending every cent I earned. I felt that I’d worked hard so I deserved to spoil myself and some things were just too hard to resist! Thankfully this didn’t lead to credit card debt - just a continuing zero bank [...]
The last 10-11 months have been different - to say the least. Many of us have adjusted to working from home, not working at all or being chaotically busy at work. Parents have had to figure out how to home school, entertain their kids and keep them mentally and physically fit without playdates, sport and so many of the activities that are a normal [...]
It's interesting to think about all the things we learn from our families. The traditions that are passed on. The values, the beliefs, the patterns and the habits. At Christmas time, we see them all. It's almost like there is a spotlight shining on our family traditions for all to see. When do you put up your tree? Do you decorate the front of [...]
December certainly seemed to arrive quickly this year but we've got almost a whole month left until 2021 arrives to achieve those goals we set in January. How are you going with them? Have you ticked off any or achieved any milestones along the way? Or have you thrown away the rule book? It's been a year like no other and has had many [...]
How do you know you’re getting the balance right? So often we’re faced with decisions that have an impact on the balance of our life. Do we stay up late because we’re having fun with friends and then suffer in the morning because we still have to get up early? Do we skip out of work early because it’s the only time we can [...]
