Tag Archives: time is money

Creating a Time Budget

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This month, the focus has been on getting organised so that you can be better equipped to accomplish your goals. If you study the habits of successful people, you will recognise that they all learned how to effectively organise and control their resources to achieve great things.

One of the most important skills that will be required for goal attainment is time management. Your plans for your future will not be realised unless you have a proper time utilisation strategy to carry out the necessary tasks. One way to accomplish this objective is to create a time budget.

Design a schedule for your time

To budget your time, you should first design a timetable that lists blocks of time on the left-hand side in half-hour increments, and the seven days of the week along the top of the page. To make this process easier, you can simply download a time budget spreadsheet on www.financiallysmart.org. Continue reading Creating a Time Budget →

Money Mission: Stop Procrastinating!

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Isn’t it amazing how fast we have sped through 2012? It seems like just yesterday we were making optimistic declarations about our plans for the new year. Now, there are only 60 days left until this eventful year becomes history. Looking back on the past 10 months, would you say you have accomplished your goals?

Many of our wishful resolutions are destined to remain unfulfilled. If we took the time at the beginning of the year to assess our needs, think about viable solutions to our problems, and write down firm declarations to better our lives, why have over 300 days gone by without us taking action? Why did we let distractions and discouragements keep us from our achievements?

The answer to this age-old problem will vary, as persons may have different issues that affect their levels of motivation. Despite the situations that may have held you back in the past, you can still make an effort to work on some of your unfinished targets. You can make the rest of the year really count by tackling one or two of your incomplete objectives. Continue reading Money Mission: Stop Procrastinating! →

Financial success may be easier than you think

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Last week’s column which looked at several ways in which we sabotage our financial future by delaying important activities seems to have hit home with many readers. The quote ‘procrastination is opportunity’s natural assassin’ certainly rings true when it comes to our finances. Recently, I had yet another occasion to reflect on the dynamic relationship between time and money.

It was late Saturday afternoon when I received information that a family friend was coming to visit for a few days and would be arriving in less than three hours. In full-fledged panic mode, I thought about all the things that needed to be accomplished before I would be comfortable with having a guest stay in my house.

As I have acknowledged many times, procrastination has unfortunately been one of my more challenging vices. True to form, I had put off many little household tasks that could easily be ignored by my family alone; but with a visitor almost on my doorstep, these now became critical to my desire to be a successful and sociable host. Continue reading Financial success may be easier than you think →

A Stitch In Time

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It ‘s amazing how a few minutes’ time delay can make a major difference to an entire day. This realisation struck me on a recent bus trip to the country. The driver of the vehicle turned up about 15 minutes late for work, and in his attempt to make up for lost time, he exceeded the speed limit and was stopped by the highway police.

The driver ended up delaying his journey by several more minutes and received a traffic ticket to add to his troubles. When we finally reached our destination he admitted to his team member that every time he was a little late he got caught by the police! As I left the bus, I reflected on the fact that lost time can also multiply problems in our financial lives.

One of the biggest financial misconceptions that many of us entertain is the belief that we have all the time in the world to do the right things with our money. When we spend our money frivolously or procrastinate on taking action on our goals, we usually think that we will be just fine if we save later or start working on our plans at another time. Continue reading A Stitch In Time →