Managing Money After Divorce

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After separating from her husband last year, Marilyn has been struggling to pay her bills on time and to keep track of her expenses. During the 21 years she was married, her accountant husband had taken care of all their financial transactions. “I didn’t understand the basics of managing our money,” Marilyn reveals, “I had never even read our bank statement.”

Four years ago, 46-year-old businessman Steven decided to let his ex-wife keep the family home, since she would have custody of their two young children. “I left everything with her and walked out with just my personal possessions.” Today he wonders if he made the right decision as he is finding it difficult to afford to buy another house of his own.

The dissolution of a marriage usually brings upheaval for the former partners, their family members and friends. While attention is given to the emotional and mental effects of divorce, the monetary challenges cannot be ignored as they can leave the family finances in serious disarray.

If you are dealing with divorce, here are some important considerations: Continue reading Managing Money After Divorce →

How to Earn More Money

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Very often, readers request advice on how to conquer their financial challenges. Most times their major issue is that they are not earning enough to pay their basic bills. As the cost of living increases, this problem only gets worse.

The reality is that it’s almost impossible in these times to expect that one job will be able to cover all our spending requirements. Many people try to borrow to make ends meet; but the only sustainable solution is to look around for other ways to earn more income.

Earning more is absolutely vital for financial success. Apart from the fact that many people do not earn enough to cover their basic expenses, they need to generate more money in order to achieve their financial goals. It’s also true that most persons don’t make full use of their abilities and time to make money. Continue reading How to Earn More Money →

Inflation and Your Money

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Imagine going to a restaurant to buy a cup of coffee and being told that the price was $5,000. After ordering a second cup, you request a bill and see that the total cost for two cups of coffee was $14,000.

Upon enquiring about the obvious error you were told, “If you want to save money and you want two cups of coffee, you should order them both at the same time.”

You may think that this is just an amusing story. In fact, this was a real-life example of life in Germany after World War I recounted in Adam Smith’s Paper Money, which described the extreme effects of inflation on that country’s economy. Continue reading Inflation and Your Money →

Six Smart Sayings to Help You Manage Debt

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One of the most challenging aspects of managing your personal finances is knowing how to control debt. It’s very tempting to start borrowing – how else can you survive if your salary remains stagnant but the cost of living continues to skyrocket? It’s also hard to maintain a frugal lifestyle when today’s society places a high value on material things.

Many people think that the quickest solution to having insufficient funds to buy what they need or want is to get a loan. While short-term borrowing might temporarily ease the immediate situation, it usually starts a long-term problem that is hard to resolve.

Wouldn’t it be great if there was a simple manual to guide you on the appropriate strategies to manage debt?

This week, I compiled six valuable sayings to help you to remember some important principles about borrowing money. There is a lot of wisdom in these clever adages, and reciting them can be an effective way of memorising the underlying messages about debt. Continue reading Six Smart Sayings to Help You Manage Debt →

Back to the Basics of Bartering

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Our current economic system has socialised us to exchange a form of money – whether cash or credit – to receive goods and services. Unfortunately, whenever we run short of this precious monetary commodity, we’re unable to obtain the things that we need or want.

In these times when finding extra cash is definitely challenging, we have to become creative if we want to maintain our standard of living. There really is no shortage of the items that we need in the marketplace; the problem lies with our inadequate supply of money to pay for them.

What if there was another way to get products and services without having to spend money?

In olden times before a system of monetary exchange evolved, people were able to acquire the things they needed to survive, by exchanging an item they already had with other people’s goods. Continue reading Back to the Basics of Bartering →

Money Lessons from Usain Bolt

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As 100m sprinter Usain Bolt propelled his way through the finish line in an astonishing world-record time of 9.58 seconds, Jamaica and the rest of the world celebrated his magnificent race. At the 2009 Berlin World Athletics Championships, Bolt definitely cemented his place in history as a legendary sports hero.

As I reflected on his amazing career, I realised that Bolt is more than an inspiration to aspiring athletes; he is also an example of what it takes to be successful with money. Here are some of the lessons that Bolt can teach us about our finances:

Examine What You’re Doing Wrong

My earliest memory of Bolt’s running was of a youngster who seemed to be struggling as he raced. Biting on his chain with a pained grimace on his face, he was a far cry from the smooth sprinting machine that he is today. Many of us find the financial race similarly difficult – despite our best efforts, it seems that we don’t have what it takes to win. Continue reading Money Lessons from Usain Bolt →

Can Your Past Influence Your Present Money Habits?

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“Your article about coping with parents’ money problems made me think about the bad money habits that I picked up from my father. My parents had different attitudes about money – my mother was a saver but my father spent all he had.

“I adored Dad and I wanted to be just like him; so I never saved and gave money away just like he did. I now see where this has hurt me because I have no money. I think people need to be aware of how their parents can influence their attitudes about money.”

Your finances are in serious disarray. You live from one pay cheque to the next. You give thanks for your credit card, as without it you wouldn’t even be able to buy petrol. You know that something is very wrong – you earn enough to save and live comfortably, but somehow financial success seems like an impossible dream.

You decide to get help to fix your money problems. Books, newspaper articles, television shows and Internet websites about money become your obsession. You even get professional financial advice.

Gradually you learn the steps you need to take to turn around your life. You start with a strong intention to do the right things, yet eventually, you go right back to your bad money behaviours. Continue reading Can Your Past Influence Your Present Money Habits? →

Coping With Your Parents’ Financial Problems

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Steven* was casually reviewing the newspaper’s real estate section when he noticed a familiar address among a long list of properties up for auction. Thinking that there was a mistake in the advertisement, he quickly called his mother to tell her that they had used her house number in error.

It took Steven a while to realise that his 65-year-old mother had not responded to his amusing story.

Within a few minutes, Steven’s mother was sobbing over the phone. She haltingly admitted that she had taken out a loan against her house to get money to place in an alternative investment scheme. When the money-making operation collapsed in 2008, she was forced to deplete her retirement accounts to meet the mortgage payments, which were now four months overdue. Continue reading Coping With Your Parents’ Financial Problems →

Stop Making Excuses about Saving

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As a personal finance advisor, I can only show my clients the cold, hard realities of their financial lives and give them strategies for improvement; but until they are ready to make the necessary changes, I really can’t help them become financially successful.

After learning the secrets of managing, multiplying and maintaining money, it became my mission to pass on the good news to all. At first I was naïve in believing that once people understood how to transform their finances, they would quickly adopt key principles such as budgeting, saving and debt management.

Very soon I realised that it would not be quite that easy to influence some people’s personal finance habits. Even if they recognised that their negative practices would lead to their financial ruin, it was often difficult for them to change bad habits and do things differently.

Some people remain in financial challenges because they are quick to offer reasons why suggested solutions to their problems can’t possibly work. The need to save regularly is an area that is particularly prone to imaginative excuse-making. Here are some common excuses: Continue reading Stop Making Excuses about Saving →

Managing Money in Marriage

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“I am frustrated with the way my husband spends money. Although we agreed that we need to stick to a budget to keep costs under control, he refuses to give up spending money on things like clubs and sporting events. I want to plan for the future, but he seems to be happy living in the present. Please help!”

Studies have shown that disagreements about money are one of the leading causes of marital breakdown. Compromise is perhaps the most important ingredient for a successful union, especially when it comes to financial matters.

But what happens when the two parties in a marriage have vastly different money beliefs and practices? How can they arrive at a workable arrangement when they have opposite money personalities? Continue reading Managing Money in Marriage →