Your Attitude Determines Your Results

Money & Your Mind, , , ,

“Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.” – Winston Churchill

One of the most frequent requests I receive is for assistance in preparing a budget. It seems that there is a universal problem that afflicts young and old, male and female, low-income or high-income alike: “How can I match my income to my expenses?”

If you are struggling with making ends meet, overcome with debt, or just need to save some extra money to achieve your goals faster, the first step to success is always the same – you have to examine your current financial picture to determine where you are now.

The budget is one of the tools to use to see exactly how your earnings are allocated in spending. Very often, the budget reveals the source of the problem and can provide the key to the appropriate solution. Continue reading Your Attitude Determines Your Results →

Watch Your Cash Flow

Budgeting, , , ,

“I work freelance and my income comes in at different times over the month. I’ve done my budget and it shows that my income is more than enough to meet all my expenses. I really try not to spend money carelessly. However, every month I’m always short of funds to meet my obligations, and I end up having to borrow from my family to tide me over. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong. Help!”

At a recent business seminar, I had the privilege of listening to a wealthy Texan businessman, Keith Cunningham reveal some of his secrets of success. Cunningham was one of the ‘rich dad’ mentors of Robert Kiyosaki, bestselling author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad. In his presentation he highlighted the importance of reading and understanding financial statements.

Cunningham pointed out that most people go straight to the profit figure on an income statement, to decide if a business is performing well, but neglect to focus on the cash flow statement. This ‘rich dad’ declared that while the profit and loss statement could be called a theory, cash flow was the reality.

“Profits do not sustain a business, for it can live for years without a profit,” he said, “but it will fail if there is no cash.”

Continue reading Watch Your Cash Flow →

Tips on Negotiating to Save Money

Spending, , , ,

“In business, you don’t get what you deserve, you get what you negotiate.” – Chester L. Karrass

Many times when we’re trying to save money we overlook the powerful strategy of negotiating to get a better deal. A business transaction normally involves the consumer asking for the price and agreeing to work with it, or walking away from the deal because the terms are not suitable. We’re often afraid or embarrassed to negotiate to get a more advantageous arrangement.

Last week, I attended an intensive seminar organized by Peak Potentials, which revealed street-smart tactics to help business people get ahead. One of the topics we were trained on was the art of negotiation.

By testing the simple strategies we learnt, in the real business environment around the seminar location, we discovered how easy it was to negotiate and save a lot of money on practically anything. Continue reading Tips on Negotiating to Save Money →

Living Within Your Means

Spending, , ,

“Last year I moved out of my parents’ house, and now I’m finding it hard to make ends meet. When I lived with them, all my income went into clothes and entertainment, because I had no bills to pay. Now I constantly have to borrow from my mother, and I have a credit card bill that I don’t know how I’m going to pay off. How can I live within my means?”

Living within your means can mean different things to different people. Some persons think they are doing okay financially if their salary can afford them the credit to buy whatever they desire, and they can meet their debt payments every month. Others are happy if their income can pay for all their necessities, but aren’t too worried if there’s not much left behind for savings.

In reality, living within your means is being able to establish an optimal balance between your income, expenditure and savings to ensure that you can meet your financial objectives without getting trapped in unnecessary debt. In other words ‘your means’ cannot just be about your current spending needs, it has to take into consideration being able to fund your goals for the future.

How can we manage our money to ensure that we can meet our current obligations and still save for the future? Continue reading Living Within Your Means →

Mistakes To Avoid When Investing

Investing, , , ,

“When you make a mistake, don’t look back at it long. Take the reason of the thing into your mind and then look forward. Mistakes are lessons of wisdom. The past cannot be changed. The future is yet in your power.”-Hugh White”

One of the biggest fears that we all face is the fear of making a mistake. This is even more evident in the investing world, where one wrong investment decision can prove costly and wipe out an investor’s hard-earned money.

I have heard many sad stories of investments gone awry – people who went into massive debt because of an ill-conceived business idea; trusted companies that promised high returns and disappeared into thin air; rented real estate that turned into a nightmare due to trouble with tenants.

However, most mistakes that are made in investing are not quite so dramatic. Every day, average investors make very simple errors in judgment that can have a negative effect on their investment plans. Continue reading Mistakes To Avoid When Investing →

Working For Love and Money

Money & Your Mind, , ,

“I make a good living as a lawyer and I’ve saved up a reasonable amount of money over the years. The problem is- I don’t enjoy my work. I really want to be a creative writer, but writing can’t pay my bills. I would like to find a way to be able to work at what I love and still be able to achieve my financial goals.”

For many people, a job is merely a means to an end – getting a paycheck to pay their bills. It can feel like an empty existence when 40 hours per week of your life brings little personal fulfillment. Then there are some who are so passionate about their calling, that they ignore the fact that the job isn’t meeting their financial needs, until a penniless retirement looms in their future.

Is it possible to have the best of both worlds- to work for love and for money?

Continue reading Working For Love and Money →

Pooling Your Money for Higher Returns

Investing, , , ,

“I read in the financial papers that mutual funds are a good option for people who are looking for higher returns than available on regular savings account. What exactly are mutual funds and how do they work?”

The investment landscape in Jamaica is certainly undergoing some interesting changes. Gone are the days when people only saved in bank accounts- now they’re searching for more options that can give better returns on their investments.

What is a Mutual Fund?

A mutual fund is one of the investment choices that can offer an investor the opportunity to make more money. A mutual fund is simply a collection of assets such as stocks, money market instruments or bonds that are purchased by a pool of investors and managed by a professional company.

The mutual fund company has specific objectives as to how they can invest the money they have collected from investors. These details would be found in the prospectus of the mutual fund. Continue reading Pooling Your Money for Higher Returns →

Start Saving Now For Your Retirement

Retirement & Estate Planning, , ,

“I’m 24 years old and I just started working with a small company that doesn’t offer a pension plan. I’m a little worried about this, and I want to start saving on my own. How can I go about investing for my retirement?”

Congrats on taking the initiative to start investing on your own for your retirement. Many Jamaicans put off planning for this big lifestyle change until a few years before they’re ready to retire.

At that point, they usually are a little panic-stricken when they realize that their steady income will cease in a few years, and they don’t have any idea how they are going to replace it.

Continue reading Start Saving Now For Your Retirement →

Christmas Bills Blues

Spending, , , ,

“I spent too much money last Christmas on gifts and parties. I had expected a good bonus cheque which never materialized. Now I’m stuck with over J$60,000 in credit card debt, and I don’t have a clue how I’m going to pay it. Help!”

Christmas is a time when even the most disciplined shoppers throw caution to the wind and reward themselves for a year of frugal living. Those who live to shop go into overdrive and buy all the must-have and must-give items without a thought for January.

You learnt the hard way not to count your chickens before they hatch. In order to be a good money manager you must earn a dollar before you plan to spend that dollar, as spending money that you don’t have will only land you in debt.

Before we try to find ways to get you out this debt, let’s look at the true cost of your Christmas spending spree. You admit that you spent too much money. When you look back at the things you acquired, was it worth it?

Do you even know if your gift-giving was truly appreciated?

Continue reading Christmas Bills Blues →

Steps To Achieving Your Money Goals

Goals, , ,

“I wrote my usual resolutions at the start of the year to make some improvements to my finances, but already I’ve slipped back into some bad habits like buying unnecessary items at the supermarket. It’s one thing to make the resolutions, but how do you actually carry them out successfully?”

The challenge with resolutions is that they are often in direct opposition to your normal behaviour pattern. To achieve your new goals, you will have to break the old, comfortable habits that have prevented your progress, and create new routines for success.

Many times it is very difficult for people to change their lifestyle, even if they know it’s bad for them. As they say, ‘old habits die hard.’

Continue reading Steps To Achieving Your Money Goals →