Creating Equity With Your Work

Business Success, Income Creation, , , , , ,

Marcus was elated when he opened the email from his client. His proposal to create the new brand images for the company had been accepted, and he was looking forward to working on the contract. This job, his most lucrative assignment to date, would help him to overcome some financial difficulties.

Marcus was consumed with designing various elements of his client’s marketing material; spending long hours conceiving the corporate images that would give the company an updated, modern image. He devoted all of his time and work effort into the creative process as he wanted to excel at the task.

Although he had bargained that the project would have been completed in six weeks, the adjustments requested by the company extended the time to three months. While Marcus was happy with the cash inflow from this big client, he realised that the amount of work he did was not reflected in his final bill. Continue reading Creating Equity With Your Work →

Profiting from Solving Problems

Income Creation, , , , , , ,

As a money coach, I frequently get asked the question, “What can I do to make some extra cash?” Currently, a lot of Jamaicans are admitting that they are suffering from the effects of the economic crunch, and that they are looking for simple and practical ideas to help them increase their earnings.

Some persons can effortlessly think of money-making ventures, and they are always seen selling some type of product or service to their peers. Most people, however, often find it difficult to envision themselves doing anything outside of their regular jobs to earn extra income.

The good news is that creating independent income is a money skill that you can acquire, just like budgeting or investing. Once you are determined to learn the steps required, you can eventually become quite efficient at the process of generating extra money whenever you need to. Continue reading Profiting from Solving Problems →

Honesty Is The Best Money Policy

Money Reflections, , , , , ,

“Speak the truth and speak it ever, cost it what it will.
He who hides the wrong he did does the wrong thing still.”
— Children’s memory gem

Many of us adults may have vivid memories of being taught the importance of speaking the truth and being honest at all times, back when we were children. Parents and teachers alike drummed it into us that we should never tell lies, even if we thought that we would be punished for some wrongdoing.

Despite the reinforcement that we received about this critical life lesson, I’m sure that some of us will also remember those times when we ignored the warnings about honesty. The fear of getting into trouble was often too strong to allow us to freely admit to our sins and shortcomings.

There were probably occasions when we thought we had gotten away with telling lies. Perhaps no one saw us break the plate or take the last dumpling off the stove, so we believed that our secret would remain hidden forever. No doubt our shrewd caregivers would have corrected that idea in due course! Continue reading Honesty Is The Best Money Policy →

Earning With Your Creativity

Income Creation, , , , , , , ,

As we start the second half of 2014, I would like to encourage all of you to look at ways in which you can create your own income, instead of just depending on what a job income can provide. While you don’t have to run a full-time business, you can definitely try to earn extra cash in your spare time.

One way to start a profitable part-time enterprise is to use your creativity and natural abilities to provide a product or service for sale. Let’s look at some of the steps that are involved in tapping into your talents in order to generate more money.

Assess your skills

The first thing you need to do is take a comprehensive look at some of your talents that may currently be underutilised. Your God-given gifts are not limited to artistic leanings such as singing, dancing or painting. Very often, your natural tendencies or traits contain clues to very marketable skills. Continue reading Earning With Your Creativity →

Money Musings: The Power of Teamwork

Financial Literacy, Money Reflections, , , , , , , , ,

The FIFA 2014 World Cup is in full swing and millions of people across the world are being entertained by the excellent football matches being played. I enjoy watching competitive sport, and have been fascinated by the dominance of smaller football nations over their more established counterparts.

The brilliance of star strikers from teams such as Spain and Portugal has been dulled by the exploits of the not-so-favourite sides like Costa Rica and Chile. I observed that it was often very difficult for the top teams to get the better of a band of players who were performing together like a well-oiled machine.

As I marvelled at this showcase of sporting teamwork, I reflected that we all could benefit from the help of others when we are trying to accomplish our goals. Instead of attempting to advance solely by ourselves, it might be useful to get the assistance of a supportive team in order to achieve our objectives.

Just like a football squad which is made up of players with different responsibilities, you might need to assemble a group of friends and professionals who can help you in various ways to further your goals. Let’s look at some of the possible members who might comprise your personal finance team. Continue reading Money Musings: The Power of Teamwork →

Profiting From Helping People

Business Success, Income Creation, , , , , , ,

One strategy to generate extra income for yourself is to find ways to solve people’s challenging issues, and package your product or service appropriately to meet their needs. Most persons will be only too happy to pay for a well-needed solution to their painful problems.

However, there are occasions where you may have created the perfect answer for a difficulty faced by many people, but find that they are not as willing as you thought they would be to pay for it. This situation can be very frustrating for entrepreneurs who believe in the benefits of their offerings.

No profits for a problem-solver
There are several reasons why persons may be reluctant to give money for solutions to their problems. They may genuinely not be in a position to afford the product or service, no matter how useful it is. This is the case in the medical arena, as the high cost prohibits people for partaking in needed items. Continue reading Profiting From Helping People →

How to Earn More to Balance Your Budget

Budgeting, Income Creation, , , , , , , ,

Many people feel intimidated by the thought of having to do something outside of their regular job to create more cash to pay bills or save more for the future. However, like any other money skill, you can learn the simple steps that are required to generate income independent of your employer.

Preparing a comprehensive budget is the first step in the process of increasing your earnings, as you need to have a realistic target of how much money is required to meet your needs. You can download a budget at www.financiallysmart.org which will allow you to input all your bills and income sources.

After using your budget to calculate the exact amount of your shortfall of income over expenses, you need to break down that monthly amount into a weekly or daily figure that will be easier for you to work with. Therefore, if your monthly deficit is J$24,000, your daily income need would be about J$800. Continue reading How to Earn More to Balance Your Budget →

When Your Budget Goes Awry

Budgeting, Income Creation, Spending, , , , , , , ,

Caroline looked at the Excel spreadsheet on her computer with increasing dismay. “Just three months ago I was able to balance my budget, but now I’m short again by over J$15,000,” she grumbled to herself. “No matter how hard I try, I just can’t seem to keep up with my expenses.”

She reflected on all the developments that had occurred in her life in the preceding months. Her grandmother, with whom she was raised, had fallen seriously ill. As her only relative, Caroline had taken on the task of caring for her, which had thrown her once tightly controlled budget into disorder.

Having another person in the house meant increased utility costs, and she needed to hire a housekeeper to help with the extra cleaning needs. In addition, she had to buy her grandmother’s costly medicines and pay for her doctors’ appointments without the benefit of health insurance coverage.

Initially, Caroline used her credit card to cover some of the pharmacy bills, but after two months she realised that she was having challenges clearing the card balance. After consolidating several loans over a year ago, she was now desperately worried that she was headed back into debt problems. Continue reading When Your Budget Goes Awry →

Letting Go Financially

Business Success, Debt, Goals, Investing, , , , , , ,

Last week we looked at the value of exhibiting patience when making important financial decisions. You need to be prudent with your spending and debt choices, and you should give yourself enough time to get the best results from your efforts in saving, investing and creating wealth.

While it’s advisable to stay on course with your financial goals and allow time to work in your favour, there are instances when you actually need to move quickly to get rid of unhealthy money habits or reverse unwise decisions you may have made.

When you commit to a specific financial route, you may not be certain if you should hold on because you made the right choice, or if your results indicate that you should change direction. Let’s look at some situations in which it’s time to cut loose and ‘wheel and come again,’ as we say in Jamaica. Continue reading Letting Go Financially →

Patience is a Financial Virtue

Money & Your Mind, , , , , , ,

Modern society is characterised by fast-paced technology which allows us to enjoy Google searches, Twitter updates and ready-to-eat meals. Today, it seems that patience has become passé; who wants to wait for anything in this age of instant gratification?

Patience, one of the seven heavenly virtues, is the ability to accept delays in the desired timing of an event, or the capacity to endure problems without anxiety. Patience really requires you to take a passive approach while you allow nature or destiny to take its course.

When it comes to money, it could be argued that patience indicates weakness, as we should be fiercely ambitious in going after our financial goals. However, patience is an important trait to have if you want to succeed with money; without it you may actually be sabotaging your dreams. Continue reading Patience is a Financial Virtue →