Category Archives: Spending

Getting The Most Out Of Your Money

Budgeting, Spending, , , , , , , ,

We have been discussing the concept of lean production and how its principles of efficient use of resources can be applied to your finances. Lean refers to a system of manufacturing which was pioneered by auto makers Toyota, which has helped to make the company very profitable.

One of the components of lean production is the elimination of wasteful practices in the process of creating a product or service for sale. There’s a lot to be gained from adopting the lean philosophy in your personal, professional and financial life, if you want to be successful with your own goals.

Last week we looked at getting lean with your most precious resource — your time — by becoming more productive at work, getting the most out of your commuting time, using technology to improve your output, and making the right choices when spending your time to generate an income. Continue reading Getting The Most Out Of Your Money →

‘Twas The Day After Christmas

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‘Twas the day after Christmas, when all through the house,
Not a person was stirring, not even my spouse;
Scattered all ‘round the tree were torn paper and bows;
Discarded wrapping for the gifts, from toys to clothes.

My loved ones were nestled all snugly in their beds,
While visions of nice presents danced in their heads;
For me, sweet sleep was elusive throughout the night,
And day’s break only brought my fears into the light.

I had spared no expense in giving my family the best;
But now, reality hit like piercing steel to my chest;
With all the bills and debts set to meet me next week,
My financial future was looking desperate and bleak.

My twist on Clement Clarke Moore’s classic Christmas poem, A Visit from St. Nicholas, reflects the situation that many people may face after the excesses of the holiday season. Once the frenzied pre-Christmas splurging is over, they soon begin to regret some of the financial choices they made. Continue reading ‘Twas The Day After Christmas →

Christmas Spending Recipe

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Whether you’re ready for it or not, the yuletide season is now in full swing. Merchandisers persistently and persuasively remind us how much we really need to buy their products or services if we want to enjoy the holidays. Christmas is, after all, the major shopping period for the year.

It’s easy to get caught up in the wave of consumerism that engulfs us during at this time. With so many demands on your spending dollar during this month, you may feel overwhelmed by the pressures to spend, and frustrated if you don’t have enough money to satisfy all your desires.

You could develop a Scrooge complex and just hide away from the frenzy until early next year, but there are more sociable ways to cope with the seasonal shopping stresses. Here is a Christmas spending recipe which should help you to survive the holidays with your budget and sanity intact. Continue reading Christmas Spending Recipe →

More Money: Get Paid to Shop

Income Creation, Spending, , , , ,

Many people are feeling a tight squeeze on their pockets as their spending power decreases in line with the increasing cost of goods and services. Unfortunately, most of us don’t have incomes that automatically adjust to inflation, so it means that what we earn can buy fewer items each month. How can we maintain our standard of living in light of this reality?

To stay on top of rising costs, you need to create a budget plan for the year and track your expenses every month. When you consistently record your actual spending, you will quickly be able to ascertain when your bills start to increase. You can download a budget plan with a monthly tracking spreadsheet at www.financiallysmart.org.

Rebalancing your budget

When the expenditure side of your budget goes up, your first strategy is to try and rebalance it by cutting back on other costs. Apply conservation strategies to reduce your utility bills, plan your driving routes to use less petrol, and make drastic reductions on non-essential expenses such as cable TV, fast-food restaurants and mobile phone calls. Continue reading More Money: Get Paid to Shop →

Money Mission: Curb Careless Consumption

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All too soon, the month of December is upon us, and many people are busy making preparations for various kinds of seasonal festivities. If gift exchanges, holiday events, party clothes, lavish decorations, and Christmas feasts are part of your plans at this time, it means you could be spending a lot of extra money this month.

In light of the current financial challenges being faced by the country and its citizens, we need to be very cautious when it comes to our spending choices. At the risk of sounding like the Grinch who stole Christmas, the reality is that this is not really the best time to be engaged in too much frivolous spending.

With 2013 promising uncertainty in many areas of national life, it makes sense for us to adopt a more prudent approach to what we do with our money. The possibility of more job layoffs, the depreciating Jamaican dollar and the ever-shifting date for a final IMF agreement are only some of the worrying signs on the economic horizon. Continue reading Money Mission: Curb Careless Consumption →

Money Alternatives

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A concern expressed by many people in these challenging economic times is that they just don’t have enough money to take care of their needs. While the supermarket tabs and the utility bills are constantly rising, the income amount remains static. It may therefore be difficult for the average person to find practical ways to get more money to offset this perpetual shortfall.

It seems that our lives are consumed by the never-ending pursuit of money. Employees work at jobs they dislike to receive a pay cheque; business owners sacrifice family and leisure time to increase profits; dishonest persons design schemes to acquire ill-gotten gains; and the authorities raise taxes to increase the flow into government’s coffers.

This financial reality led me to consider our need for money. The quotation from the hit musical Cabaret, “money makes the world go ’round” is very appropriate, as it almost feels like the Earth would grind to a screeching halt without the fuel of funds to keep it moving. How did money become such a central and indispensable part of our existence? Continue reading Money Alternatives →

Money Mission: Reduce, Reuse, Repair, Recycle

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In today’s economy, many consumer products are made to be disposable. Gone are the days when you could buy an item that could be used for several years or even passed down through generations.

It seems that some goods are designed to last for a specific time; once they have reached that point, an internal self-destruct feature is activated and they suddenly stop working.

Manufacturers recognise that one of the keys to sustainable profits is to create products that their customers will consume quickly and purchase again. So, even though their offerings are made to the highest standards and are built to last, some marketers will continually release new versions of their ‘must-have’ items to ensure that consumers discard the old for the new. Continue reading Money Mission: Reduce, Reuse, Repair, Recycle →

Six questions to ask before you spend

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I recently had a heart-warming conversation with a reader who lives in the inner-city community of Trench Town, in Kingston Jamaica. I met Nicolini Williams two years ago when he participated in a financial literacy training I was offering to members of the Miracle Club, the youth mentorship arm of the Agency for Inner-city Renewal based in that area.

Now a first-year law student, this brilliant young man shared with me how much he had gained from learning the principles of money success. Williams explained that he had not grown up in a home where financial management was taught or even mentioned, and consequently, he often squandered money on unnecessary items.

After being exposed to new concepts about smart financial habits, Williams was able to identify his negative attitudes and actions regarding money. He realised that if he continued to seek more information about success principles and applied what he had learned, he could eventually break free from his financial problems. Continue reading Six questions to ask before you spend →

Can You Invest By Shopping?

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We have recently been discussing the concept of investing, which involves putting money into a venture with the expectation of making a profit. Whether you invest in financial securities, property or a business, the general idea is that you decide to forgo spending money in the present, in order to secure some benefit in the future.

Many people will admit that they find it difficult to invest, as they would prefer to get the instant gratification of spending money than waiting to reap a potential reward in the long term. Why invest and risk your money, they think, when you can buy something right away and enjoy the fruits of your labour immediately?

Some time ago, a reader e-mailed me about the concept of investing versus spending. He introduced a simple but thought-provoking idea — What if more people were to say, “I invested my money on an item instead of I spent my money on it”, would that encourage them to make wiser spending choices? Continue reading Can You Invest By Shopping? →

Smart Spending for Savvy Shoppers

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How can words adequately describe the high that comes from shopping with genuine abandon? The surge of energy while speeding on a roller coaster ride, the enthusiasm of winning a hard-fought race, even the excitement of a first love can sometimes pale in comparison to the adrenaline rush that a serious shopaholic experiences upon seeing a sale sign in a favourite store.

Thanks to our challenging economy, the joy of carefree spending has been drastically curtailed for many consumers. Stringent budgets and limited disposable incomes have forced many former fashionistas to turn away from their favourite pastime and focus their spending on the bare necessities of life.

While prudence might dictate that in tough times it’s financially wiser to choose between fresh or canned vegetables instead of the new red or black shoes in the department store, decreased consumer spending on non-essentials actually has a negative effect on the livelihood of many business owners. Continue reading Smart Spending for Savvy Shoppers →