Tag Archives: Financial Challenges

Multiple Streams of Income

Income Creation, , , , ,

“Then the Lord God planted a garden in Eden in the east, and there he placed the man he had made. A river flowed from the land of Eden, watering the garden and then dividing into four branches.” – Genesis 2: 8, 10 NLT

When it comes to their finances, many people are currently experiencing severe drought conditions. The reservoirs of their bank accounts are running dangerously low, as the constant outflows of money are not being replenished by new inflows of savings. The Jamaican proverb, “Rain a fall, but de dutty tough,” aptly describes the inability of their scattered income showers to nourish their parched budgets.

Some persons whose steady earnings have regularly flowed from their work pipelines, now find their taps painfully dry. Everywhere you look, people are engaged in a desperate search for fresh income sources to meet basic requirements and to store up for the future.

While the drought analogy might be appropriate for the financial challenges that many of us are facing today, remember that money is still in abundant supply even though it might not be obvious in our pockets. Continue reading Multiple Streams of Income →

Using OPT to Earn More

Income Creation, , , ,

One of the biggest financial challenges many persons face today is the need to earn more money to make ends meet and achieve their goals. As most people obtain their incomes by selling their time for dollars, their ability to increase their remuneration is severely limited by the number of hours in a day.

Many employees and self-employed persons neglect to pursue earning options from sources that are not wholly dependent on their physical efforts. They believe that work security lies in their own ability to complete a task and receive a payment for it.

In reality, this is not a very secure way of earning, as circumstances such as pay cuts, job loss or illness can derail expected income.

One solution to this problem is to create a passive income source that pays you repeatedly without your continued personal effort. As your earning potential is not completely dependent on your time, it is easier to make more money to supplement your regular pay cheque and channel excess money to invest in long-term goals. Continue reading Using OPT to Earn More →

Time is of the Essence!

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One of the realities of our current economic climate is that we are now forced to do more with fewer resources at our disposal. While our income loses value every month, our expenses grow almost exponentially. Layoffs and job work-hour cuts are reducing the size of the workforce, yet employees are being asked to produce more in less time.

As we continue to grapple with the financial challenges that this year will bring, it becomes even more crucial to manage the precious resource of our time. I often comfort my clients by explaining that they can always recreate lost wealth; but I can’t give the same guarantee about time because it’s not a renewable resource.

Many of us approach time as if it were an hourglass that will replenish itself with sand once we turn the instrument upside down. The reality is that once we use up all the seconds, minutes and hours in a day, we will never see them again. Continue reading Time is of the Essence! →

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 →