Tag Archives: Jamaica

A Stitch In Time

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It ‘s amazing how a few minutes’ time delay can make a major difference to an entire day. This realisation struck me on a recent bus trip to the country. The driver of the vehicle turned up about 15 minutes late for work, and in his attempt to make up for lost time, he exceeded the speed limit and was stopped by the highway police.

The driver ended up delaying his journey by several more minutes and received a traffic ticket to add to his troubles. When we finally reached our destination he admitted to his team member that every time he was a little late he got caught by the police! As I left the bus, I reflected on the fact that lost time can also multiply problems in our financial lives.

One of the biggest financial misconceptions that many of us entertain is the belief that we have all the time in the world to do the right things with our money. When we spend our money frivolously or procrastinate on taking action on our goals, we usually think that we will be just fine if we save later or start working on our plans at another time. Continue reading A Stitch In Time →

Four Strategies To Achieve Your Goals

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“If a man wants his dream to come true, he must first wake up.” — Author unknown

Last week we looked at five universal laws that govern the process of goal achievement. The path to achieving your financial goals can become a little easier if you know exactly what is required to move from dream to reality. Let’s look at four things that you need to know in order to attain your objectives:

Know what you want

When you get up in the morning, do you have a vivid picture of what you want to accomplish for the day? When you rest your head at night, do you think about the things you want to do tomorrow that will take you one step further in your life’s journey? Or do you merely live each day without a conscious thought about what you are working to achieve?

One of the main reasons many persons never attain any major goals is that they don’t know what they want out of life. Personal achievement guru Brian Tracy confirms that the three keys to accomplishment are ‘clarity, clarity, clarity’. Having a specific intention about what is important to you is the first step in the goal-setting process. Continue reading Four Strategies To Achieve Your Goals →

Five Laws of Financial Success

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If you’re trying to achieve a major financial goal, sometimes your journey may seem like a meandering obstacle course with no clear sign of the finish line. Although you try your best to create a better life, it seems that something always happens to throw off your plans. Why, you may ask yourself, does it have to be so hard to get ahead?

Many times persons struggle to succeed and eventually give up on their dreams because they are unaware of the process of achievement. If more persons understood exactly what was required to get what they wanted in life, then they would be more inclined to persevere until they were successful.

If you want to accomplish your goals, it is essential for you to learn about the universal laws that govern human behaviour and achievement. There are laws of nature that control our lives, whether we are aware of them or not. Unlike man-made laws that can be broken, you can never escape the effects of natural laws which work all the time, without fail. Continue reading Five Laws of Financial Success →

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 →

Investing By Owning Shares – Returns and Risks

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Last week we looked at stock investments, explaining that this option provides persons with the opportunity of buying ownership into a company. Let’s now outline the ways in which you can make money by investing in shares, while highlighting some of the possible risks.

When you invest in stocks, there are two main strategies that you can employ to make a profit. You can choose to hold the stocks over time and reap the benefits that come with share ownership, or decide to buy and sell the stocks to receive trading gains. To be successful in either method, it’s best to learn more about stocks with the help of professional advisors.

Sharing the profit Continue reading Investing By Owning Shares – Returns and Risks →

Investing by owning shares

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As things get tighter economically, more people are eager to find out how they can invest their money to create wealth. They realise that their dreams and goals will be difficult to attain if they depend solely on their job income. Investing can be a ticket to financial freedom for those who are willing to learn and abide by the correct principles.

There are several different ways to invest, and it can be easy to get confused about the various options. One investment type that may seem a little mysterious to the average person is the stock market. I often get questions from readers who want to understand more about stocks and how they can use them to make money.

Let’s examine how stocks operate and clarify how this method of investing may be able to help you to achieve your financial objectives. Continue reading Investing by owning shares →

Investing by Lending Money – Returns and Risks

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To be a truly successful investor, it’s important to understand the nature of any investment that you wish to undertake; by knowing how it can increase in value or supply an income, recognising the level of risks that the investment may bring, and ensuring that the investment type is ideally matched with your financial objectives.

Last week we discussed ways to invest by lending money in the financial markets. As we explained, large corporations, financial institutions and governments can create investments that allow them to borrow money from the investing public for their short-term financing needs or long-term capital requirements. Continue reading Investing by Lending Money – Returns and Risks →

Investing By Lending Money

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When you work, you are supplying something of value which could be your time, talent or products. In exchange for your efforts, your employer or customers are willing to pay you money.

When you invest, you are actually making your money work for you; it’s as if you found a job for your money. The person or entity with which you place your investment pays for the use of your money.

There are myriad ways to invest money, but many persons fail to take advantage of them because they are intimidated by the complexities of investing. When it comes to investments, there are terminologies and procedures that you must learn just like any subject that is taught in school. Continue reading Investing By Lending Money →

The Emotions of Money

Money & Your Mind, , , , ,

When we want to find out about what it takes to be financially smart, we often focus on the practical aspects of money such as budgeting, saving, investing and planning for our financial goals. It makes sense to think that if we learn and apply all the right financial principles, then we should be well equipped to become successful with money.

However, very often we forget to consider the effects that the psychological side of money may have on our results. The cold, hard facts of bank balances, expense figures, interest rates and growth targets are not the only determinants of money success; our emotions surrounding our finances also play an essential role.

About five years ago I attended a financial seminar called the Millionaire Mind Intensive, which promised to transform the way people thought about money. The major premise of the event was that by exposing any negative underlying feelings about money and replacing them with positive emotions, you would be better able to carry out the tasks necessary for financial achievement. Continue reading The Emotions of Money →