Tag Archives: personal finance

Business Owners, Watch Your Cash Flow!

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Ambitious entrepreneurs will have the desire to achieve financial success by operating a business. However, the process of accomplishing this lofty objective is not a simple one. There are so many dynamics that need to be in place before running a business can lead to lasting wealth.

Statistics show that there is a high failure rate for new enterprises, and those that make it past the five-year mark may still find it difficult to attain and maintain profitability. Entrepreneurs have to be skilled in certain technical and theoretical disciplines in order to properly manage their businesses.

One of the critical skills that are often ignored or under-appreciated by many business persons is the ability to carry out fundamental accounting tasks. Some entrepreneurs believe that once they are experts in their fields of endeavour or they are good at doing sales, their businesses will flourish. Continue reading Business Owners, Watch Your Cash Flow! →

Personal Budgeting for Business Owners

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Most business owners and self-employed persons spend long hours making plans for, and carrying out the activities required to run their enterprises. It takes a labour of love to develop a successful small business, very often at the expense of the owner’s recreation and rest time.

Dedicated entrepreneurs will pour their hearts and souls into their businesses, hoping to build an entity that will help them to attain personal and financial freedom. Sadly, many start-up enterprises will not survive past their second anniversary, as there is a high failure rate for this group.

Not a get-rich-quick scheme

It takes more than having a great idea and determination to succeed in business, as it’s vital to pay attention to financial details such as costs, cash flow and profit margins. Many entrepreneurs also neglect to take their personal spending needs into consideration when operating their businesses. Continue reading Personal Budgeting for Business Owners →

The Stress-free Way to Pay Your Taxes

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It’s tax time in Jamaica, and many business owners and self-employed persons are putting things in place to fulfill their annual tax obligations. March 15 is the deadline for these persons to file several tax returns and remit payments to Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ).

For those who follow proper accounting practices in their business operations, this annual tax period may not bring on too much anxiety. Once business people keep their records up to date with simple bookkeeping systems, giving the Government its due should not be an problem.

However, for the large number of entrepreneurs who fail to utilise basic accounting procedures, tax time will definitely present a major headache. The last thing business owners need is the threat of having the tax authorities investigating their operations! Continue reading The Stress-free Way to Pay Your Taxes →

Money Musings: You Can Never Be Too Rich to Fail

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Recently, there was a news report that a ticket bought in California had won the sixth highest lottery jackpot in the United States, earning approximately US$425 million in the process. The Powerball winner would net just over half that figure if he or she opted to take home a lump sum.

It would be easy to think that this sudden windfall of money would make the recipient financially secure for life. However, there are myriad stories of other big lottery winners who squandered their riches in record time and had little to show for their good fortune after a few years.

Many people believe that if they could earn a large enough sum of money, whether through lady luck or in their regular job or business income, then they would never have to worry about money again. Once their cash inflow is significant, they think that they can live their dream lives forever. Continue reading Money Musings: You Can Never Be Too Rich to Fail →

8 Years of Managing, Multiplying and Maintaining Money

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February 27, 2014 marked the 8th anniversary since I started to write all about the 3 M’s of Money. It has been my pleasure to share my thoughts, ideas and knowledge with my readers over the years.

Many of you have emailed me with your money problems and concerns and I hope that my advice has been helpful. A few of my readers have even become business colleagues or treasured friends.

The great news is that my LONG-awaited book, The 3 M’s of Money: How to Manage, Multiply and Maintain Your Money is just about complete!

It has been a labour of love writing this story, as it not only represents all I know about the topic, but it gives you a personal insight into my eventful journey of discovery about money. I have not spared any details as I recollected all the mistakes and miscalculations I made with money.

I hope that you all will be encouraged that no matter the state of your finances today, it is possible to make a fresh start and become financially smart.

Keep reading to find out when the final publication will be ready!

Four Things You Need to Know Before You Invest

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We have recently been looking at the importance of developing your financial savvy. Ignorance about money matters can cause you to struggle to meet your current financial needs, and may also prevent you from making the best use of your funds to build your wealth.

Investing – the process of putting money to productive use with the expectation of making a profit – is a vital money skill for anyone who wishes to accomplish more out of life than just paying bills. If you don’t know how to invest, it will be difficult for you to earn enough money to live your dream lifestyle.

If you try to invest without understanding the process, you may also make poor investment choices. Investing in ignorance can be detrimental to your finances; you may overlook lucrative opportunities or lose your money. Let’s look at four things that you need to consider before you start investing. Continue reading Four Things You Need to Know Before You Invest →

Five Things You Need to Know About Borrowing

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It’s important for you to be well informed about various issues that can affect your money. When it comes to your finances, ignorance can be very expensive. Borrowing money comes with a cost, and there are many considerations that you need to think about before you take on debt.

Why do you want to borrow?

Prior to making any borrowing decisions, you need to be honest about the reasons why you think you need a loan in the first place. Do you choose to buy consumer items on credit just because you want to get them right away, or are you using loans to help you meet your monthly bills?

It’s best to avoid borrowing to satisfy immediate gratification desires or support budget shortfalls. In the first case, you will make unnecessary interest payments because you lacked the discipline to save for what you want, while the second reason will throw you into a never-ending cycle of debt. Continue reading Five Things You Need to Know About Borrowing →

A Long and Lasting Financial Love

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Love is in the air, as many people become preoccupied with romantic thoughts when Valentine’s Day approaches. While love connections may be foremost on our minds at this time, we can also consider another important relationship that we all should enjoy – the one with our money.

A personal relationship requires understanding, respect and dedication to survive the test of time. Similarly, you need to develop a healthy rapport with your money if you wish to be financially successful. Let’s look at some tips that will help you to have a long and lasting money relationship. Continue reading A Long and Lasting Financial Love →

Money Musings: What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You Financially

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I recently read a report about an entrepreneur who was being sued for non-compliance to a business contract. Apparently the deal contained specific delivery terms for the product that was being sold, and the business owner failed to provide the goods within the agreed time.

This time delay resulted in the customer losing a lucrative partnership, and the negligent business owner was taken to court to obtain damages. The defendant admitted that he was not aware of the time stipulation, and declared that he would not have signed the contract if had he known about it.

What the business owner didn’t know ended up costing him a significant sum, as he was deemed liable to pay for his customer’s losses. This case made me think that there are many occasions in which we can suffer financially because of what we don’t know. Continue reading Money Musings: What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You Financially →

Continuous Improvement is Key to Money Success

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It’s incredible that an entire month in 2014 is almost finished! The swift passing of time reinforces how important it is to stop procrastinating and get focused on your goals. Before you know it, this year will be over and you might be no closer to accomplishing all your optimistic resolutions.

If you want 2014 to be different from other unfulfilled years, you need to stop writing long wish lists and start working on realising your dreams. As we have been discussing over the past weeks, your aim must be to become efficient in actualising your personal, professional and financial objectives.

We have recently shared a lot of information about how lean production, a manufacturing system developed by Toyota, can help you to improve your finances. With its focus on eliminating wasteful practices, the lean way of life can be very instrumental in helping you achieve your goals. Continue reading Continuous Improvement is Key to Money Success →