At Grandma’s Jars, I often ask new clients to imagine what life would be like if they were debt free. For a few fleeting moments their whole demeanour would light up as they enthusiastically considered the possibilities and all the things they would like to do with their lives without the burden of debt. But then the spark would disappear squashed by the reality of their situation. The idea of paying off debt, while a nice idea, seems too big a dream to hope for. As a budget coach at Grandma’s Jars, I have come to realise that one of the biggest impediments to people paying off their debt is a lack of genuine belief that it is possible for them.
Getting Financially Fit with a Budget Coach
The power of a coach The only thing that matches my passion for budget coaching is my love of long distance running. Through my twenties and early thirties I spent many weekends competing in half marathons, marathons and cross country races. I loved nothing better than heading off into the bush on a Sunday morning with the dog and good friends for a 30-35km run. While I raced in the NSW Marathon team for a few years at the National Championships and held a couple of course records, I never really fulfilled my potential. I trained too hard, never rested enough, paced myself poorly and spent half the time injured. I often wondered what I could have achieved had I found a good coach that was genuinely interested in me, a coach that understood me, a coach that could help me develop a long term plan and was there to make sure I rested when I needed to rest.
Short Term Loans: It Should Be Illegal
Spend any time with me and you will very quickly understand that I am passionate about helping people develop the skills and habits they need to be successful at managing money and managing debt. Over the past 15 years I have worked with many hundreds of couples and individuals to help them overcome debt and build a strong financial foundation. In short I love what I do and am extremely good at it. I don’t tell you this to ‘toot my own trumpet’ but rather to add weight and perspective to the rest of this blog. Debt management and getting out of debt is never easy but experience has taught me that with perseverance and the right strategy you can pay off credit cards, personal loans, car loans etc a lot faster than you think.
How to Budget on an Uneven Income Part 2: The Penalty Rate Worker
Living on an uneven income does add some complexity to budgeting and managing your expenses, however with the right system and a bit of discipline it does not need to be difficult. In my previous blog I outlined the two broad categories of uneven income as: The Seasonal worker – This sort of income is typical in industries such as farming, sales and tourism where income comes in lumps followed by long periods of little or no income. The Penalty Rate Worker – This type of ‘uneven income’ occurs when you work shift work or in a job that includes overtime penalty rates.