You want to save money, get rid of the credit card debt and hopefully one day buy a house but you have no idea how to make it happen. You have tried budgeting but weren’t sure you were doing it right and every time you felt like you were starting to save money some unexpected expense would blow your budget out of the water. Oh yeah and then there is the whole ‘will power’ and ‘discipline’ thing, you want to save money, you want to eliminate your debt but it is so hard to resist the temptation to spend. If this is you, then perhaps you should consider taking on a budget coach. What’s the point in spending money on a budget coach, if I am trying to save money? Yes, I know it seems counter intuitive to spend money to save money but let’s be honest, how much money did you save last year? How much debt did you pay off last year…… Hmmm For most people the honest answer is a big fat zero and for others it’s “not as much as I should have”. So if this is you it’s time to invest in your future and get …
My Personal Finances are a Mess. I Don’t Even Know Where to Start!
Earlier this week I was meeting with one of my coaching clients. She had done a brilliant job of getting her finances under control and was now wanting to refer a friend, but first wanted to warn me in advance: “She has a good job but her personal finances are a mess, she is living pay cheque to pay cheque, her credit card is maxed, she has student loans and outstanding bills and she just doesn’t know where to start!”
Keeping Your Budget on Track with the End of Month Summary
Just about every client will ask me at some point – what do other people spend on (fill in the blank)? We are all curious about what other people spend on things. We like to be able to benchmark ourselves. Over the next few months I thought I would share with you some real life budgets, along with my thoughts as a financial coach.
What Other People Spend: A Look Into William & Kate’s Budget
Just about every client will ask me at some point – what do other people spend on (fill in the blank)? We are all curious about what other people spend on things. We like to be able to benchmark ourselves. Over the next few months I thought I would share with you some real life budgets, along with my thoughts as a financial coach.
A Budget: The Foundation for Dreams Becoming a Reality
Just after we were married, my wife Lianne and I were fortunate enough to spend some time with a financial advice group. They helped us shape our thinking regarding our finances and our future. Like all young couples, we wanted to be able to travel, buy a home, have a family, for Lianne to be a stay at home Mum, send the kids to good schools and to be debt free as early in life as possible. We knew that being debt free would afford us so many more options in life but to achieve it we would have to be purposeful in the way we managed our finances.
I Don’t Need A Budget – She’ll Be Right Mate!
I’ll admit it, as a financial adviser and budget coach I do tend to manage my finances on the conservative side. I don’t mind taking risks but I take calculated risks. By calculated I mean that when faced with a major financial decision I objectively considered what could go wrong, what I would lose if things did go wrong and weigh this up against what I believe I have to gain.
But a Budget Coach Will Tell Me I Can’t… Or Will They?
One of the biggest concerns people have about taking on a budget coach is that they are fearful that when going through learning how to budget, they will be told they can no longer spend on something that is really important to them. Fortunately, this is rarely ever the case. As a personal budget coach at Grandma’s Jars, my primary concern is not so much what you spend your money on, but how much you spend relative to what you earn. The Golden rule of money management simply states – you cannot spend more than you earn. This is the mantra of every good budget coach.
The Best Time to Start Budgeting
Waiting for the perfect time I love talking to people about budgeting. I know it’s a bit geeky, some would say a bit weird. However, the reality is 15 years of being a budget coach has taught me that a good budget can positively change the course of person’s life forever. Most people know that they should budget and they know they would be better off if they did but for some reason years come and go and, well, it just still hasn’t happened! One of the biggest reasons most people fail to ever get started is that they are waiting for the perfect time to get started. I’ll often hear things such as, I want to start a budget but I am just waiting until – I have started my new job, I have got a pay rise, I have moved out of home, I have finished studying, I have paid off my debt, the kids have started school, I have more time!
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.
What Budget Coaching Is, and What Budget Coaching Isn’t
Over the years we have had a lot of clients tell us that despite being referred to Grandma’s Jars by trusted friends or family they were initially very hesitant to try budget coaching. They knew they could do with some help getting their finances sorted but the idea of sharing intimate details about their spending habits and finances to anyone, let alone a stranger, was very disconcerting. At Grandma’s Jars we understand that talking to a stranger about your finances can be a very difficult thing to do. Admitting we need the help is often the first hurdle but then there is the fear that we will be judged or ridiculed for the financial mess we find ourselves in. In this blog post I want to address some of these concerns or misconceptions by outlining what budget coaching is (and isn’t) at Grandma’s Jars. A Budget Coach Doesn’t Tell You What You Can and Can’t Spend Money On We often find that our clients are initially fearful that by taking on a budget coach they will lose control over what they can and can’t spend their money on – this is not true. The golden rule of money management is …