I recently had the privilege to run a couple of webinars on ‘the principles of money management’ for a group of young parents. At the end of each of these sessions we had a wonderful period of question and answers that went for longer than the formal presentation itself did. There were a couple of recurring themes in the questions being asked so I thought it would be worthwhile sharing the answers I gave to these questions via a series of blogs.
Instead of New Year’s Resolutions, Focus on Habits and Behaviours
For the past month I have been saying to the kids each morning, “I wonder what we were doing this time last year?” For the McGilvray family, this time last year marked the last day of a magical white Christmas holiday in the UK and Europe. The holiday had been years in the planning and a well-earned reward for finally having our home loan paid off!
The Gift To NOT Give This Christmas
Like most blokes, I have something of a phobia when it comes to shopping. Don’t get me wrong, I like buying stuff, I just hate going to the shops! Oftentimes that same sentiment around Christmas leads people to the quick and convenient solution – buying a gift card – but this is the gift you should avoid giving this Christmas! It might be nice for the convenience, but it’s bad on the budget. Let’s explore what we can do instead, to ensure your budget stays on track this Christmas.
Money Management: Is Your Spending Out Of Whack With Your Priorities?
I love this image because it we all know people whose consistently waste money on stuff they don’t need and then cry poor when it comes to paying for the things they really do need.
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.
Seven Steps To A Debt Free Life
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.
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.
Mortgage Advice for Young Couples Part 3: The Best Home Loan Structure
In the first blog in this series, Mortgage Advice for Young Couples Part 1: How Much Do We Need to Save For a House?, I provided an overview of how much you need to save before buying a house and outlined all the costs you need to consider. In this second blog, Mortgage Advice for Young Couples Part 2: How Much Can We Afford to Spend on a House?, I outlined the process I use with all my clients to help them identify how much they can afford to spend on a house.
The Ideal Bank Account Structure for your Budget
Before I take on a new coaching client, I let them know that there are three rules to coaching that I need them to agree to before we get started. The first and most important of these rules is that they agree to do whatever I ask them to do, even if it doesn’t make sense at the time. Experience has taught us that you can’t half do a budget; you can’t just pick the bits that are comfortable and easy to follow and leave the bits that are time-consuming or difficult to implement.
How to Budget on an Uneven Income Part 1: The Seasonal Worker
Living on an uneven income does add some complexity to budgeting however with the right system and a bit of discipline it does not need to be difficult. Uneven incomes can be broken into the following two categories: