It’s hard not to become fixated on getting things perfect. It may not be in all areas of our lives, but for almost all of us, we have skills, relationships and responsibilities where we want to show up as perfect. As Dave and Hester Vaughan (yourjourneyforlife.com) often say, “Messy, not perfect!” This is a great […]
Cruise through a cost-of-living crisis
No one likes to plan for a time when we might not have enough money to make ends meet. Often, when we plan or make financial decisions, we assume that our future self will have enough money to pay for the decisions we make today. Sometimes this turns out to be accurate, but sometimes it […]
The importance of boundaries
Every day we make decisions to live a life of our choosing. But yet, when asked about what our ideal life could look like, it’s often quite different from the one we’re living right now. Our decisions link our current life to the life we’d like. With every decision, we’re either establishing a new boundary, […]
From bags to riches
We often think of things like stocks, bonds, mutual funds, annuities and assets as investments. But, investments are a broad area. According to Investopedia, an investment involves putting capital to use today to increase its value over time. An investment requires putting capital to work, in the form of time, money, effort, etc., in hopes […]
Want to avoid a lapsed policy?
When the purse strings are pulled tight, it’s challenging to look at your statement and see monthly amounts deducted for insurance payments. Whether the risk policies are for health care, income protection or the protection of assets, seeing them come off your account can be painful. As a result, many of us cut these policies […]
When you think you can’t
Stress can be an incredibly powerful motivator. Most of the time, we see it as a negative, but that’s because our days are generally overwhelmed with stress. And, our coping skills have evolved to help us survive in environments very different (Cosmides & Tooby, 2013). Our mind protects us from harm and further stress by […]
What’s happening in the markets?… is not always the best question
Whilst it’s good to have someone on your team (your financial adviser) who knows what’s happening in the markets, it’s not always helpful to relay all that information to you and have you make decisions about it. We can’t control the markets, but we can control our conversations about money. That’s why it’s not always […]
It’s okay to listen and learn
Over the last two decades, we’ve been introduced, seduced and held captive by the overwhelming presence of digital communication. From the days when we promised ourselves we would ‘never get emails on our Blackberry’ to an age where we can DM, post, comment, react, share, support, subscribe, pin, tweet, self-publish, sync, stream, webcast, update, upload […]
When the markets have you second-guessing
“Genuine travellers travel not to overcome distance but to discover distance.” James P Carse Investing money is always a paradox: it’s simple, complex, straightforward, challenging, mathematical, and unpredictable. It’s because of our emotional influence that plays a significant role in every decision we make. When investing in the markets, many have said it’s all about […]
The Superman Syndrome
Have you ever watched a superhero movie where they show the origin story of the hero? It’s often a journey of going from ordinary and wanting so much more, to being extra-ordinary and not being able to cope with all of the responsibility. A sense of overwhelming obligation can both distract and dilute the hero […]