Financial Conditioning for Financial Freedom

You have achieved financial freedom when you have sufficient passive income to support your lifestyle and you work because you choose to, not because you have to.

There are many "ordinary" people who enjoy financial freedom, and you can be among them. But it might not be a comfortable process getting there. A lot depends on your financial conditioning.

You might have to change some beliefs and actions that are familiar to you now and feel like they are based in an objective reality, when in fact, there is no such thing. A belief is just a thought you keep thinking. Beliefs can change, and so can your opinion about what is real and what is possible.

The financial conditioning for the majority of people goes something like this:

* Go to work for a stable company and you will have job security.

* Work hard and you will earn a fair income.

* Avoid debt because all debt is bad.

* Minimize spending and put your money into savings.

* Focus on funding your retirement. Retirement planning should pay a fraction of what you made during your working years.

If these money statements sound familiar - even if they don't ring true, or make sense - then your financial conditioning needs revision in order for you to achieve financial freedom. For starters, rather than planning for retirement, how about planning for wealth?

First step: know exactly where you are right now- your net worth as of today. List all your assets, from cash on hand to retirement to home equity. List all your liabilities, from mortgage to credit card to student loans.

When you find the difference between your assets and liabilities, you know your net worth.

Next step: know your cash flow. Itemize your income and expenses. (By the way, the mortgage on your house is a liability; a monthly mortgage payment is an expense).

When you find the difference between income and expenses, you know your cash flow.

Once you know your net worth and your cash flow, you have a financial baseline from which to launch your financial freedom plan.

[A little incentive for you to do your financial baseline: most people tell me that when they do this inventory, they find money they didn't realize they had. Years ago, when I first did my financial baseline, I found papers for a fund worth about $7000 that I had from an early employer. I had forgotten about it when I left the company and moved to another city.]

The plan for financial freedom that you design involves sequencing, or doing the right thing at the right time, and there is no formula for that. It depends on your particular situation. But in general, you want to start with a focus on creating cash - not on paying down debt.

Let me emphasize this because it is the opposite of the way most people think. Most people think they have to get debt-free first. And yes, eventually, you want to be consumer debt-free, but that might not be your best first move. Your best first move is to figure out a way to create more cash.

Think like a wealth builder. How can you take your existing skill set and leverage it? What could you do right now to make an extra $50 or $100 or $500 dollars a day?

Focus your attention on creating more cash, and then your next move toward financial freedom will become apparent. It might be a matter of paying down debt, might be a tax strategy, might be an investment plan. But for the present, increase your income. After figuring out your baseline, it's the next logical step.

Lila Norden is a business and financial consultant. Lila offers valuable information to help you make decisions about your business growth and financial development. Visit Lila's web site FCI Money.
Additional articles by Lila are also at Yes Investing and F-Com Finances.

[tags]wealth,finances,money,income,business,financial,success,wealth building,debt,financial freedom[/tags]

Financial Alchemy How to Be a Money Magnet

Your current financial situation is a direct reflection of your inner relationship with Money. If you don’t like your finances, something needs to change in your relationship. This is where Alchemy comes in.

Alchemy is the art of transformation. With roots in ancient Egypt and classical Greece, Alchemy comes from a time when there was no distinction between science and magic. The mysteries of matter and consciousness were inextricably linked (as they are again, in today’s quantum physics). These ancient studies gave birth to modern medicine, psychology, chemistry, and even Sir Isaac Newton’s work on gravity.

The ultimate pursuit of Alchemy was the “Philosophers’ Stone,” a substance believed to turn worthless metals into gold. While Alchemists through the ages slaved in the laboratory, their metalwork concealed a spiritual process, a Philosophers’ Stone which had to be kept hidden from the Church: this was the process of inner transformation. Two principles are involved here: 1) turning lead into gold was an outer demonstration of inner transformation, and 2) the seed of the solution (the gold) was hidden in the problem (the lead). I invite you to use this chapter to discover your own Philosophers’ Stone—your key to wealth and inner transformation—hidden in your relationship with Money.

Before we proceed, let’s review some guidelines I adapted from Alchemist tradition:

Rule #1: As it is above, so it is below.

What shows up in your head is going to show up in your life. This chapter will be using fundamental Relationship Coaching skills to help you transform your relationship with money from a dead seed into a flowering garden. A seed comes to life as a living, thriving, fruit-flowering plant…in the right environment. So, too, your own prosperity. Your potential for financial abundance is there, waiting for the necessary environment within you. Your relationship with money is like the soil that feeds or starves your economic growth. As long as you have hidden beliefs that cause you to unconsciously repel money, perhaps “protect” yourself from wealth, your garden will not grow.

Rule #2: There is no scarcity.

A wealthy client once explained to me how he had overcome poverty. “The amount of money out there in play every day is limitless, beyond our comprehension. Money is everywhere,“ he explained. And it’s available in proportion to “how big your funnel is to take it in.” He had learned to tap into the Source. This relationship supported him.

Rule #3: Consciousness gives you choice.

I assert even a small change in your relationship consciousness can have a huge impact on your material life. You get what you choose, but first you need to know what you’re choosing. How do I know this? I experienced this transformation myself.

My story:

For years I was struggling as a life coach. I had trouble attracting clients who would pay the fee I wanted. I found myself avoiding discussions of money as long as I could. The whole subject embarrassed me, and my discomfort translated into making clients uncomfortable too. I was "doing" all the right marketing things--networking, newsletters, sample sessions--and getting nowhere. I was not making a “grown-up” living.
What was in my way, I wondered? My coach and I took a look at my relationship with Money. What were my stories about Money? What is this entity I'm in relationship with? What's going on with this relationship?

Two discoveries popped out: money didn't feel safe or reliable, and money caused separation. (My family would swing between being rich and poor over and over again, and money was a "reason" for family members not to talk to each other for decades.) If my experience of money were given personhood, he'd look like an unkempt, unappealing, Hell's Angel biker type I didn't want to be around...someone untrustworthy who liked to cause fights. No wonder I wasn't bringing Money into my life!
This was not the relationship with Money I wanted to have. (And it wasn't the relationship I wanted to model for my clients either.) So I created a new paradigm. I fired the Biker persona and put a romantic, clean-cut, soft-spoken suitor in his place. I chose a new Money "person" to relate to. This Money was like a sweet boyfriend who wooed me with gifts. He even wore a tux! Whenever I received a check, signed a new client, came across some unexpected income, I would graciously thank Money for the lovely gift. And this version of Money was valued and invited into my life.

From then on my business and income kept growing. Within six months I had accrued such a waiting list of clients that I had to add group coaching to my services. I didn’t have to look for my new clients; they were finding me. And all I had changed was my inner dialogue with money.

Now it’s your turn:

If you want to improve your financial situation, you must first uncover the beliefs that shaped your relationship with Money. Get out some paper and respond to these questions. (Writing creates clarity and speeds your change.)

What did you hear about money when you were growing up?

What beliefs get between you and prosperity?

What have you heard about women with money?

Next, look at how Money has shown up in your life and in the lives of those around you. Give Money personhood in relationship to you. If Money were a person, what would your version of this Money "person" be like? Who is Money? How do you feel about Money? Do you trust Money? Does Money trust you? How does Money operate in your life? How does Money feel about you? Is Money someone you'd want to have a relationship with if you didn't "have to?"

Now, take a step back and imagine looking at this relationship between yourself and Money-as-a-person from the outside.

What shift needs to happen in this relationship?

Now, as yourself, negotiate with Money:

Does Money have a request for you? Do you have a request for Money? What's going to be different? How do you want to be different in this relationship? What is the next step to making this change real?

Money is like any other relationship; it comes where it's invited and appreciated. It rarely comes when it is chased. It can be your partner if you listen to it. The more you care for this relationship, the more money you will attract.

HERE ARE FIVE THINGS YOU CAN DO TO BE A BETTER MONEY MAGNET

1) Appreciate money. Appreciate even the smallest denomination. Think of how good you feel when you are valued for even a small gesture. It's the same with money. Every time you practice receiving and appreciating, you train the universe to send you more.

2) Strengthen your boundaries. Have the courage to say "yes" to what you want and "no" to what you don't want. Clear the clutter and energy drains in your life. Strong boundaries build your self esteem and free you to focus on what is important to you. This is very attractive to money.

3) Make a wish list. List one hundred things you would buy if money were no object. The items on your list put what you want on your radar. Through a mental process called reticular activation, your mind will start to discover opportunities to manifest the items on your list.

4) Manage your money. The better you manage what you have, the better able you will be to manage more. Get in the habit of diverting a percentage of your income into a wealth-building account, even if you are paying down debt. And set aside something for your favorite charities--nothing builds a sense of abundance like the ability to give to others.

And finally,

5) Surround yourself with successful people. You take on traits of the people you spend the most time with. If you want to be financially free, spend your time with financially successful people who share your values. Identify rich people you admire. Pick up their mindsets and practices for enlightened wealth building.

Morgana Rae, CPCC, MPNLP, is president of Charmed Life Coaching, a life & business coaching company that guides clients to market creatively and inexpensively, to attract more than they chase, and to enjoy success without sacrificing their humanity. A popular speaker and frequent television & radio guest, Morgana was featured as a millionaire mindset expert in a documentary with Robert Allen, Mark Victor Hansen and Tiger Woods. She is an executive coach and Director of Marketing for Elyon Cosmetics International, a co-author of the book “Inspiration to Realization," and creator of Financial Alchemy-A Year of Magic & Manifestations. Her Financial Alchemy articles have been published online and in magazines including her piece “Financial Alchemy: Changing Your Relationship With Money” in Choice Magazine, Personal Excellence Magazine, Savvy Women, Louise Magazine, In Light Times and in The Smith College Alumni Quarterly. Morgana writes, speaks and coaches from a commitment to the evolution of humanity; and from a desire to witness a whole world of intentional, empowered, charmed living!

[tags]money, magnet, financial, finance, alchemy, wealth, happiness[/tags]

Finances for the Freelancer

Budgeting and financial planning are great ideas, but how in the world do you budget or plan when you don't know from one month to the next how much money you're going to earn? You have months at a time when you earn very little money, and then during the prosperous months you're busy playing financial catch-up - and then comes another tough time.

It's a difficult situation, but there are ways to approach the problem that, over time, will provide some stability for your finances.

The first trick is finding out how much it actually costs you each month to live; chances are it costs more than you think it does. Add up all your expenses - food, gas for the car, rent or mortgage payment, utilities, car payments, car and health insurance, and so on. Don't forget periodic payments like license renewals and car registrations, birthday and holiday gifts and cards, Lotto tickets - anything that costs you money. A good exercise is to carry a small notepad around with you for a couple months and keep track of everything - I mean every penny - you spend. Allow yourself a certain amount for entertainment; if you put yourself on such a strict budget you can't enjoy yourself you won't maintain it.

Once you've decided what it costs you to live each month, that's what you live on. Open bank accounts for each broad category - monthly expenses, weekly expenses, and so on - and then deposit the amount of money you need per month into the appropriate accounts as the money comes in. Separating monthly from daily expenses actually frees you up; if you know you've got money stashed safely away for the rent, heat, etc., and you see a pair of shoes or a book you really want, just check out your daily expenses account; you may find that if you eat rice and beans for a few days you can spring for the impulse buy without wrecking your budget. Just don't, under any circumstances, raid the monthly expenses account!

If you have a month where you earn more than you need to spend based on your budget, put the extra into an interest-bearing savings account until you need it during the next low income period. Don't blow the extra on a luxury item, at least not until you've built up a substantial financial cushion.

The conventional wisdom is that if you have credit card debt, you should pay it off before you start saving money. On paper, that looks good; you're going to save a lot more in interest payments if you eliminate your credit card debt than you'll be earning in a conventional savings account. But you need to take into account your uncertain financial circumstances and your own human nature. Having a month or two of living expenses in the bank can do an amazing job of calming one's nerves, and can preclude the need for charging more money on your credit cards.

Here's a good approach: stop charging on credit cards, period. Unless you have a necessary expense that you can't pay any other way, don't charge it! (Those kicky shoes aren't a necessity unless you're barefoot.) Pay cash, or don't buy whatever it is you wanted to buy. Do your utmost to accumulate one to two months' living expenses in a savings account, to be used during slow months, and then start paying down your credit cards, getting rid of the balance with the highest interest rate first. One exception - if you've got some cards with big balances and one or two that have a hundred dollars or so on them, and you can pay the little ones off in one fell swoop, do it! The psychological boost you get from getting rid of one credit card balance is worth what little extra interest you'll pay by delaying paying the high balance card for a month. Once you pay off each credit card, cut it up, don't use it - but keep the account open. You've just improved your debt to available credit ratio!

And finally, we get to taxes. Freelancers really get socked; they have to pay regular income taxes plus self-employment taxes - their own and the employer's share of social security and Medicare taxes. Currently the self-employment tax is 15.3 percent. The best thing to do is to stash 20 to 25 percent of your income in a "tax account" as you receive it, and pay your quarterly estimated taxes as they are due; but you may not be able to do that, at least not initially.

Make sure you claim all the business expenses you can legitimately claim; your self-employment tax is figured on net profit after expenses, so the more you can get that profit figure down, the less your self-employment tax is going to be.

There are penalties for not paying enough tax - in 2004 if you owed over $1000 at the end of the year, you could be fined a penalty, unless you could demonstrate that your income was unpredictable during the course of the year. (You can do that, right? A hint -update your income and expense records regularly.)

If you get to April 15 and you can't pay up, the IRS will allow you to file certain forms and set up an installment payment account; they charge you penalties and fees, but they're not substantial, and this is a good alternative if you can't cough up the cash; and it's better than putting it on a high-interest-rate charge card. By law, the IRS can't turn you down for the installment plan.

Over time, you'll be able to budget for living expenses and taxes and put yourself on a pay-as-you-go schedule. Building this sound financial foundation is the first step toward prosperity!

Aldene Fredenburg is a freelance writer living in southwestern New Hampshire and frequently contributes to Tips and Topics. She has published numerous articles in local and regional publications on a wide range of topics, including business, education, the arts, and local events. Her feature articles include an interview with independent documentary filmmaker Ken Burns and a feature on prisoners at the New Hampshire State Prison in Concord. She may be reached at amfredenburg@yahoo.com.

[tags]budgeting, financial planning[/tags]

Finance Your Cleaning Business by Bootstrapping

New cleaning businesses tend to have few financial resources. Before you sign your first client you need capital for supplies, equipment, basic start-up expenses, and perhaps even payroll. Where do start-up companies get the financing they need to set up shop? Some businesses use savings, some borrow from friends or relatives, and some get a bank loan. But many small start-ups rely on a technique called bootstrapping.

Bootstrapping means pinching pennies, cutting corners, and learning to do more with less. Using bootstrapping techniques also means carefully watching where your cash is coming from and where it is going to. Does this technique work for growing your business? You bet! Ernest & Julio Gallo, Domino's Pizza, Hallmark Cards and Black & Decker are examples of businesses that started with $1000 or less and used the art of bootstrapping to grow and become successful.

In bootstrapping you not only focus on how revenues come into the business, but where you are going to spend the money that comes in and if there are other ways to obtain those resources.

The following are techniques that have helped businesses grow and expand.

1) Focus on the right customers. Some customers like to hold onto invoices as long as possible. Finding customers who pay immediately helps keep cash flowing into your cleaning business. Maintaining a good customer relationship will also help to get your customers paying as soon as they get their invoice.

2) Be frugal, but not cheap! Distinguish between costs that are necessary and ones you can avoid. Do you need to rent space for your cleaning business or can you begin by running the business out of your home or garage? Can you get by with used equipment? Do you need a cell phone with streaming video or just a basic model to make sure you do not miss any calls? On the same token, don't be shortsighted (and cheap) with suppliers. Develop a good relationship with your suppliers and they will be happy to let you know when there are specials and if a lower priced item works as well as a more expensive one.

3) Create a high profile for your cleaning business. By taking on larger cleaning accounts your business projects an image of competency and that it has the skills and resources to handle the job.

4) Keep your salary as low as possible. The less cash that go out of your business the better. Cut back on your personal expenses while the business grows. Avoid buying that new car and that holiday cruise until your cleaning business has a good cash flow.

5) Get your customers talking about you. Word of mouth is the best advertising around and it doesn't cost you anything. Ask your customers for referrals and tell them to mention your name if they know of anyone who is looking for cleaning services.

6) Keep good records and track every dollar. It is difficult to know if there are expenses that you can cut if you don't know where your money is going or where your money is coming from. Keep more income by not giving preferential treatment or discounts to special customers.

7) There is power in becoming a partner. Find another business owner to share equipment, office space or even employees.

8) Trade for services. Are there individuals or businesses who would be willing to have you clean their offices for part or all of their payment? Large businesses and corporations may not have the flexibility to "swap" services, but your lawyer, graphic designer, accountant or other consultant may be happy to exchange services.

9) If you need employees, hire part-time or temporary help. Rather than having a full-time bookkeeper or marketing person think of hiring a virtual assistant that you can pay for just a few hours a month. Another benefit to a virtual assistant is that she will have her own equipment and be responsible for her own employment taxes.

10) If you are buying or leasing space and equipment agree to only short-term leases. This helps you control costs and keep your cash flow flexible.

11) How much inventory do you need to have on hand? Don't tie up money in supplies and equipment that will just be sitting on a shelf.

12) If necessary, work nights and weekends while your business is growing. Many entrepreneurs will keep their full-time job and a part-time job until their own business is financially stable.

Using bootstrapping techniques mean that you are looking at more than just where your money is coming from. Earning a dollar in revenue may lead to only 20 cents in profit. But if you save a dollar in cost savings, that goes 100 percent to your bottom line. Being frugal at the start of your business can pay big dividends in the long run. Bootstrapping can be your best friend when it comes to the cash flow of your cleaning the business!

Copyright 2006 The Janitorial Store

Steve Hanson is co-founding member of TheJanitorialStore.com, an online community for owners and managers of cleaning companies who want to build a more profitable and successful cleaning business. Sign up for Trash Talk: Tip of the Week at http://www.TheJanitorialStore.com and receive a Free Gift. Read cleaning success stories from owners of cleaning companies at http://www.cleaning-success.com/

[tags]finance cleaning business, bootstrapping[/tags]

Fess Up! Are You a Spender or a Saver

If you are in the middle of marriage preparations, you may want to consider talking about your financial plan before officially tying the knot. For example, if one of you has sizable assets, you may want to consider consulting a marriage lawyer to draft a prenuptial agreement for the both of you to sign.

Are you planning on having a joint bank account? It’s not necessarily a bad idea, but a newly married man or woman may not have the same money management ideas as his or her spouse does. It can come as a shock to one spouse when the money from a joint bank account seems to be draining out faster than water spiraling down a kitchen drain.

So, here is some marriage advice: now that the engagement ring is on your finger, have those conversations about money management with your fianc้ (e). Be honest about your spending habits. Come clean about your debts

Statistics show that newlyweds will argue about money more than any other issue. If you don’t communicate honestly about it now, you will likely need to get couple counseling to talk it over, later.

Get the financial planning stuff out of the way now; that way, once you’re a married couple you can talk about bigger and better things, such as family planning. Wouldn’t you rather do that?

Nathan Dawson writes for http://www.marriedfinances.com and http://www.successfulmarriageresource.com, great online sources for marriage and finance information.

[tags]content="finance, personal finance, just married, couple counseling, family planning, premarital cou[/tags]

Early Retirement

Planning and saving for retirement is a serious financial issue for most of us. We spend years building our nest egg, with the goal of stepping into retirement financially and psychologically prepared. However, sometimes retirement arrives earlier than planned on.

A recent survey found that among people who retired early (before age 65), 43 percent retired earlier than they intended. For a few it was because they come into sudden money such as lottery winnings or an inheritance. But many in the survey cited “negative” reasons for retiring early including health, disability, being laid off or having to take care of ill family members. University of California researchers found that half of Californians retiring before age 50 cited health reasons as their reason for the early retirement.

Whatever the reason, w hen an unplanned early retirement occurs, you’ll need to plan carefully to make adjustments. Not only your lifestyle may need adjusting, but so will your attitude.

First, don’t make any immediate, rash financial decisions. Making a wrong decision now can cause financial problems the rest of your life. As an example, if you’re retiring early because you’ve suddenly come into money, don’t make major investment decisions within the first 60 to 90 days. Put the money into a bank or mutual fund money market, and leave it alone until you have time to think about what it can really provide for you, even if it takes you six months.

If you’ve suddenly left your job because of a layoff or because you have to take care of a sick family member, you may want to immediately do a little financial belt tightening. Otherwise, don’t make other immediate major financial decisions.

Second, revise your financial plan, or create one. This act will be the most important thing you can do to give yourself control of your new retirement. This is especially critical if you’ve been forced to retire for “negative” reasons. You’ll want to review the entire gamut: income and outflow, insurance, estate planning, investments, possible government assistance and so on.

Maintaining control of expenses is a critical component for any retiree, since income tends to be more limited. Controlling expenses is especially critical for unplanned retirements. Early retirees typically face major expenses that would often be gone in normal retirement: mortgage payments such as a child's college expenses. Early retirement to care for an ill relative will probably result in money out-of-pocket expenses for that relative. A spending plan becomes absolutely vital to keeping expenses within line of income.

Retiring early means more years of retirement and the costs that go with retirement. This is a double whammy because you not only have more years to pay for but you end up with fewer working years to fund the retirement. Your later work years are usually when you earn your most income and can best sock away for retirement. Traditional pension plans also are skewed toward late-career earnings.

Investments present another area of challenge. You have a longer retirement to fund than originally planned is the biggest challenge. More aggressive investing can help make up some of that shortfall.If you’ve retired earlier than planned for negative reasons such as a loss of job or health, you’re going to need immediate cash flow from your investments to help cover expenses, and that means investing less aggressively and going with cash producing investments. Review with an investment advisor how best to get the kind of investment you need. Aadjusting your portfolio so that part of it generates more income while the other part grows more aggressively through non-income producing investments may be a solution.

Retiring early means more years until you qualify for Medicare. It is vital that you are covered by a major medical health insurance policy, even if finances are tight.

Do not fail to address the psychological implications of early retirement. Even for planned retirements, leaving the workforce can be a difficult emotional adjustment. It’s tougher with an unplanned early retirement because you haven’t had time to mentally prepare for it. When you retire, take a breath and sit down to think through your new situation. Then start planning for your retirement years.

Roger Sorensen

America's Financial Guide can be found at ==>http://www.Slave2Work.com Subscribe to Money Basics via http://www.slave2work.com/ezine.html

Slave2Work.com - Are you ready for financial freedom?

[tags]retirement planning,financial planning,wealth building,retirement tips,retirement finances[/tags]

Don't Let Your Personal Loan Become a Personal Moan

Most of us have been in a position at some point when we simply have had insufficient funds to pay for something. This could be car insurance/repairs, course fees, holiday, Christmas presents, electrical items or even the weekly shopping. According to Credit Action, 2.4 million personal loan agreements were recorded in the first quarter of 2005, totalling ฃ13.5 billion. The national debt education charity reported that 30% of the personal loans were for cars, 24% for home improvements and 20% for debt consolidation. The total outstanding balance for personal loans reached ฃ93 billion by March 2005.

Personal loans can help you out of a difficult period when cash-flow is restricted, but don’t go for the first one you find or you may find that your loan becomes a lifetime commitment and lifetime strain. There are numerous personal finance comparison websites available for personal loans including moneynet, moneyfacts and lowermybills.

In their consumer loans guide, moneynet advise that as a general rule of thumb, the more you borrow – the cheaper the rate of interest. For example, a loan of ฃ1,000 may carry an interest rate as high as 20% - reportedly justified by the lenders because of the relatively high administration costs associated with arranging a loan. For larger personal loans, lenders might only charge interest rates of around 6%.

Personal loans fall into two categories: secured and unsecured. Unsecured personal loans are the most popular, as secured loans may jeopardise the borrower’s property or other asset. Secured loans are arranged on the assumption that the borrower puts up a form of security to the lender, typically the borrower’s property. This allows the lender to take ownership of the asset should loan repayments be jeopardised. Whilst the prospect of losing your home may seem like a major disadvantage, the benefits of a secured loan often allow you to borrow more money at a lower rate of interest.

Despite such benefits however, most people are reluctant to lose their home and therefore take out unsecured loans because of this.

When reviewing personal loans and researching the cheapest loan on offer, you should be aware that you need to investigate the terms and conditions, as well as the annual percentage rate (APR). Note that if your credit history is poor – then the terms of the loan may reflect this. Do your homework on redemption penalties and any other charges which might be associated with your loan. Some lenders will also offer payment breaks (deferred payment) either at the beginning of the loan period, or perhaps during the term, but again read the terms and conditions and check that excessive interest will not accumulate over any break periods.

Personal loans in the UK are governed by the Consumer Credit Act 1974, but remember that you are ultimately responsible for borrowing a given sum of money and that once you sign a credit agreement, you are bound by the terms and conditions.

If you are finding the repayments challenging, always tell the lender as soon as possible and remember that any loan repayment problems are likely to be captured in your credit record/history, which will later impact on any other borrowing.

Resources:

Loan Comparisons

Personal Loan Guide

About Rachel:

Rachel writes for the personal finance blog Cashzilla:

http://www.cashzilla.co.uk

[tags]Loans UK, personal loans, secured loans, unsecured loans, variable rate loans, fixed rate loans[/tags]

Does Money Just Slip Through Your Fingers

The way we manage money says a lot about us as people. It signals, amongst other things, the difficulties and the relationships we have with ourselves and with those around us.

The parties of the festive season, the cost of family meals and meeting our colleagues for drinks at the pub lead to the realisation of our relationship with money. There are people who spend more than they should; money is their escape. Others, on the other hand, are so retentive that they can't even enjoy what they eat. In all cases we need to ask "why is it at these times that we spend so much?" "Are we trying to hide from others what we lack in non-material areas?" To manage our money without it weighing us down is indicative of our mental health. Those who manage it well are in the habit of managing their emotions well too.

Given that economic independence is a necessary condition for personal autonomy, material conflicts signal, in the end, a difficulty with being free, autonomous, independent and in charge of ones internal world. Some people need to depend economically on others, but also there are individuals who like to dominate others in this sense; few people are not conscious of this.

Someone who flashes money about probably doesn't know what he has. In his fantasies, he owns more than he has at his disposal in reality. An internal tendency drives him to keep in his own hands that which he has and to limit his dependence on others. In our world, economic capacity and power are the same thing. When your shortage of money reaches extremes, you are dependent on somebody else's willpower.

Here is an example - a story about someone we will call Sylvia.

Sylvia did very badly over the holiday season because she always spent more than she had. When she found herself without any money, she asked for it from her partner, a generous man who never blamed her for how she managed money. She bought lots of presents for the whole family. Behind this extravagance, was a search for recognition. The equation was as follows: if she wasn't given everything that she wanted, she spent all that she had. In this way, she denied her own inadequacies and those of others. Besides, by asking her husband for money, Sylvia tested whether he would give it to her if he had it. She wanted to test her partner's support.

By this unconscious process, she identified herself with her father and put her husband in the place of her mother, who was the money manager of their household. In this way, she put herself in a dependent position in respect of her husband; a position both childish and demanding.

In the same way as our parents control our bodies while we are babies, there are adults which put themselves in this situation when, incapable of managing their money themselves, they solve their problem by depending totally on others. They want, even though they deny it, that someone controls them. They have chosen to be dependent instead of being free.

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Michael Russell

Your Independent guide to Finance

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[tags]finance,personal finance[/tags]

Defrazzle Your Finances

I'm living so far beyond my income that we may almost be said to be living apart.

e.e. cummings

Money. You can't live with it, you can't live without it. No matter how hard you try, there's never enough. The only thing increasing in your bank account is your debt, and you're beyond understanding how to make ends meet. Is that how you feel?

Well, there's no need. Getting on an even footing with finances is hard, but not impossible, when you take small steps. You didn't get there overnight; you won't get out of it overnight. It doesn't have to be painful – in fact, you'll be more successful if you make a game of it.

Here's how to get started: figure out, approximately, how much you spend in a week on “incidentals” - coffee, a magazine, new cosmetics, etc. Just keep your sales slips for in your purse and add them up at the end of the week. This is not grocery money, car payments, etc.; this is just incidentals – things that you can live without if you’re desperate!

When you have that amount – say it's $30.00 – take that much out of the bank the following week, and see how much you can have left over at the end of the week. Use ONLY CASH on those incidentals. Whatever is left over goes in an envelope somewhere where you won't spend it.

After a month, see how much you have in your envelope. If it's $20.00, that's yours to spend on yourself as a reward.

Now, take that amount ($20.00), divide it by four ($5.00), and subtract that amount from what you've been spending weekly ($30.00-$5.00= $25.00). Now, start again with the reduced amount.

Once you've gotten to the place where this is getting really uncomfortable, stop, move back to the lowest comfortable figure and stick with that budget. Take half of what's left over from your original spending total (in this case, $30.00/2=$15.00), and apply that to your debt each and every month like clockwork – make it an automatic payment from your account every month – even if it's just two dollars. The rest (in this case the other $15.00) goes in a savings account – also paid automatically. You can then apply the same principle to groceries, or gas, or any other expense that is variable and see how far you can comfortably cut back.

This enables you to save without that “scarcity” mentality that makes you poor in the first place. Because it's a game and because you're trying to see how much you have left over at the end of the month your mindset is not “I can't afford that” (scarcity) but it's now “I could buy that, but I'd rather see how much I can save!” (abundance).

There are great resources out there to help you move even farther ahead. Wonderful programs like “Mvelopes” or Mary Hunt’s “Debt-Proof Living” e-zine. The trick, however, is to always start small, and move forward slowly, building habits as you go.

Happy spending!

Darlene Hull

www.mom-defrazzler.com

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Darlene is an ordinary imperfect mom who sees her mission as helping other moms take better care of themselves so they can take better care of their families. She is married to Tom and has two children, Simon (12) and Christina (11) whom she homeschools.

Darlene is giving away free "Mom-Defrazzler" tools to help moms get from chaos to calm. You can download one for free on her website at http://www.mom-defrazzler.com.

[tags]mom, mother, stress, finances, debt, budgeting[/tags]

Creating Wealth - A Matter of Focus

A greater sense of freedom is the basis of most people's desire to have more money in their lives. Having more money doesn't guarantee more freedom, but it is the belief that inspires the desire.

Now, let's take a look at a person who wants more freedom and has decided to significantly increase her wealth. How does she go about it? Where does she begin? Where will she make her first million?

There are a few general areas where a person could direct attention: real estate, stock market, internet, information marketing, and business of all kinds - from network marketing to producing widgets.

In their eagerness to create wealth, people sometimes make the mistake of trying to make a go of it in all of these areas at once. And it is true that ultimately, a person should have multiple streams of income.

But most people who eventually do create massive income from a variety of sources made their breakthrough by initially focusing intensely in one area.

If you'd like to join them in financial success, instead of being all over the map, choose an area to develop expertise. Once you've achieved success in that area, you'll have the confidence and foundation to move on to the next area and the next after that. But first, focus.

How do you choose where to focus?

First, take a personal inventory. Wherever you end up making your first million, it will be related to something you already enjoy. If it isn't innately satisfying work, you're unlikely to stick with it, no matter how surefire a get-rich idea it seemed at first.

Second, does it have leverage? You can never get rich trading your time/expertise for money. You might get the resources to invest in real estate, or business, or the market by trading your time for money, but if you have to be physically present in order for whatever you do to make money, then it's an unlikely ticket to massive wealth - even if you're providing a high end service like a lawyer, doctor, etc.

The income doesn't have to be passive, such as royalties from intellectual property; residual income is fine, such as overrides from network marketing. But the area of focus has to be a venture that can make money while you sleep, so to speak. In real estate, that might be a matter of appreciating value or rental income. Online, that might be an information product that clients download. You get the idea.

Third, can it be systemized? By creating a system, you remove your personality from the equation. Anyone can step in and do what is necessary to keep the ball rolling. With a system, you are replaceable. You can still own whatever it is that makes the money, but you don't have to *do* the money-making actions.

Once you've narrowed your focus, what next?

Find a mentor, someone who has succeeded doing something similar to what you want to do. The mentoring could come via role models you never personally meet, but who have shared their expertise through books or other media that you can study. In addition, however, a personal mentor or coach is tremendously helpful to you in maintaining focus.

Once you've narrowed your focus and have studied what others have done to succeed in your area of interest, you're ready to make a plan of action and take the first step. Then, keep taking steps and keep your focus; you will create the wealth you desire.

Lila Norden is a career and business consultant. Lila offers valuable information to help you make decisions about your business growth and development. Visit her web site F-Com Finances. Additional articles by Lila are also at FLS Job and FP Employment

[tags]wealth,finances,money,income,business,financial,success,wealth building,systems,mentor[/tags]