I wonder what your Personal Finances are like. Have you found Financial Freedom for your family? If not do you realise that careless management of your finances can produce stress in the home, debt depression and even separation. Lack of planning can induce:
* Compulsive or impulsive spending
* Leaving it all to the other partner
* Trying an inferior system that won't work.
* Establishing plans that aren't followed
* Establishing unrealistic plans.
* Buying now, paying later "with interest."
There is a better way. For many years I took Personal Financial Seminars showing people how to plan expenditure for the ensuing twelve months - how to set up a system using three Bank Accounts so easy that a 12-year old could operate it - plus many tricks of the trade to reduce expenditure etc.
Over the years I have processed a few thousand Personal Financial Plans using my computer by interview and mail order and many are operating this system successfully. The problem was that all you got was a printout and diagram to set the system going. But when changes in expenditure or income came it was awkward to revise your figures. Now I have great news. You can have a plan on your own computer, make your own adjustments and print out your financial plan for the year.
DO-IT-YOURSELF FINANCIAL PLAN;
I've put my plan on computer disc using Microsoft Excell and am making it available for purchase. The disc has full instructions and hints that you can print out. All you need is to insert your Regular Committed Payments on the Financial Plan, then insert the amounts you require for Housekeeping and Allowances - then alot an amount for Contingencies and Holiday Spending. Finally insert all Income.
Trigger the calculating icon and up comes a weekly surplus or shortfall. Whilst on the computer you can make adjustments to balance the budget with a reasonable surplus.
But all the instructions are on the disc to take you right through to a completed plan for the ensuing year.
There is a Setting Up Diagram that automatically includes your figures so you can set the system going with your preferred Bank. Retaining the Plan on your computer allows you to make necessary adjustments and gives you the capacity to make larger spending decisions. Revised figures put in will determine if you would still have a reasonable surplus.
To order a disc:
Send Name, Address and Phone No. plus a cheque for NZ$40 made out to Tranzsend and post to
Buck Pound,
50 Magnolia Lane,
Wilson St., THAMES 2801
New Zealand.
Saturday, January 21, 2006
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
ADVICE
Where do you go these days for general advice that (a) doesn't cost you the earth and (b) hasn't someone on the other end with an axe to grind? Again how do you separate Financial Advice, Legal Advice and Consumer Advice?
Things are getting a trifle complex for Mr. & Mrs. Average who spend the bulk of their time making an honest living and raising a family to do likewise. They usually don't have the time or inclination to read up all the current available literature. However when a sudden emergency arises, who are they to turn to. I've been asked all sorts of questions - some relatively easy to answer but some really curly ones that over stretch the memory banks and resources.
For instance, one couple came to me who were leasing glasshouses and having hassles with the landlord. Their Solicitor recommended court action but with lack of montary resources to pay legal expenses they could well end up flat broke. So they were directed to the Family Court to endeavour to have the matter sorted out amicably.
Another couple wanted to know whether they could afford to separate. I did individual feasibility budgets on the computer but with the extra expenditure on one income each revealed an unhealthy shortfall. I then asked if I could do a combined one and even though finances were the problem, up came a healthy surplus. My instant advice was, "Why not stick together and sink your differences?"
Those appoaching retirement usually come up with a spate of queries. It's going to be a totally new ball game so shall we sell the big house and purchase a unit or beach house. Shall we invest the maturity proceeds of our Life Policy or clear the house mortgage? Investment advice is a hardy annual. There is such a variety available with so many institutions competing for the surplus dollar that it can be confusing to the uninitiated.
I have a few basic rules I endeavour to abide by:
1. I remind myself that I am operating under a legal "Duty of Care", thus I can be accountable for the advice I give.
2. I try not to give generalised advice without seeing the present financial situation in toto. So often the gut feeling advice would be inadequate when the present financial situation demands another course of action.
3. I endeavour to bat ideas around showing the reactions and possible results of certain courses of action.
4. Ultimately I say, "It's totally up to you now - you've heard the pros and cons - you choose!"
So, if you can find a financial advisor who has a wide knowledge, political skill and above all moral credibility, my advice is to listen carefully, weigh up the pros and cons then make your final decision. Proverbs 12:15 has the last word, "The way of a fool seems right to him but a wise man listens to advice."
Things are getting a trifle complex for Mr. & Mrs. Average who spend the bulk of their time making an honest living and raising a family to do likewise. They usually don't have the time or inclination to read up all the current available literature. However when a sudden emergency arises, who are they to turn to. I've been asked all sorts of questions - some relatively easy to answer but some really curly ones that over stretch the memory banks and resources.
For instance, one couple came to me who were leasing glasshouses and having hassles with the landlord. Their Solicitor recommended court action but with lack of montary resources to pay legal expenses they could well end up flat broke. So they were directed to the Family Court to endeavour to have the matter sorted out amicably.
Another couple wanted to know whether they could afford to separate. I did individual feasibility budgets on the computer but with the extra expenditure on one income each revealed an unhealthy shortfall. I then asked if I could do a combined one and even though finances were the problem, up came a healthy surplus. My instant advice was, "Why not stick together and sink your differences?"
Those appoaching retirement usually come up with a spate of queries. It's going to be a totally new ball game so shall we sell the big house and purchase a unit or beach house. Shall we invest the maturity proceeds of our Life Policy or clear the house mortgage? Investment advice is a hardy annual. There is such a variety available with so many institutions competing for the surplus dollar that it can be confusing to the uninitiated.
I have a few basic rules I endeavour to abide by:
1. I remind myself that I am operating under a legal "Duty of Care", thus I can be accountable for the advice I give.
2. I try not to give generalised advice without seeing the present financial situation in toto. So often the gut feeling advice would be inadequate when the present financial situation demands another course of action.
3. I endeavour to bat ideas around showing the reactions and possible results of certain courses of action.
4. Ultimately I say, "It's totally up to you now - you've heard the pros and cons - you choose!"
So, if you can find a financial advisor who has a wide knowledge, political skill and above all moral credibility, my advice is to listen carefully, weigh up the pros and cons then make your final decision. Proverbs 12:15 has the last word, "The way of a fool seems right to him but a wise man listens to advice."
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
WHERE ARE YOU GOING FINANCIALLY?
Most couples don't seem to be going any place. If you ask them what their financial goals and objectives are they usually give a nervous laugh before answering, "Just keeping body and soul together," or "We're keeping the wolf from the door," or "With the help of our friendly Bank Manager we are making ends meet."
It's a tragedy that money dominates our lives to the extent that there never seems enough to satisfy our desires. The more we have, the more our needs and wants close the gap between income and expenditure.
So the first question I wnat to ask you is:
Where are you now financially?
It can be quite a frightening question because in come cases it will reveal how unpleasant or serious the problem really is. Indeed many people are totally incapable of answering that question. They literally don't know how to find out.
The same question could be legitimately asked of many small businesses. Some don't realise that they are in a deteriorating situation until it is too late for a rescue operation. Others have a hunch that all is not well and hope against hope that some miracle will hapen to reverse the situation. The only way to answer that question is to spend sufficient time to work out the present financial situation, "What I own minus what I owe."
The next question is:
Where are you going financially?
You and your family are on the journey of life. A journey begins with knowledge and proceeds with action. Knowledge of where you are is essential. Knowledge of where you are going is just as vital. With the two in mind you take action. The answer to the second question is to work out a budget for the first twelve months. A budget plan is the proposed expenditure and income over the ensuing year that will give a weekly surplus or shortfall. It is as clear a picture as can be worked out in advance of how objectives will be reached financially. It's like a road map before a journey in a car.
Once a budget plan is developed, the discipline of sticking with it can be played like a game and enjoyed rather than a gritting of the teeth in sheer determination. The basic thrust should be adhered to but adjustments should be made to maintain flexibility. Remember that any action begins with the first step.
Ask yourself:
1. Where do I want to be financially? (What are my goals?)
2. Where am I now? (What is my Financial analysis?)
3. How will I reach my goals? (What is my budgeted Surplus to enable me to achieve my goals?)
It's a tragedy that money dominates our lives to the extent that there never seems enough to satisfy our desires. The more we have, the more our needs and wants close the gap between income and expenditure.
So the first question I wnat to ask you is:
Where are you now financially?
It can be quite a frightening question because in come cases it will reveal how unpleasant or serious the problem really is. Indeed many people are totally incapable of answering that question. They literally don't know how to find out.
The same question could be legitimately asked of many small businesses. Some don't realise that they are in a deteriorating situation until it is too late for a rescue operation. Others have a hunch that all is not well and hope against hope that some miracle will hapen to reverse the situation. The only way to answer that question is to spend sufficient time to work out the present financial situation, "What I own minus what I owe."
The next question is:
Where are you going financially?
You and your family are on the journey of life. A journey begins with knowledge and proceeds with action. Knowledge of where you are is essential. Knowledge of where you are going is just as vital. With the two in mind you take action. The answer to the second question is to work out a budget for the first twelve months. A budget plan is the proposed expenditure and income over the ensuing year that will give a weekly surplus or shortfall. It is as clear a picture as can be worked out in advance of how objectives will be reached financially. It's like a road map before a journey in a car.
Once a budget plan is developed, the discipline of sticking with it can be played like a game and enjoyed rather than a gritting of the teeth in sheer determination. The basic thrust should be adhered to but adjustments should be made to maintain flexibility. Remember that any action begins with the first step.
Ask yourself:
1. Where do I want to be financially? (What are my goals?)
2. Where am I now? (What is my Financial analysis?)
3. How will I reach my goals? (What is my budgeted Surplus to enable me to achieve my goals?)
Sunday, January 01, 2006
PAYING YOUR DEBTS
There's a generation growing up knowing nothing of the Biblical adage to "Owe no man anythng." National debts keep on rising and the future of our youth has already been mortgaged.
When a country can't pay its debts the rot seems to filter right through the economy. I venture to say that if it became mandatory for all Companies to pay all debts by the old tradional 20th. of the month a large proportion of them would go under. Many a small man has been forced into bankruptcy because big firms wouldn't pay them on time.
However it is personal debt that is my special vendetta. For many years now I have had a mission in life - that is to reverse the trend and show people how to get rid of debt and enjoy that special privilege of paying bills as they come in. Maybe if enough people learned this habit the cumulative result would cure our country's ills.
Every year thousands of families are destroyed because of financial bondage. They encumber themselves with debts beyond their ability to repay. Every family has a "point of not return." If they borrow up to this point and some emergency tips them over, they lose their capacity to climb back again.
Too many times I have put figures on the computer to discover that not only is expenditure exceeding income but liabilities exceed assets. It's a no-win irretrievable situation that leads to insolvency and more often than not the break up of the marriage. Why do so many people fall into this trap? And I'm not talking about the compulsive spender or alcoholic. I've had professional and business people succumb to this temptation of borrowing more than their capacity to service. Proverbs 22:7 says, "The rich rule over the poor and the borrower is servant to the lender." So what do you do if you find yourself loaded up to the hilt with debt?
Firstly you need to set aside a night to pull all those bills out of the drawer and write down every thing you owe leaving the first mortgage out. Add up the whole raft so that you arrive at the total. Then add on a comfort level amount like $1,000 so now you have a target figure to aim for.
Secondly you need to acquire a mind-set about debt and determine that once you have extricated yourself from this bondage you will never, ever use easy credit again but save up for future purchases.
Thirdly you need to work out an economy budget eliminating all unecessary expenditure and reducing other expenditure. The housekeeping is the great variable and usually can be reduced with ease.
After you have the best weekly surplus you can achieve and maybe supplement this with overtime or extra work, go like crazy to pay off the debts. Try to eliminate the smallest ones first and have a little celebration with each finally repaid.
If you have any assets that you do not absolutely require then have a garage sale to get rid of a few more debts. It may be a long haul but don't give up as you will win out in the end.
Keep going until you have that $1,000 as a nest egg buffer.
When a country can't pay its debts the rot seems to filter right through the economy. I venture to say that if it became mandatory for all Companies to pay all debts by the old tradional 20th. of the month a large proportion of them would go under. Many a small man has been forced into bankruptcy because big firms wouldn't pay them on time.
However it is personal debt that is my special vendetta. For many years now I have had a mission in life - that is to reverse the trend and show people how to get rid of debt and enjoy that special privilege of paying bills as they come in. Maybe if enough people learned this habit the cumulative result would cure our country's ills.
Every year thousands of families are destroyed because of financial bondage. They encumber themselves with debts beyond their ability to repay. Every family has a "point of not return." If they borrow up to this point and some emergency tips them over, they lose their capacity to climb back again.
Too many times I have put figures on the computer to discover that not only is expenditure exceeding income but liabilities exceed assets. It's a no-win irretrievable situation that leads to insolvency and more often than not the break up of the marriage. Why do so many people fall into this trap? And I'm not talking about the compulsive spender or alcoholic. I've had professional and business people succumb to this temptation of borrowing more than their capacity to service. Proverbs 22:7 says, "The rich rule over the poor and the borrower is servant to the lender." So what do you do if you find yourself loaded up to the hilt with debt?
Firstly you need to set aside a night to pull all those bills out of the drawer and write down every thing you owe leaving the first mortgage out. Add up the whole raft so that you arrive at the total. Then add on a comfort level amount like $1,000 so now you have a target figure to aim for.
Secondly you need to acquire a mind-set about debt and determine that once you have extricated yourself from this bondage you will never, ever use easy credit again but save up for future purchases.
Thirdly you need to work out an economy budget eliminating all unecessary expenditure and reducing other expenditure. The housekeeping is the great variable and usually can be reduced with ease.
After you have the best weekly surplus you can achieve and maybe supplement this with overtime or extra work, go like crazy to pay off the debts. Try to eliminate the smallest ones first and have a little celebration with each finally repaid.
If you have any assets that you do not absolutely require then have a garage sale to get rid of a few more debts. It may be a long haul but don't give up as you will win out in the end.
Keep going until you have that $1,000 as a nest egg buffer.
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