This month we discussed examining our relationship with money - are we coming from a place of abundance or a place of lack in this area of our lives? Do we think money is a dirty word? We also discussed finances, like charity, begin at home - covering the basic needs first before going after the nice-to-haves. Finally, we discussed setting and achieving financial goals, touching on our previous discussions on commitment and follow through, Personal Prose, Values, Goal Setting, and the Five Whys, the Manifestation Board exercise, identifying and assessing roadblocks, and looking at what you want to harvest in the future.
Take-aways include:
Always come from a place of abundance.
Money - More Opulent Natural Energy, Yeah!
We have to take care of ourselves financially. If you need help in this area, get it!
Money is a tool, not a true goal.
Bless those who have wealth rather than cursing them; for in cursing those who are blessed, you curse yourself. ~ Financial Karma
Know the difference between want and need. Pare back to what you really need and then you'll be able to get what you really want.
It took time to get where we're at, so it stands to reason that it'll take time to get where we really want to be. By being diligent, persistent, and patient, we will get where we need to be in life.
By setting SMART goals and working diligently, persistently, and patiently toward them, we will make great strides down the path of MaXIMIzing this area of our lives!
Next week begins a new month and a new area of our lives to discuss - Physical Health.
As always, feel free to let me know what you think of this blog.
Until next time, namaste!
Sunday, April 27, 2014
Sunday, April 20, 2014
MaXIMIze - Setting and Achieving Financial Goals
Setting and achieving goals in the financial area of our lives is the same as setting and achieving them in the rest of the areas of our lives.
If faced with a mountain of debt, paying that debt down, let alone off completely, can seem overwhelming. It can be done though, one step, one payment, at a time, particularly if you've done the work I've challenged us with in the last two blog posts.
You may look at that mountain of debt and say, "I can't."
One of my mother's favorite phrases when I was growing up was, "Can't never did nothing."
I'm here to tell you Yes You Can!
It took time to get where you are financially, therefore it will take time to recover and get to where you want to be financially. If you are willing to truly commit and follow through, you can achieve financial stability and freedom.
Remember our discussion on Personal Prose? How are you talking to yourself about money and how you deal with your finances? Is it positive self talk or are you letting your inner critic run the show and shower you with negativity? Are you using your power words when you think about or talk about your financial situation?
Remember our discussion on Values, Goal Setting, and the Five Whys? Did you do the exercise of determining your core values and principles? How does the way you currently deal with your finances align with those values and principles? If the alignment is not there, what needs to be done in order to get in alignment with those values and principles in this area of your life?
Have you set SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely) goals in this area of your life, and if so, are you working diligently and persistently toward those goals? And - are you being patient in and celebrating the small victories along the way to reaching those goals?
If you did the Manifestation Board exercise, are your financial goals envisioned there? Can you clearly see where it is you want to be to attain a satisfaction rating of 8 or more in this area of your life?
Have you identified and assessed the roadblocks that may lie in your way to achieving your goals in this area? This includes the fears that you may have regarding this area - remember, we need to bring our fears out into the light and shake hands with them. By recognizing and acknowledging them, we can work through them and move toward MaXIMIzing our lives in all areas, not just this one.
And last but not least, what are you sowing in your financial garden right now? What do you want to harvest here in the future?
By really looking at and working through all these questions and developing and working toward SMART goals, you can move down the path toward MaXIMIzing this area in your life.
Next week, we'll recap what we've discussed in this area and look at the topics for next month's discussion - until then, namaste!
If faced with a mountain of debt, paying that debt down, let alone off completely, can seem overwhelming. It can be done though, one step, one payment, at a time, particularly if you've done the work I've challenged us with in the last two blog posts.
You may look at that mountain of debt and say, "I can't."
One of my mother's favorite phrases when I was growing up was, "Can't never did nothing."
I'm here to tell you Yes You Can!
It took time to get where you are financially, therefore it will take time to recover and get to where you want to be financially. If you are willing to truly commit and follow through, you can achieve financial stability and freedom.
Remember our discussion on Personal Prose? How are you talking to yourself about money and how you deal with your finances? Is it positive self talk or are you letting your inner critic run the show and shower you with negativity? Are you using your power words when you think about or talk about your financial situation?
Remember our discussion on Values, Goal Setting, and the Five Whys? Did you do the exercise of determining your core values and principles? How does the way you currently deal with your finances align with those values and principles? If the alignment is not there, what needs to be done in order to get in alignment with those values and principles in this area of your life?
Have you set SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely) goals in this area of your life, and if so, are you working diligently and persistently toward those goals? And - are you being patient in and celebrating the small victories along the way to reaching those goals?
If you did the Manifestation Board exercise, are your financial goals envisioned there? Can you clearly see where it is you want to be to attain a satisfaction rating of 8 or more in this area of your life?
Have you identified and assessed the roadblocks that may lie in your way to achieving your goals in this area? This includes the fears that you may have regarding this area - remember, we need to bring our fears out into the light and shake hands with them. By recognizing and acknowledging them, we can work through them and move toward MaXIMIzing our lives in all areas, not just this one.
And last but not least, what are you sowing in your financial garden right now? What do you want to harvest here in the future?
By really looking at and working through all these questions and developing and working toward SMART goals, you can move down the path toward MaXIMIzing this area in your life.
Next week, we'll recap what we've discussed in this area and look at the topics for next month's discussion - until then, namaste!
Sunday, April 13, 2014
MaXIMIze - Finances Begin at Home
Financial focus - money is a tool, not a true goal. It is an inanimate object that has no value except that which man has given it. Therefore money in and of itself is neither good nor evil - it simply is.
Bless those who have wealth rather than cursing them; for in cursing those who are blessed, you curse yourself. ~ Financial Karma
You know the saying, "Charity begins at home"? Well, finances begin at home too.
What do we need - truly need - money for?
A roof over our heads
Food in our bellies
Clothes on our backs
These are the basic needs we have to cover on a day-to-day basis. Linked to those needs may be transportation costs such as public transit fees, gas, car insurance, parking fees, etc., in order to get to and from our jobs. Also, items to keep ourselves, our clothes, and our homes clean and presentable. Perhaps a phone for others to keep in touch with us for work and other urgent issues. Those are the true needs, even in today's society.
Some may say connecting to the Internet is a need - I counter that with where can one connect for no and/or low cost - the library, a job resource center, etc.
Some may say TV is a need. I say it is not - it is a want and a distracting one at that. If you want entertainment, go outside and enjoy the outdoors. If weather doesn't permit outdoor activity, read a book, play a board or card game, engage in meaningful conversation, journal, plan for the future, and/or let go of the past.
The first thing we need to do financially is ensure our true needs are taken care of - keeping a roof over our heads, food in our bellies, and clothes on our backs. And, we need to do these things within the confines of our current financial means - without the use of credit, plastic or otherwise. In fact, if you are a person who abuses credit by using it to cover basic day-to-day expenses, you need to find a financial counselor NOW!
Remember the challenge last week of tracking your expenses? Well, this week I give you another challenge. After putting aside money to cover transportation to employment expenses, pay your living - roof over your head - expenses first. These include rent/mortgage, energy (gas/electricity), water, utilities (sewer/trash) and home owner's or renter's insurance. After that, do you have enough to cover groceries and sundries (cleaning supplies and other non food items - pet food, etc.)? If not, where do you need to pare back and perhaps downsize energy consumption or living space costs?
Note I did NOT include cable, dish, satellite, Internet, or phone in those living expenses.
Remember, roof over your head, food in your belly and clothes on your back. And, want versus need. Once we can get back to truly covering our basic needs and have funds available to put aside for a rainy day, then we can think about saving for those wants in life - a home of our own, the ability to travel, the ability to send our children to college without student loans, or whatever else we desire to have in our lives.
Bottom line, cover the basics first and remember, want versus need.
We will talk more on the topic of personal finances next week.
Until then, namaste!
Bless those who have wealth rather than cursing them; for in cursing those who are blessed, you curse yourself. ~ Financial Karma
You know the saying, "Charity begins at home"? Well, finances begin at home too.
What do we need - truly need - money for?
A roof over our heads
Food in our bellies
Clothes on our backs
These are the basic needs we have to cover on a day-to-day basis. Linked to those needs may be transportation costs such as public transit fees, gas, car insurance, parking fees, etc., in order to get to and from our jobs. Also, items to keep ourselves, our clothes, and our homes clean and presentable. Perhaps a phone for others to keep in touch with us for work and other urgent issues. Those are the true needs, even in today's society.
Some may say connecting to the Internet is a need - I counter that with where can one connect for no and/or low cost - the library, a job resource center, etc.
Some may say TV is a need. I say it is not - it is a want and a distracting one at that. If you want entertainment, go outside and enjoy the outdoors. If weather doesn't permit outdoor activity, read a book, play a board or card game, engage in meaningful conversation, journal, plan for the future, and/or let go of the past.
The first thing we need to do financially is ensure our true needs are taken care of - keeping a roof over our heads, food in our bellies, and clothes on our backs. And, we need to do these things within the confines of our current financial means - without the use of credit, plastic or otherwise. In fact, if you are a person who abuses credit by using it to cover basic day-to-day expenses, you need to find a financial counselor NOW!
Remember the challenge last week of tracking your expenses? Well, this week I give you another challenge. After putting aside money to cover transportation to employment expenses, pay your living - roof over your head - expenses first. These include rent/mortgage, energy (gas/electricity), water, utilities (sewer/trash) and home owner's or renter's insurance. After that, do you have enough to cover groceries and sundries (cleaning supplies and other non food items - pet food, etc.)? If not, where do you need to pare back and perhaps downsize energy consumption or living space costs?
Note I did NOT include cable, dish, satellite, Internet, or phone in those living expenses.
Remember, roof over your head, food in your belly and clothes on your back. And, want versus need. Once we can get back to truly covering our basic needs and have funds available to put aside for a rainy day, then we can think about saving for those wants in life - a home of our own, the ability to travel, the ability to send our children to college without student loans, or whatever else we desire to have in our lives.
Bottom line, cover the basics first and remember, want versus need.
We will talk more on the topic of personal finances next week.
Until then, namaste!
Sunday, April 6, 2014
MaXIMIze - Finances - Our Relationship with Money
There is a scrap of paper on the bulletin board by my desk that says:
Is money a naughty word?
No, it just means:
More
Opulent
Natural
Energy
Yeah!
When we think about dealing with finances and money in general, we come from one of two places - a place of abundance or a place of lack. Which do you come from?
This is actually a difficult topic for me to write about, which is probably why I decided to tackle this segment of the Circle of Perception first. My satisfaction rating for this particular segment of the areas of my life is currently a 5, which is down from last year's rating of 6. And I'll be quite honest, I am no financial guru in any way, shape or form.
When I was growing up, money was not talked about in our household, other than to say we couldn't afford something or other. I was not taught to save or plan for the future. My father was career military, so he had a guaranteed pension and medical benefits. My mother was Federal civil service under the old Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS), which also meant a guaranteed pension and medical coverage.
Today, though, staying with one company for an career that could span forty years or more is the exception rather than the norm. And, even with Federal civil service, the retirement program has changed the ratio of the guaranteed pension to the 401k type program (Federal Employees Retirement System came on line in the mid-1980s, replacing CSRS), and is poised to potentially change even more, depending on the whim and will of Congress.
Back in the day, the advice was to save 10% of your income, and to insure you had at least three months' living expenses in the bank. The advice now seems to be have at least six months if not a year's living expenses in the bank.
The availability of credit is another thing that has changed over the years. Credit as we know it - with MasterCard, VISA, Discover, American Express, and all the store and gas cards - did not come into being until the 1970s. Back in the day, credit was something to be used sparingly for large purchases, not to buy everyday items such as clothes, groceries, even gas on.
Our way of looking at the use of money or credit to buy things has changed as well. We have become a society of "I want it all and I want it now" rather than one of "good things come to those who wait." We have lost the distinction between what it is we really need to live and what it is that we want to have.
When was the last time you waited to buy something - say, a painting - that struck your fancy? And by waiting, I mean going home, really looking at your financial situation, and sleeping on your decision rather than buying it right then, right there.
Household budget - do you know where all your money goes every month? Do you know how much you spend on meat, dairy, fruits, vegetables, laundry items, bathroom items, pet items, alcohol, soda, junk food, etc.? Do you really need all those cable channels or can you pare down to the internet connection and Hulu or Netflix? Or do you really need TV at all? How much is that smart phone costing you each month?
I challenge you to track each and every expense for a month or two and really see where your money goes - and I mean every expense - whether you buy it with cash, check, or debit/credit. Then ask yourself what do I really need to have/eat/use?
As you do this, you will begin to see your bank account grow, and then you can pay off your credit debt and save for your future.
Which brings me to my last question for you - have you done any retirement planning? Do you know where you're going to live, how you're going to spend your time, what funds will be needed to cover all that for as long as you are likely to live?
We have to take care of ourselves financially, period. No one else will do this for us - and frankly, we shouldn't let them. We owe it to ourselves to be able to pay our own way, balance our accounts, and save for our future, period.
We owe it to ourselves to become educated about money, our relationship with it, and its place in our lives. We owe it to ourselves to acknowledge the strengths we do have in the realm of finances and use them to the best of our abilities. We also owe it to ourselves to acknowledge our weaknesses in this area, bring them out in the open, and seek the help and advice we need to get to a place where we can have a healthy relationship with money and rate this segment of our lives at a minimum of 8 if not higher.
There are many resources out there for this particular topic. Suze Orman is one of my favorite authors and speakers on this subject. There is also a book called Your Money or Your Life by Vicki Robin, Joe Dominguez, and Monique Tilford that is very good.
If you are already dealing with your finances from a place of abundance - great! Keep on trucking and refine things as you need to.
If you are dealing with your finances from a place of lack - of never having enough - do the work you need to do to figure out why your relationship with money is what it is and work to move from a place of lack to a place of abundance. If need be, get counseling - both financial and personal - to help you move down the path toward abundance.
We owe to ourselves to live our best lives now - and MaXIMIzing our financial health and well-being will help us to do that.
As we move through the month, we will discuss more on the topic of finances and money, coming from a place of abundance and reminding ourselves that money is a tool we use to MaXIMIze our lives, not a be all and end all of itself.
Until next week, namaste!
Is money a naughty word?
No, it just means:
More
Opulent
Natural
Energy
Yeah!
When we think about dealing with finances and money in general, we come from one of two places - a place of abundance or a place of lack. Which do you come from?
This is actually a difficult topic for me to write about, which is probably why I decided to tackle this segment of the Circle of Perception first. My satisfaction rating for this particular segment of the areas of my life is currently a 5, which is down from last year's rating of 6. And I'll be quite honest, I am no financial guru in any way, shape or form.
When I was growing up, money was not talked about in our household, other than to say we couldn't afford something or other. I was not taught to save or plan for the future. My father was career military, so he had a guaranteed pension and medical benefits. My mother was Federal civil service under the old Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS), which also meant a guaranteed pension and medical coverage.
Today, though, staying with one company for an career that could span forty years or more is the exception rather than the norm. And, even with Federal civil service, the retirement program has changed the ratio of the guaranteed pension to the 401k type program (Federal Employees Retirement System came on line in the mid-1980s, replacing CSRS), and is poised to potentially change even more, depending on the whim and will of Congress.
Back in the day, the advice was to save 10% of your income, and to insure you had at least three months' living expenses in the bank. The advice now seems to be have at least six months if not a year's living expenses in the bank.
The availability of credit is another thing that has changed over the years. Credit as we know it - with MasterCard, VISA, Discover, American Express, and all the store and gas cards - did not come into being until the 1970s. Back in the day, credit was something to be used sparingly for large purchases, not to buy everyday items such as clothes, groceries, even gas on.
Our way of looking at the use of money or credit to buy things has changed as well. We have become a society of "I want it all and I want it now" rather than one of "good things come to those who wait." We have lost the distinction between what it is we really need to live and what it is that we want to have.
When was the last time you waited to buy something - say, a painting - that struck your fancy? And by waiting, I mean going home, really looking at your financial situation, and sleeping on your decision rather than buying it right then, right there.
Household budget - do you know where all your money goes every month? Do you know how much you spend on meat, dairy, fruits, vegetables, laundry items, bathroom items, pet items, alcohol, soda, junk food, etc.? Do you really need all those cable channels or can you pare down to the internet connection and Hulu or Netflix? Or do you really need TV at all? How much is that smart phone costing you each month?
I challenge you to track each and every expense for a month or two and really see where your money goes - and I mean every expense - whether you buy it with cash, check, or debit/credit. Then ask yourself what do I really need to have/eat/use?
As you do this, you will begin to see your bank account grow, and then you can pay off your credit debt and save for your future.
Which brings me to my last question for you - have you done any retirement planning? Do you know where you're going to live, how you're going to spend your time, what funds will be needed to cover all that for as long as you are likely to live?
We have to take care of ourselves financially, period. No one else will do this for us - and frankly, we shouldn't let them. We owe it to ourselves to be able to pay our own way, balance our accounts, and save for our future, period.
We owe it to ourselves to become educated about money, our relationship with it, and its place in our lives. We owe it to ourselves to acknowledge the strengths we do have in the realm of finances and use them to the best of our abilities. We also owe it to ourselves to acknowledge our weaknesses in this area, bring them out in the open, and seek the help and advice we need to get to a place where we can have a healthy relationship with money and rate this segment of our lives at a minimum of 8 if not higher.
There are many resources out there for this particular topic. Suze Orman is one of my favorite authors and speakers on this subject. There is also a book called Your Money or Your Life by Vicki Robin, Joe Dominguez, and Monique Tilford that is very good.
If you are already dealing with your finances from a place of abundance - great! Keep on trucking and refine things as you need to.
If you are dealing with your finances from a place of lack - of never having enough - do the work you need to do to figure out why your relationship with money is what it is and work to move from a place of lack to a place of abundance. If need be, get counseling - both financial and personal - to help you move down the path toward abundance.
We owe to ourselves to live our best lives now - and MaXIMIzing our financial health and well-being will help us to do that.
As we move through the month, we will discuss more on the topic of finances and money, coming from a place of abundance and reminding ourselves that money is a tool we use to MaXIMIze our lives, not a be all and end all of itself.
Until next week, namaste!
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