I am sorting & organising money almost daily in my bookkeeping practice and as a Professional Money Organiser.
I also understand that we each have a money personality that gives us strengths and challenges around money.
Which means that I understand that money can cause anxiety & overwhelm to some people.
I am passionate about explaining money concepts in the simplest way possible, taping into our Right Brain for creativity.
Because being stressed about money is.not.fun!
And you can’t stress to a solution, so….
Here’s a little Money explanation using 4 pillars to chunk what you need to know in its simplest form.
Money Flows. In and Out. And you can categorise the elements flowing as either Spending, Earning, Saving & Investing.
I dealt with Money Management Tracking in this post, so now I’d like to describe the elements that go into each pillar.
Spending (Giving)
These are costs that can be fixed (so you know how much is flowing out each time its incurred) or semi-variable (where depending on usage it might vary), and variable where it definitely will vary (such as groceries).
Think about your spending. Do you understand which costs are fixed (eg fixed rate mortgage), semi-variable (eg. phone bill) or variable costs (eg. groceries, gifts)
- How do you feel about your fixed expenses? Is there a sense of gratitude or resentment around having them?
- how do you feel about your spending in general? Is there a pattern? You might be using the Money Flow Tracker and waiting a month or 2 to review.
Earning (Receiving)
As a bookkeeper, most of my clients coming into my Money Personality work own their own business, are freelancers or have a side hustle.
If you only have a single source of income, then this will be a predictable and easy aspect of your money to track. However, in my money personality work, we often explore if you are earning your worth.
- What is your progression plan inside of your employment?
- Do you have a hobby that might be worth exploring as a side hustle?
- Are you earning what you are worth?
Saving
The biggest aha moment I had when I was an IFA (Independent Financial Advisor) was learning that people won’t save if they can’t see their future. And that’s the same for Investing.
This is one of the reasons that I keep Vision Mapping as an offering to clients. The activity provides clarification and monitoring of your future aspirations.
I once thought that I wanted to be a yoga teacher. In fact, you may have read that I am currently pursuing my YTT 200 hr Yoga Alliance training. I had it and other images of teaching a class on my Vision Board for months. And I stopped my daily practice! I felt alot of resistance to actually moving it forward. Once, I reframed it for deepening my own personal practice, I started up again. And it came off my vision board! So, sometimes trying something on, enables you to clarify your outcomes.
What should you save for? The correct answer is anything you bloody well want to save for! And a few more adulting activities such as:
- Protection – Life insurance, income protection insurance in case you become incapacitated and unable to work. You are your own ATM (hole in the wall) which could spell disaster if you suddenly can’t work. Along with some savings, you might have elements of protection in place to help you through a difficult time.
- Retirement – As a 51 year old, I can tell you that there will come a time in your life where you might want to slow down, choose when to work and stop hustling. That goes for in business as well – what is your legacy plan? Pensions are just a tax-efficient wrapper incentivizing people to save for the longer term. And if you are a fatalist, thinking you aren’t going to make it to retirement, think outside the box to other long term savings such as property. Your other savings will also come into the mix too. Speak to a financial adviser to help you navigate this complicated subject!
- Savings – These are your Cash ISAs and savings in your bank account. Your rainy day fund. Your emergency fund. And any spare money sitting in one of your bank accounts.
- Mortgages – You want to pay off your mortgage before you reach retirement. If you aren’t a home owner yet, then your savings will perhaps one day flow into a property with the balance borrowed as a mortgage.
Investing
These are your Stock ISAs and stocks & shares. But also think of where you are investing your time & energy. It matters! Where are you investing your time. Are you growing relationships or is your time being used as expenditure?
I often refer to Robert Kiyosaki’s cashflow quadrant to help show financial growth opportunity on the right side:
And there you have the 4 pillars of money explained. When you look at this against your Money Personality strengths and challenges, you begin to create a pretty clear picture of your relationship with money and also your decision making (choices) around money matters!
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