Whilst it’s good to have someone on your team (your financial adviser) who knows what’s happening in the markets, it’s not always helpful to relay all that information to you and have you make decisions about it. We can’t control the markets, but we can control our conversations about money. That’s why it’s not always helpful to ask what is happening in the markets; it’s more beneficial to ask what problems we can work on in […]
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It’s okay to listen and learn
Over the last two decades, we’ve been introduced, seduced and held captive by the overwhelming presence of digital communication. From the days when we promised ourselves we would ‘never get emails on our Blackberry’ to an age where we can DM, post, comment, react, share, support, subscribe, pin, tweet, self-publish, sync, stream, webcast, update, upload and download practically anything and everything. We’ve moved from a chosen behaviour to listen and learn to a conditioned behaviour of […]
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When the markets have you second-guessing
“Genuine travellers travel not to overcome distance but to discover distance.” James P Carse Investing money is always a paradox: it’s simple, complex, straightforward, challenging, mathematical, and unpredictable. It’s because of our emotional influence that plays a significant role in every decision we make. When investing in the markets, many have said it’s all about time in the markets, not timing the markets. When trying to time the markets, our emotions can offset our mathematical thinking […]
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The Superman Syndrome
Have you ever watched a superhero movie where they show the origin story of the hero? It’s often a journey of going from ordinary and wanting so much more, to being extra-ordinary and not being able to cope with all of the responsibility. A sense of overwhelming obligation can both distract and dilute the hero from being truly powerful in exacting the change they would like to see. And, although we’re not superheroes we can sometimes […]
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Car insurance and your financial portfolio
When the effects of inflation are being felt more than ever, and global economies are stuck in a state of recovery, it’s common for us to sit down and review our monthly expenses in a fervent drive to reduce our expenses. As we scroll through our bank statements or budgeting apps, we will start to question every payment – and insurance will always catch our eye and have us asking if it’s really necessary. The answer […]
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Fight or flight – freeze or appease?
We all have reactionary instincts, which can be quite different in various situations. We won’t always run from certain challenges (flight) or panic when confronted with a problem (freeze). Sometimes we may stand our ground and represent our deep values (fight), but in other cases, we could simply go with the flow in order to keep the peace (appease). In her article “Everything I Know About Fight or Flight, ” Aurora Eliam describes how these hormonal […]
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We can only change what we can observe
One of the frustrations that we often experience is the feeling of being stuck. We repeat the same patterns, day in and day out, forming habits that we seem unable to shake. From unhealthy eating, exercise and money choices to self-sabotaging social media, phone and relationship habits, it’s easy to find ourselves living a life that feels stuck in time. As most coaches will tell us, it’s because we have blindspots to the choices that keep […]
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Doing everything yourself?
There are many reasons why we try to do everything ourselves, from satisfying our need to be in control to trying to save costs, or simply “wanting the job done right”, all of us find ourselves doing too much when we forget, or haven’t learned to delegate. Taxes and financial planning are two areas that we often feel we can go it alone, but inevitably find ourselves turning to a professional down the line and realise […]
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A bird’s eye-view of your financial plan
Most people don’t enjoy financial planning. It’s a practice filled with stigmas of confusing concepts, complicated products, and expensive choices. But the fact is that none of us can live without it costing us money. Even if we simply want to go for a walk, we need to buy the time to do that. We need to earn enough money during our working hours to buy the freedom to choose what we want to do in […]
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Make better powerpoints
Powerpoint presentations have become a vital tool in communication, whether it’s to source funding or support for new business ideas, presenting feedback to management or your team, sharing research findings or creating content for social media, knowing how to make powerpoints that attract, connect and engage with the audience has become a crucial skill for almost all of us. But it’s more than just a skill, it’s also an art, and this is where most of […]
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