Have you got anything outstanding? Is there an invoice you should have sent? Or perhaps some taxes that are due to be filed? Maybe you have an insurance claim or credit cards to attend to.
Whatever it is, it will take longer than you think to do and won’t get done until you sit there for several hours and sort it out. Don’t let it keep drifting along. Complete the work today!
Remember the car you wanted? How about that vacation that didn’t happen? Make a financial wish list so you can focus on the things that bring you joy.
Like Marie Kondo says, when tidying, get all the same items in one spot. So if you are doing clothes, get all of the clothes from around the house and put them in one spot. This way you can see everything at the same time. This makes it easier to compare, so the selection process may be easier. You also get a true sense of the magnitude of the items.
Do the same for a financial wish list. Think of it as a bucket list that you want to achieve before you buy the farm. Put everything on this list that you could imagine wanting at some point. Put a minimum cost on each item. The idea is to get everything out in the open and see what you would really like. Some will be must haves and some will be nice to haves. Put them all down. Get a real sense of what is ahead of you. What would bring you joy?
For example, one of my items is to pay for each child’s university education. Another is to cover an amount for a wedding. Now maybe they won’t go to university or get married. But at least the funds are there in case they do. And they can always be redirected to a start-up business fund, round the world holiday or other matter after a certain age.
Make a financial wish list. Make it for fun. It will tidy your mind.
You would be surprised how much your TV costs you. And I am not talking about the purchase price. The cost of watching TV may be higher than you think.
There are many ways to look at this whole TV watching scenario. It has really been brought home to me several times in my life. However, it may have had its biggest impact years ago, when I heard this idea from Jim Rohn.
For most people it is not the cost of the TV, even if it was £3,000. The real cost is higher, even if you add in the cable cost, movie channels and streaming services at £150 per month. It is the time you spend in front of the TV that costs you dearly.
First, that time could be spent with children, loved ones or on other engaging endeavours. Secondly, what is the financial opportunity cost of the TV? If you are paid £20 per hour (£40k per year) and watch three hours of TV on five of the seven days a week for 52 week, that would equate to an additional £15,600 if you were working. That is almost 40% more income.
Imagine if you turned your nightly TV watching into a profitable hobby that generated an extra £15,000 of income a year from now.
Ah, the cost of watching TV.
What does freedom mean to you? Is it about going where you like, saying things you think, not having to work or having any dependents? The freedom factor determines a lot about your life.
For many people, they can go where they like. In addition, within a very wide spectrum, they can say what they think. In many developed countries, you can already choose not to work and survive with social assistance programs. Finally, you can choose not to have a partner or children or pets that depend on you. That’s usually in your control.
So, a great many people already have freedom. Sometimes we don’t realise how fortunate we are. Because there are still quite a few people, and places, that don’t have these basic freedoms, which many people take for granted. And it wasn’t that long ago you could have lost your head for being in the wrong spot, saying the wrong thing or not paying bills.
Which leads us on to financial freedom. This is the freedom that allows us to choose those things we want to do, when we want to do them. For many this equates to retirement.
But if you love what you do, you may never ‘retire’.
