What Are You Worth?

I was running a seminar last week - looking at how you can make more money by using your time better. In one form or another you charge for your time. Whether you work for a company, who pays you a weekly or monthly salary or your work for yourself, you're paid for the time you spend at work and the services or product you provide.

Sometimes it can be quite surprising to work out what your hourly rate is - especially when you take into account, preparation, travel time, follow-up, admin and marketing.

Think about how much time you waste in a day. Every hour you waste is money lost - to you or your employer. On average, people are only 60% productive. That means they're losing two days a week - through distractions, interruptions, inefficiency, lack of focus and poor planning.

Make an effort this week to reduce all those distractions that waste your time - email, phone calls, people and see if you can increase your productivity and your earning power.

Make Do And Mend

I read a blog today by someone who had just fished out their favourite jumper – now the days are definitely getting colder and discovered holes in the elbows. There question was repair it or dump it. Now one benefit of the credit crunch is that people are trying to cut back and the old mantra of ‘make do and mend’ is coming back into vogue. We should now be reluctant to just chuck things out because they don’t’ work any more or are slightly worn.

During the war, there wasn’t the luxury of buying new and along with everything else, clothes were rationed, so it was necessary to make do and mend. I think people have forgotten how to use a needle and thread or a sewing machine these days and in the throw away society that we live in, we’d never consider repairing anything electrical. It’s cheaper to buy new and just stick it on credit … and pay more for it later. Actually a whole industry of repairmen could now arise out of the ashes of burning credit cards.

That other old adage – waste not want not will also come in to play. So talk to your grand- parents, get their best tips on making things go further. We’ll be a less wasteful, throw-away society. See there’s an upside to even the impending depression.

Money Tips To Beat The Credit Crunch

As we’re all being hit by the current credit crunch – markets are going into free fall and people are now suffering from an age of overspending and easy credit. I thought it would be timely to share a few of my money tips.

If you’re not sure where your money goes each month then write a money diary for the next week. Make a note of everything you spend each day and then add it up at the end of the week, so you can see exactly how much you spend even on the little things – your daily newspaper, snacks as well as bills paid, cash withdrawn.

Use cash or debit cards. If you know the money is going to come straight out of your bank account, you’re less likely to spend excessively. Credit cards only have to be paid for later and while the ‘easy monthly payments’ may seem tempting you’ll end up paying a lot more for the goods that you buy. Get into the habit of only spending money that’s actually yours … not someone else’s like the banks or the credit card companies.

Get onto Ebay, post local ads, go to car boot sales and sell what you don’t need to boost your funds. Recycle what you no longer. Buy second hand rather than new and save money or even better look at getting something repaired rather than throwing it away and buying new. Sometimes repairing something might be more expensive than buying new but it’s always worth checking and there are people who are happy to ‘fix’ things.

If you don’t have one already, create an Emergency Survival Fund. This is a pool of savings that you can dip into should an emergency arise – an unexpected bill or repair or if you were to lose your job. It should be equal to the amount that would cover all your basic financial needs (mortgage, rent, utility bills, food) for a minimum of three months.

Buy what you need, not what you want and as the saying goes waste not, want not.

If you’d like more tips and strategies for improving your finances – take a look at my e-book – More Month Than Money.

Happiness Is A Warm Puppy

You know some people like to have the latest gadgets and gismos as soon as they come out.

They seem to have the very latest of everything, mobile phone, computer, TV. Apple launches their i-phone, they’ll be first in line with their credit card, everyone seems to have the latest plasma, wide-screen, HD TV (except me), latest dishwasher, new cars every couple of years, going to the latest hot spot for their holiday. I know someone like this, they’re always buying gadgets and updating their computer. Ask them if their happy and the answer is a muttered “not really”.

When asked what makes people happy – the answer isn’t … the latest gadget or a new widescreen TV – it’s spending time with their partner, friends and family. Simple things like enjoying a glass of wine in the sunshine with friends on a summer’s evening or being in a beautiful part of the world or hearing their children laugh.

Do more of what makes you happy, less of what doesn’t and spend your money on what makes you and those close to you happy, not for short-term, short-lived satisfaction.

I'll just go and find a warm puppy! :)

Start As You Mean To Go On

While we’re all setting resolutions (or not), the beginning of the year is a good time to start as you mean to go on. If you’re intending to take regular breaks throughout the year – then look at your calendar and book the time out now. If you want to keep your office tidy – decide to spend the last few minutes of the day putting things away. If you want to keep your accounts up-to-date – book out time in your diary once a week or once a month to get them done.

If you want to finish work on time or not work such long hours this year – set a finish time and stick with it. Don’t plan meetings or take on additional work late in the afternoon when you know it will make you late.

If you want to start saving or clear your debt this year, take the money straight out of your bank account at the beginning of each month. Although it might be tough for the first couple of months, once you get used to it, you won't even notice it.

If you want to get fit or improve your health – book time out in your week for regular exercise and put it at the top of priority list.

While an initial burst of enthusiasm might dwindle after a few weeks, check your progress at the end of each month to see how you’re doing. Focusing on what you want and checking your progress at regular intervals means you’re more like to stick with it.

Get Rich - Start Young

How would you like to be free of financial worries and not tied to your job or the work you do?

Of course you would. Well, there’s one way you can achieve this that could enable you to become a millionaire and no, I’m not about to start plugging the latest get rich scam!

This way takes time but it’s possible and far more likely to happen than some of the other ways you could earn a million. Having said that, in all your working years there’s a pretty good chance that you’ll have earned close to a million by the time you retire. Unfortunately, not all at once and you’ll have had to work pretty hard in order to achieve that.

However, there’s an easier way. Well, at least if you’re prepared to spend a fair amount of time but with relatively little effort and just a bit of common sense.

What is it?

Simple. Start saving … NOW! The sooner you start the better. You still need to work but if you can, save at least 10% of your income and put it away into a high interest account and most importantly – DON’T TOUCH IT. Do this as soon as you receive your salary and you won't notice it. Increase the amount you save each time you get a pay rise and your savings pot will grow faster.

Once you’ve got into the savings habit use those savings to start investing. Preferably something tax-free like an ISA, then you’ll be growing something that could be worth a not inconsiderable amount of money within a few years. Yes, the value of stocks and shares can go up and down but even with two stock market crashes in recent years the overall trend is upwards, so if you’re in it for the long-term (which is what it’s all about) you will make money - unless your very unlucky or just going for the short-term rewards.

The earlier you start saving, the longer you have to see your investment grow and the more money you’re likely to make. As long as you’re reinvesting the interest you make. It’s all due to the wonderful nature of compounding. (It's the same reason your debts get bigger and bigger.) Even saving £100 a month over 25 years (yes, that is a long time) you could earn close to £100,000 for not doing an awful lot and that’s not something to be sniffed at. Don't believe me - take a look here.

If you want to become an even smarter saver and investor – take full advantage of your annual ISA allowance. If your company offers a Share Option Scheme and you plan to be with them for a while, they're definitely worth investing in.

Once you’ve developed a good portfolio of investments – at some point in the future (give it 20 years) you’ll be able to start living off the income if you want to. That's why you need to start as soon as you can!

OK, this is a fairly simple view but it’s also not something beyond most of us. Saving and Investing is a tried and tested way to achieve financial wealth – even if you’re not able to put away hundreds of pounds every little helps and from tiny acorns … Achieving that million may not be such an impossible dream.

I’m NOT an expert, so make sure you discuss any financial decision with someone who is - an Independent Financial Advisor or at the very least your Bank Advisor.

If you want to check your current Money Habits and start on the road, get a copy of my FREE checklist by sending a blank email to mmtmintro@aweber.com and you'll also get the first chapter of my More Money e-book to read.

Life Symmetry

I was talking to people this week about their work life balance, what that means and how to manage it best. Life is made up of many different facets – it’s not just about work and life. Work is part of your life.

I think sometimes people are striving too hard for something they think they want but actually sometimes they’ve got what they want all along and they just need to take a different look at it. There are two ways of looking at this. First take a look at the Life Wheel and think about how it would look if you had more money than you needed. Plenty to pay the bills and enough left over for holidays,treats and to live exactly as you wanted.

Now take a different colour and redo the wheel but this time think how it would look if you only had enough money to pay your bills. How would this affect each area of your life now? Take a look at both wheels and see what changes. Which areas are affected by the amount of money you have and which aren’t?

Look at the important things in your life, family, friends, relationships, your health and make sure that you make the most of what you’ve got. How symmetrical is your wheel? What would it take to make each area of your life a 10/10. Plan in time for the important things first, those things that if you had no money would still be there and would still be important.

Don’t forget to include yourself in there too. After all, you’re the most important person and you need to take care of yourself. Make sure that you take time out every day – even if it’s just for a few minutes and treat yourself at least once a week.

Your Money

This is the third in a series of M.A.D. Moments based on different areas of your life to inspire you and motivate you into action.

What does Money mean to you?

• Do you spend more than you earn, less than you earn, about the same?
• Are money worries a source of stress?
• Is your credit card debt more than you can handle (be honest)?
• Do you manage to save on a regular basis.
• Do you spend for the long-term or short-term.

We could all benefit from improving our finances – unless we’re in the fortunate position of having more money than we know what to do with and have wisely invested for our future and old age, so have nothing to worry about.

Overspending may be something you do every now and then or it may be a pattern of behaviour that you need or would like to change.

What beliefs do you hold about money that affect your current money behaviours and habits? Our beliefs and spending habits develop in our childhood from our parents, society and religion and what they teach us about money. We may either take on the same behaviours or they may be totally different.

Action:

Here are three ideas to help you make a difference to your Money this week:

• Start a money diary. Write down everything that you spend this week, from the smallest amount to the biggest bill – every newspaper, coffee, snack bar, bus fare, car park fee. At the end of the week see how much you’ve spent and where.

• If you don’t know the numbers already, work out your monthly expenditure. Gather all your bank statements, credit card bills, household bills – everything that goes out and payslips, dividends, interest statement – anything that comes in.

• Reduce your outgoings. Are you getting the best rate on your car and house insurance? Check your bank statements – are you paying for things you no longer need.

If you’d like to check your current Money Habits, get a copy of my free checklist by simply sending a blank email to mmtmintro@aweber.com and you'll get the first chapter of my More Money e-book.

See how much you can save this week.

Have A Green Christmas

I dread to think how much some people's electricity bills are going to increase over the Christmas period as they light up their houses with an annual display of lights varying from pretty, traditional, tacky to downright over the top with all manner of santas, snowmen, christmas trees etc.

There's a road not too far away where they all compete with each other to raise money for charity but I don't suppose it's helping the environment much.

Here are a few tips for a greener Christmas.

Shopping - if you don't want to jump on the mass consumerism bandwagon this Christmas, why not buy presents from charities or fair-trade sources and where possible don't buy over-packaged goods. Think about what you're buying and why - don't buy just for the sake of it. I've picked several eco-friendly ideas this Christmas - wind-up torches, something for the garden. There's a wide range of 'green' gifts available from adopting and endangered animal to 'buying' a sheep to support your local wildlife trust.

Christmas Lights - switch them off when you go out and don't have them on all the time. Use energy efficient bulbs in the rest of the house to at least offset some of the energy used. One low energy bulb will save as much energy in the coming year as 30 strings of fairy lights over 12 days. LED lights are brighter and use a lot less energy than traditional bulbs.

Wrapping paper - most of this can't be recycled as it contains little actual paper and too much foil and plastic with added sticky tape and labels. Save as much as you can for re-use next year. Use ribbons and string to tie up packages.

Cards - save money and resources by sending electronic cards to colleagues and give the money saved to charity. Recycle cards to local charities or cut up into gift tags for next year.

Festive spirit - recycle all those bottles in the nearest bottle bank or in your kerbside collections.

Trees - if you have a real tree - make sure it's from a local, sustainable source. Thousands of Christmas trees and grown, cut and dumped each year. Most councils will take trees for recycling after Christmas so they can be composted or chipped for local parks and gardens. Buy a rooted one and plant it out in the garden - if you're lucky you can re-use it next year.

Decorations - deck the halls with boughs of holly - well at least see what you can harvest from your garden to decorate the house - holly, ivy, berries and evergreen plants provide a more natural display and can be composted at the end of the festive season.

Christmas Dinner - buy locally at your farmers market and steer clear of intensively produced food which stresses not only the animals but the environment. Farmers markets can be cheaper than supermarkets, have a wide range of seasonal produce, reduces the food miles and tastes far better.

Check out some of the other energy saving tips here that apply year-round and not just at Christmas.

Clare

How Much Could You Save?

My house insurance renewal was due this week. Over the weekend, I took the time to check a couple of online sites and within a matter of minutes had found a quote that would save me 20% on the amount of the renewal. It then took me a couple of minutes to cancel my existing policy and sign-up for my new policy. Not a bad return for about 10 minutes of effort.

The same thing happens when my car insurance comes in. I always take the time to check with a couple of online brokers to see if they can improve on the renewal quote. Over the years – I know the two key brokers that are likely to have the best quote although it’s always worth trying one or two others just to check.

How often do you just pay monthly or automatically pay the renewal. Well, it’s always worth taking the time to shop around for a better deal. Insurance companies in particular will always offer discounts to new customers or for taking out a quote online, usually 5-10% and often a lot more. When you’re already an existing customer – this discount is removed and invariably they will put the price up anyway. How many companies offer a discount for being a loyal customer or not having a claim so that your renewal ends up being less each? Yes, I thought not.

So this week – have a look at your existing insurance policies – when are they due? Make a note in your schedule to check a couple of brokers for quotes and see just how much you can save when they’re next due. If you think you’re paying too much already, switch now.

What other quick saves could you make to your finances – especially in the lead up to Christmas?

Get over 50 more money saving tips in my e-book.

I Want It All And I Want It Now

These days we expect to have everything we want and we want it all now. Strawberries and salad vegetables are available all year round – shipped hundreds or even thousands of miles from half way around the world from New Zealand or hot-housed in Holland or Spain.

If you see a new outfit, suit or pair of shoes that you can’t really afford – out comes the credit card and somehow it doesn’t feel like real money when it’s a piece of plastic you’re handing over. What does it matter, you can have it now and pay for it later, but how much will you actually end up paying? No wonder more and more people are getting into debt these days as they try to keep up with changing trends, bombardment from ads and wanting what everyone else has. How many unworn clothes are hanging in wardrobes or unused gadgets are tucked away in cupboards and drawers – supposedly labour saving devices but really just another way to part people from their hard earned cash for something they'll probably never use or throw away in a year or two.

If something breaks, we don’t even think about fixing it, we just throw it away and go out and buy a new one – whatever it might be. It seems to be our right to have the very latest of everything and to have everything new. We don’t want to buy second-hand or make do with hand me downs (understandable if you were the youngest of several children!). But there’s a whole industry out there, built around passing on second hand goods and recycling to those less fortunate - not just on Ebay and Freecycle.

Things aren’t built to last either. Another way to make sure you have the latest and greatest. My parents are still using things they were given at their wedding – over 40 years ago – not much that you can buy that will still be around in 40 years time and still working. My toaster blew up last year, just after the guarantee ran out – needless to say. How many times have you bought something that breaks down after only a couple of years use?

We tend to think on a very short-term scale these days. I was out coppicing last week (yes, I do these strange things every now and then!). There’s an example of patience and long-term planning. Areas were coppiced regularly and harvested every few years or sometimes decades later. No instant results when you’re planting for planks of wood. Nature won't be hurried - at least not when it comes to growing trees. Knowing that the tree you plant one year wouldn't be harvested until twenty-five or thirty years later.

What happened to make do and mend – or saving up to buy things? OK, I’m not expecting you to deprive yourself, start darning your socks or go back to the dark ages but some restraint and patience can’t be a bad thing.

Reduce Your Energy Bills

It's been all over the news today – the UK is officially the biggest energy waster in Europe. Our worst habits are leaving mobile phone chargers, appliances (like the TV, DVD, HiFi) on standby and leaving lights on when not in a room. I heard quotes this morning of "savings of £300 in a year" which is significant but is probably the sum total of my own electricity bill.

I carried out an energy saving exercise earlier this year to see what difference I could make to my own usage and saved an average of 15% from one week to another on gas, electricity and water usage just through making a few simple changes and being more aware of switching things off and using less. That was in the summer and would save me over £70 a year.

I'm a careful user anyway - have low voltage bulbs, switch off lights and carry out all the usual energy saving tips. How much more could a family of four save in a year? All those mobile phone chargers, TVs, DVD players, iPods, computers, laptops ....

What would 15-25% of your annual utility bills be and would that be a worthwhile saving to you or is money really no object?

Here are a few tips:

· Don’t leave appliances on standby – switch them off! TVs, DVDs, video recorders. Save about £40 a year.
· Unplug mobile phone and MP3 chargers – this could save enough electricity to power 115,000 homes.
· Switch off the computer at the end of the day, switch off monitors, printers, scanners when not in use.
· Change to energy efficient light bulbs and switch off lights when leaving a room.
· Wash clothes at lower temperatures and save 40% less energy. Avoid using a tumble dryer.
· Turn your thermostat down by 1C and save 10% on your heating bill.

What could you do this week to reduce your energy bills, save yourself money and reduce your impact on the environment?