The other day, I met a woman in her sixties named  Jane, while I was lining up for a seminar, who told me that she hates anything to do with finances so she leaves it to her financial consultant. Then in her next breath she says that the consultant is useless and she “pays him for nothing.” However she felt that she would rather have a bad adviser than no one at all. When I told her that she could actually manage her own finances she told me that she did not understand shares and that her adviser’s judgement would be better than hers. Jane went to explain how her dislike for numbers stemmed from her school days (even though she was good at maths).

I found the conversation worrying but from her manner I knew that she would not listen to anything I had to offer. Jane’s mind was closed to the possibility of her understanding money. Her mindset was that ‘she did not like figures, finances were difficult and she did not want to understand it.” This belief can be traced back all the way to her school days when she hated maths. Does any of this sound familiar ?

The first step in understanding money is changing your mindset to believe that you can manage your money. Think about what mental blocks you have about understanding finances. When did you start to have this belief ? Was it from your days at school ? Everyone has the ability to understand money. All you have to do is be able to add up, subtract, multiply and divide. This can all be done on a calculator.

The biggest hurdle is yourself and your beliefs. So start with baby steps and believe that you are great at managing money. I find affirmations or mantras are great tools in helping you change your beliefs.

For instance, your internal dialogue might be “I am not good with money. I am not good with numbers.”

You can change that belief by saying “I am great at managing my money”. Whenever you have a negative thought about money swap it with your positive statement.

You will find that over time your mind will open up and you will feel confident enough to gain a better understanding of money. Please do not take my word for it. Try it for yourself and see what happens. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Another aspect of the conversation with Jane that concerned me was her statement regarding shares. I will be the first to admit that I do not understand shares and have no interest in it. That is why I invest in property as I love all aspects of property investment. So why invest in something that you do not understand and have no interest in ?

Anyone can learn to invest their money but they need to do their own research before they make the financial commitment. Read, ask questions and read some more. Once you feel as though you know all you need to know about
money then take the plunge and invest.

Imagine if you were going to go diving. Would you just jump off the boat and dive into the ocean without any equipment or training ? No, you would take some lessons, buy equipment, read about diving and speak to other divers. Only after all your research would you dive into the ocean.

You follow the same steps with investing. Read about it, speak to people who have done it successfully and go to some seminars. Be aware that your aim in attending seminars is to educate yourself. Not to buy property or shares from the people who are giving the seminars.

Going back to the diving analogy, how well do you think you would dive if someone else attended the courses and read the books ? The same goes for investing, you need to teach yourself about investing so that you can make the decisions.

Remember there is nothing wrong with making mistakes and everyone does it. The important thing is to learn from your experience and move on. The past is behind you and you have to look forward with the information you have learned. You can have whatever future you want, just believe in yourself and your own abilities.

Do you want to be like Jane who has left her financial future to a stranger she is not happy with ? Or would you prefer to be the person looking after your money. Who would you trust, a complete stranger or yourself ?

These are the questions you have to think about when you think about your money.

Good luck and remember that we all have the ability to look after our money, we just have to believe and trust ourselves.

Have a safe and wonderful day.

Two years ago I moved into a house that had a backyard which could only be accessed through the house. Since I worked full time, it meant that I had to find a gardener who was available on the weekends, so I could let him through the house to the garden. Unfortunately the first few numbers I rang advised me that they did not work on the weekends. I did not want to grow a jungle in the backyard so I bit the bullet and went out and bought my first lawn mower.

The salesman was very helpful and showed me a suitable model, the oil I needed to put in the mower and a container to put my petrol in. I took it home and poured in all the necessary liquids as instructed and went to start it. The instructions stated that I needed to press the red button three times before I pulled the chord. I followed these instructions but there was only silence. I tried again and again and nothing was getting that mower started. So I thought I would ask my neighbour as I had seen him mow his own lawn the previous week.

John, my neighbour, was very helpful and got the mower started first time round. I thanked John for his help and mowed my back yard. It was my first time in mowing a lawn and I was excited! It had always seemed complicated so I had hired a gardener. My children found the whole experience comical as they had never imagined that their mother would use a lawn mower. After I finished the task my kids actually came outside and congratulated me on what a great job I had done. Apparently I had not mowed in perfectly straight lines but “since it was my first time I had done a pretty good job.” I had to laugh and wondered is that the tone I use on them?

A few weeks later I took the mower out and to my dismay it would not start. I tried several times without success. I felt embarrassed at having to ask my neighbour again but after a while I had no choice. So looking very sheepish I trudged next door (I had bought myself some work boots) and asked John for his help yet again.

Now John was married with a couple of kids and I was hoping that he did not think that I was trying to be ‘friendly’. I genuinely needed to start my lawnmower. Once again John helped me to get the mower working and this time my middle son had paid attention. There was a ‘thingy’ (technical term)  on the handle of the lawnmower which John had fully opened up before he started the mower. Once it had started he closed the “thingy” to half way. This was the part I was missing!! Thank goodness I have an observant son.

I have mowed my own lawn ever since and I always feel a sense of satisfaction and independence. Since then I have learnt to grout tiles and put up brackets for curtain rods. Each time I fix something around my home I feel a sense of accomplishment. You can feel embarrassed and silly when you are trying new things but remember that everyone started from scratch. They learnt by being shown and asking questions. It is never too late to try something new, no matter what your age or sex. We all have the ability to learn a new skill. So do not feel stupid for asking questions, everyone has to start somewhere and the key is to just take the first step.

If you would like to learn how to install curtain rod brackets or grout tiles, please send me an email. Alternatively you can search Youtube and watch a video.

Have a safe and fun week everyone.