Here’s the thing about financial planning: we don’t plan out of fear; we plan so that we can extend our peace of mind. This is why wills form such a key role in our planning. However, engaging in this process can be clumsy, confusing, and a little hairy, and as Ricky Gervais once said, where there’s a will – there’s a relative! We need to talk about wills and estate planning so that we can remove […]
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Messy, not perfect
It’s hard not to become fixated on getting things perfect. It may not be in all areas of our lives, but for almost all of us, we have skills, relationships and responsibilities where we want to show up as perfect. As Dave and Hester Vaughan (yourjourneyforlife.com) often say, “Messy, not perfect!” This is a great reminder that we mustn’t fall into the perfectionism trap. If we do, we will find piles and piles of frustration. As […]
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Cruise through a cost-of-living crisis
No one likes to plan for a time when we might not have enough money to make ends meet. Often, when we plan or make financial decisions, we assume that our future self will have enough money to pay for the decisions we make today. Sometimes this turns out to be accurate, but sometimes it doesn’t. And, if the economy slumps and we have a cost-of-living crisis, the pressure on our finances can be debilitating. Before […]
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Moms and money
So often when it comes to money, mum’s the word! But, it doesn’t have to be that way. In our two previous blogs, we’ve spoken about how hard it can be to address money conversations in a constructive and healthy way. Whether it’s due to cultural boundaries or gender stereotypes, there are many reasons why we struggle to talk about money. Mother figures are the matriarchs that build and sustain much of the foundations of our […]
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The importance of boundaries
Every day we make decisions to live a life of our choosing. But yet, when asked about what our ideal life could look like, it’s often quite different from the one we’re living right now. Our decisions link our current life to the life we’d like. With every decision, we’re either establishing a new boundary, moving a boundary or removing a boundary. Unfortunately, if we spend too much time removing boundaries, we will become increasingly frustrated, […]
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From bags to riches
We often think of things like stocks, bonds, mutual funds, annuities and assets as investments. But, investments are a broad area. According to Investopedia, an investment involves putting capital to use today to increase its value over time. An investment requires putting capital to work, in the form of time, money, effort, etc., in hopes of a more significant payoff in the future than what was initially put in. With the increased use of technology to […]
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Father figures and financial fatigue
In our previous blog we spoke about the importance of communication in our financial planning. We live in a culture that places much financial strain on the father figure to support the family unit, and often money stress can cause them to hide the burden from their partner and family. In South Africa we have a huge debt problem and, according to National Debt Advisors over 60% of their client base are males between the ages […]
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Want to avoid a lapsed policy?
When the purse strings are pulled tight, it’s challenging to look at your statement and see monthly amounts deducted for insurance payments. Whether the risk policies are for health care, income protection or the protection of assets, seeing them come off your account can be painful. As a result, many of us cut these policies quickly to create immediate relief to our finances because it feels like one of the few things we can control. But […]
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Talking about money starts with listening to each other
At SFP, we’ve found that the biggest money struggles in families often start with the hurdle of talking openly about money. Communication sits at the heart of all strong, robust and long-lasting relationships, but it’s easily one of the hardest things to do effectively. George Bernard Shaw once said, “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” We talk at each other, not to each other. We think our message […]
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When you think you can’t
Stress can be an incredibly powerful motivator. Most of the time, we see it as a negative, but that’s because our days are generally overwhelmed with stress. And, our coping skills have evolved to help us survive in environments very different (Cosmides & Tooby, 2013). Our mind protects us from harm and further stress by telling us that “we can’t”. Coping with everyday life is complex and learning to make healthier decisions is a lifelong journey; […]
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