Response able; what a great way to live your life.

When you are feeling that all your money is going, no flying out before your eyes, it can make you feel sick to your stomach. There is more month, to the money you have available.

Understanding exactly what your position is puts you in a position of seeing ‘what is’ and determining if where you are is where you want to be. If you want a change then take stock, and look at where your money is going. Do you have more money than you need or do you have less money than you need?

If you have more than you need, then, do not have an issue with meeting your commitments. However if you have less then there is an issue. You now have two choices, deal with the issue or pretend that it will take care of itself. Choice is yours.

Response able:-

• Means that you take an honest and objective look at the situation.
• Determine the gravity.
• Determine how you put yourself into this position.
• Determine what you can do.
• Look at different options.
• Determine which option suits you and your lifestyle.
• Check this against your long term goal.
• Set up your plan.
• Follow that plan.
• Check your progress.
• Reward yourself at your mile stones.
• Continue with your plan.
• Check to see if it still does what you want.
• Modify it if you need.
• Stay in control of your money.

The rewards of feeling good because you can have that holiday, you can see your buffer growing, you can pay for the things you want, you can become your own lending institution. You made it happen because you made to decision to become RESPONSE ABLE and determined your priorities.

Have fun with today; make it a stepping stone to feeling good and being in control.

Irena

It is really funny, I hear so many people tell me that they want a change. That the results they are getting are not the results they want, however they insist on creating the same behaviour patterns and expect a different result.

If you want a different result then you need to be prepared to do something different.

Opportunities for growth present themselves to us every day:

The thing is do we recognize the opportunity?
Do we want to take advantage of the growth situation?
Are we prepared to do what it takes?
How best do we take advantage?
What results do we expect?
I recently was asked by a group of business people to assist in the planning and execution of a new business venture. It is exciting and the possibilities are huge. It is an exciting project and requires growth in a great number of areas.

So the first thing I do is examine the project, are the possibilities all that the group believe? Yes that is fine.

The next thing we look at is the capabilities of the team members, address each member’s capabilities, and then plan a strategy to embellish their strengths. If you are taking a business to the next level then you need to be prepared to become the person you need to become to make the business happen.

Just because you have a good idea does not necessarily mean you can take idea and make it a reality unless you are prepared to do what it takes.

You need to grow the distance.

I am not saying you can’t, I am saying you may not see the need for the growth. Unfortunately many businesses fail not because of endeavour, most people work really hard, but, they sometimes get stuck in a rut or pattern of behaviour and often do not realize that it is the habit they have formed over the years that is causing the problem.

If you do not examine yourself, your results, your behaviour, see the necessity to change, then change will not happen and the person who you are now will not become the person who is required to take on the new business.

Most of the time it is not the idea that will not work, it is the people behind the idea that will not grow the distance.

So do you really want what you say you do or is it just a wish?

Recently we had a couple of incidences which caused discussion and through the discussions, thoughts and then came some reveling facts. After looking at the facts we then made decisions.

We have been using a particular car mechanic for years; in fact most of the family used his services. When we first started using him, our car was serviced, we got phone calls when things needed to be completed, important things such as transmission oil was changed as part of the ordinary service. In fact the car was looked after in such a way that you felt good driving it understanding that all was done to ensure your safety.

Now we receive great reports of what was done, what needs to be done, an itemized account of the amount that needs to be paid.

To us, it seems as though the focused has shifted from ensuring that the car is safe to drive, to ensuring we have loads of information. The feeling that we were being looked after has gone.

It led me to think about the services we provide, how with the seemingly never ending documentation that the law requires you to keep has encroached on the time available to provide one on one service. Fortunately we have modern technology which can be used to ensure the correct paper trail. It really is a fine balance. Ensuring we keep up to date not only with the changes in the economy, the changes in the laws, change in the environment, social changes and technological changes.

Business basically is still the same as it was years ago. As the recipient of the service, you still want to feel that you are being looked after. The service you received is special to you. Everything else is background.

However as the business owner, sometimes we are caught up with the ‘stuff’ and the very thing that will ensure the growth of your business, ensuring that the recipients of your services still get the feeling of being special, is going out of our thoughts, and being replaced by the ‘paper trail’.

I know that most business people do all that they can to ensure that their clients are looked after, the link is to ensure that the client feels that they are the main focus of your attention.

Have you ever been so busy with so many things to do; you cannot fit another thing in your day? You feel utterly exhausted.

Most of us have had that feeling.

• Where can I get another hour?
• Have I got the energy to use that other hour?
• Why is it that others can do it?
• Why can’t I?
• What’s wrong with me?

Notice the progression of our thoughts; we take our thinking from the problem and make a judgment on our ability, no, even worse on ourselves.

Earl Nightingale said, ‘You don’t manage time, you manage activities’

Sometimes we are so busy doing what we believe needs to be done, that we forget what needs to be done.

We change the focus of the issue and turn it onto ourselves. We then make the problem us, not the abundance of activities.

Take time to think. Think about what is really important to you. Think about the values you hold about what is important to you.

Is what you are busy with:

• Consistent with your core values?
• Can you do things differently?
• Can you get help from someone else?
• Is there another way?

STOP, take time to think, give yourself that privilege. Sometimes you need to put yourself first and ask our self the question; where am I heading with all this activity?

Several months ago one of my clients came in and said, Irena, I am going to pull all my money out and put it in the bank, I feel safe with it there.

I said to him, OK, it is your money, you have been with me for over fifteen years, you know how I think, if this is really what you want to do, you know what will make you feel good, and you know what your money has done for you to date.

Sitting on my desk under a glass top is information. The information is related to what the markets have done in the past, how different trigger events have had an impact on the markets, here and around the world, he looked at that and said. Irena I am scared, the world economy looks really grim and I am 78 years of age and I don’t like what I see, I don’t think I will live to see the economy bounce back, tell me the story about your great great grandmother again.

My mother tells a story of her grandparents, they were wealthy people, had a business in the refined food industry in Poland. It was time for them to retire and spend their retirement time doing as they want. They sold their business. Got their money, had it in a brown suitcase under their bed, (why I do not know, I will need to ask mum about that) mum talks of the incident like this, they went to bed wealthy, full of expectation and woke up destitute. The monies they had, had been declared worthless. At that time, the 1920′s, it was a bad time.

If they had kept the asset, no matter what the governments of the time had done, they would still have the assets. Governments can control money; your assets are a different matter.

The client thought about that, as he had in the past, and he made a decision that felt more comfortable for him.

What was really interesting was the conversation I had with Liliana afterwards. We were sipping our tea and Liliana proceeded to tell me her story. Liliana was wealthy financially, caught up in the issues of Argentina she tells the story of having over one hundred thousand dollars in her bank account.  Early one morning in the 1980′s, it was valued at one hundred thousand, she said by 2pm it was worth twenty thousand and by five it was worthless. As she said to me, you do not have to go back to the 1920′s.

Why do I talk about this, it is just to make you think. There are opportunities all around us, just as there are difficulties; it all depends on how we think. Life will not stand still, it will go on, and the economic conditions will change, continually, we live in change, the important thing is to understand that and continue doing your best to make the economy around you as secure as you can. Under the cloud of fear we do not necessarily make our best decisions, as always make your decisions based on facts not through emotions.

Enjoy what you have every moment, worrying robs you of the joy you can experience now.

I was chatting with a client on Skype and we were discussing the fact that times change and so do opportunities. I believed that I was discussing options and offering different solutions. Because I had not come to actual solutions, I was still going through the evaluation stage; my delivery sounded more like ‘bouncing ideas’ not like ‘solution finding’

The client said something that really threw me;

“It seems to me that you don’t know what to do and that makes me loose confidence in you”

I thought on that statement and I believe that it may be one that many people are thinking so I would like to give you my thoughts on this matter.

The last few years have brought to the surface many financial issues. The cores of those issues are embedded into the financial structures we use. We have been taking the time to study the issues and how they relate to the investment horizon of the future.

I have never listened to media hype because it talks about ups and downs which occur all the time; most of it is driven by emotion. What we believe is important is to understand the underlying principals and how they are being used. Uncovering the real investment philosophy and ensure that it is one that not only fits well with clients but also works for them. There are currently many investments that say they are safe however when you investigate the underlying factors they are not exactly what they seem. So, that is what we have done.

What we did  in the past was the best we knew then with the tools we had available, there are now many tools, and hence many more options and it is important that we understand those and use the ones that fall within our value system.

We don’t know if the thinking is right, it is based on considerable research, however what we have now is not working the best it can, so it is time to look at what is available, and how it can be used. I can’t talk for anyone else, I believe that we have great opportunities available, understanding Money and the way it can be used is important to securing your future. It is not something you want to get wrong.

We have now looked at options and believe that we are now ready to start the ball rolling.

Opportunities are everywhere, are you looking?

Irena Butler

What we did in the past will not work for the future.

I can remember my first fore into the Financial Planning industry (funny, they called it Financial Planning but there were so many aspects that were not dealt with in the early days) it was basically, here is a product you can use.   We  just had a few types of investment products; bank instigated investments, insurance bonds, Whole of Life insurance policies, Endowment Policies, investment trusts, then came the wholesale trusts, then, the different types of investment platforms and the variety of products grew. The array of products, platforms and derivations has multiplied and now there are literally thousands to know and understand.

The past few years have really tested my beliefs, understanding and values. The Financial Planning Industry has undergone change and it is interesting to listen to the general information that has been generated. I have been part of the financial planning industry for twenty six years and it has given me a great deal of opportunity for growth and expansion of knowledge. I love the industry because it has the ability to positively impact lives once understood and used properly.

Two years ago Tony Hartley, one of the Directors of Madison Financial Services, came and spent some time with me, he sent me a book ‘The Ascent of Money” by Niall Ferguson, I also purchased the DVD and the CD series. I found it very interesting, and the information that it contains is important in understanding money and the tool it is.

One of the most interesting concepts that I know to be important is that financial planning is just that, FINANCIAL PLANNING, life happens, things happen, and we have to take into consideration the affects of ‘what happens’ in conjunction with where you are and what it is that you want. It cannot be done in isolation. One type does not fit all.

The last 18 months, I have used to develop my knowledge on the financial instruments that are available for our use, which investments fall into the category of real tools, and the ones that fall into the category of ‘gambles’, not only which tools are best to use, but also how they can be used more effectively.

If your thinking is ‘take my money to the bank, it is safe there,’ I suggest that is an interesting thought pattern.

Ask yourself the question ‘Would you rather have 5-6% interest on the money you allow the bank to use or would you rather own part of the bank and get the earnings, the imputation credits and the growth?’

Another question you may consider, ‘who has control of my money?’

There are many different ways to think, none right or wrong, however our thinking is generally limited by the knowledge we have and understand, and the perception we have about that knowledge.

We live in interesting times and it is to our best interest that we make our decisions based on facts relevant to our situation. Fear is not a good fact to base your decisions on.

Enjoy you day

Irena Butler

See the financial planning that changes  when we change a few habits; the debt reducing, the savings increasing, the investments growing. It is amazing how you find ways to increase the money you put away and it makes you feel so good, you are in control.

My daughter was telling me how they are paying extra off their housing loan, putting extra away in their investment account, and they still have their buffer account which they do not put anymore into because they have reached their target. It continues to grow because of the effect of compound interest. The decision is now will they pay more off their house loan or put more into their investment. Another thought was to put money aside for a holiday. She felt that they deserve a holiday but feel that because of the economic situation she may put that money into the housing loan.

It doesn’t matter what decision is chosen, it will be a decision that is right for them.

Sometimes you are so far from being in control that you cannot see the finish line. So start. Write your commitments onto a sheet of paper, on the left hand side the debt on the right hand side the monthly commitment. Work out how much money you need to meet your commitments. They are your number one priority. How are you going to convince yourself that they are your priority?

If you look at your debt as an investment you made in yourself, you also can see that someone believed in you enough to lend you the money. This is a different way of looking at the debt, a different attitude to the debt; therefore it will precipitate a different approach to the repayment.

This is only the beginning. You can create a different thought process which will amaze you with the difference in the end result.

Have fun with this approach, I know that you are thinking, how can I have fun? Try it and see.

One March many years ago, I was feeling as though I was at the whim of every incident that occurred. I visualized that I was in a dinghy and was in rough waters. I was drifting, making the best of every situation and because of that I became a great problem solver. I was proud of the fact that I could find solutions that were working.

I vividly remember thinking of where the tide was taking me, I had no idea, and I just kept doing what I needed to do to keep myself afloat. I started thinking and started to ask myself questions:-

Could I do something to give me direction?     YES
What could I do?                                           I don’t know
What did I really want?                                  To be happy
What would make me happy?                         To have a house to call home
What do I need to do to have that?                 Have a deposit
How much do houses cost?                             I can answer that
How much deposit do I need?                         Too much
Here is where I make a choice.                       Will I go for it or do I give up
The fork in the road; which road will I take? The one of least resistance or will I go for it? I thought about the end results of each alternative, I wanted to feel good about my decision.

I decided to go for it, I worked out how much was needed for the deposit, worked out what all the costs were, how much the repayments were, and just went for it.

I put the tiller in the water and started to steer my boat.

Was it difficult?                Yes
Did I succeed?                 Yes
Can you?                         Yes
It starts with:

a decision
know your starting position
know your end position
make the map
create the stepping stones
go for it
Have fun with your journey, steer your boat to the success that can be yours once you make the decision.

It is so much fun when you read, this morning I was going through my daily ritual and read a piece from The Maxwell Daily Reader. This piece comes from author H. Jackson Brown Jr. He said ‘Talent without discipline is like an octopus on roller skates. There’s plenty of movement, but you never know if it’s going to be forward, backwards, or sideways.’ I laughed and then thought about it.

How many times have I done just that?

So much activity on so many different fronts and no real results.
Why no results?
What was the problem?
Taking the time to think is so valuable, activity without direction will take to nowhere; you will be like the octopus. However thought, creative thought, will give you many options.

You will come up with:

What activity will produce the results you want?
What result am I really looking for?
Why am I after this result?
What am I prepared to do to get the result I am after?
This last question actually determines whether the end result is in keeping with what you really want. Then just do it.

Small steps every day will give you big results.

Have a great day.

Irena