This brilliant video must have been created by some very creative, tech-savvy, and BORED modern shepherds! It’s pretty funny and shows how well they know what their sheepdogs and sheep are capable of.
Yesterday, I came across this ancient Hebrew proverb:
Be diligent to know the state of your flocks, And attend to your herds; For riches are not forever, Nor does a crown endure to all generations. Proverbs 27:23-24
Thankfully, this doesn’t involve actually running out to the pasture and checking up on my sheep… it’s more like logging on to my internet banking and checking up on my budget!
This proverb was a pretty stern reminder for me to keep an eye on my household finances. My tendency is to get lazy, and for that I’ve been rewarded form of a late payment fee or other charge. It’s pretty easy to miss that kind of stuff. It’s also easy to spend a little extra here and there, and then suddenly you realize you’ve got about 20 less sheep than you thought you did. Oops! As mentioned in my free eBook, paying attention is huge factor in whether or not you will win with your money. Just today, I spoke with a self-made millionaire, and he can tell you exactly the state of his flocks on any given day. Riches are definitely not forever, but they do last longer if you’re diligent and pay attention to what you’re doing with them.
If it’s been a while since you’ve had a good look at your flocks and herds, go visit them. Pat them on the head, count them lovingly, etc, etc. Ok– I’m off to check on my banking online and look over the budget!
A tired little old lady recently came in asking me to help her organize repayments for her brother in law’s $5,000 debt. Already living under her roof, the brother in law had come to her asking for help with this debt, and to please not mention it to his wife, my customer’s sister. My customer was conflicted, but had agreed to help him out because he was family.
As we worked out a repayment schedule, she sadly realized, “I want to retire but I can’t.” She’s had a huge heart to help, but wasn’t really in a position to give all that financial assistance to her sister and brother in law. She had enough money to reduce her work schedule and possibly retire later, but the new burden she accepted jeopardized all that. And it wasn’t hers to accept.
Personal finance guru Dave Ramsey writes, “Most people are natural givers…[but] only the strong can help the weak. That’s true of money as well. A toddler is not allowed to carry a newborn. Only adults, who have the strength to ensure the newborn’s safety, should carry babies.”
Helping someone who’s in strife financially could land you in the same position. It might feel like you’re being cold, but when you’re asked to help a friend or family member out with money, very carefully consider your answer. You may need to say ‘no’ in order to keep your own life and money on track. A brilliant observation by Margaret Thatcher, former prime minster of Great Britain, was that “No one would have remembered the Good Samaritan if he hadn’t had money.” He couldn’t have helped the injured man on the roadside without having his own finances in order. Because he was financially strong, he was actually able to pay for the man’s care for as long as it took to recover.
If your position isn’t strong enough to bear the extra burden, politely decline the request. If you’re the one making the request for help, make sure you ask someone who’s actually able to help you without being dragged into your catastrophe. Only the strong can help the weak.
Remember eBay? I occasionally buy obscure items online using eBay, but recently was reminded that it’s a great channel to seize opportunities.
Through a subsidy program with my employer, I was able to purchase a brand-new netbook mini laptop from Dell for a grand total of $26.00. Yeah, I know. At first I planned to keep and use it, but soon the thought dawned on me that I could sell the new machine on eBay and bag a cool $400 or so. That’s pretty good for a few minutes’ work on eBay!
My first eBay auction didn’t end so well, as the winning bidder changed their mind after the auction ended. I’ve wasted a week and have had to re-list the netbook, but making use of a wise tip from an eBay-savvy coworker we’ll call “Kelly”: she got the same exact laptop deal through work and successfully sold it for $400 using the “Buy it now” feature on eBay. I’ve listed the same way, and now will wait for the winning bid to come through!
Kelly and her partner “Josh” have in the last year taken full advantage of opportunities to sell via eBay. Josh essentially has doubled his weekly income by selling random items online. Believe it or not, many of these items came free from the roadside, including a windowframe and book about Aboriginal history. This is a seriously sneaky and opportunistic way to make money! Well done to Josh and Kelly for being proactive, improvising and making a serious impact on their household income. Anyone can do the same, even if it’s just to earn a bit of extra cash once in a while! It’s all about getting creative and grabbing opportunities other people never see. Head over to eBay.com to learn more about how people do this every day. It’s easier than you think.
Here’s a brand-new Aussie TV show with a strange name, but very interesting concept. I was pleased to catch the ad on channel Nine this evening, and jumped straight online to check it out. Bottom line: you should watch it.
First, to address the elephant in the room: according to Wikipedia, The phrase money for jam is a colloquial term used to imply that ‘money can be made easily’.
I hope this show takes off bigtime in Australia! It’s packed with loads of great tips on making and saving money, and no matter what your level of financial smarts, you can learn a thing or two. Plus, it’s done in an entertaining way.
Now, I haven’t actually seen a full episode of this show yet, but there are a few clips on Nine’s website, as well as on YouTube. Have a peek! I’m curious to hear what you think…care to leave a comment here?
If you’re reading this, congratulations on surviving 2009! You’ve somehow managed to survive two gigantic threats: the Swine Flu pandemic and the Global Financial Crisis. Here are some great tees I found on Zazzle.com to commemorate your triumph:
Think back to all the horrifying news reports you’ve seen and read in the last year. Pretty scary stuff, right? Now– have you tested positive for swine flu? Have you lost everything to the great recession? Probably…not.
Seriously, if the media hadn’t had such a field day with things, we might have actually had somewhat of a normal year. The media’s reaction was more of an accelerant for fear than anything else. All to sell newspapers and tv ads!
I think you’ll agree, most of us have made it through the year without suffering a horrible fate at the hands of the Swine Flu, and without suffering personal financial disaster brought about by the “GFC”. Actually, I can’t even say I know anyone who’s lost their job because of it. Have you?
Next year in 2010, let’s keep a level head, even if the media is screaming bloody murder.
Just a few weeks ago, a fellow ex-pat American excitedly told me about her recent discovery: she found a way to send money overseas at a great exchange rate, for free. Say what? Say:
XE.com is a Canadian-born site showing the latest exchange rates. What I didn’t know is that you can actually send (“trade”) foreign currency, and that the process can be totally free!
For the last two and a half years, I’ve been repaying an American student loan by international transfers from my Australian bank. They take a fee of $24, send the funds to an intermediary bank who takes $10 and finally passes it to my American bank, who charges me $12. Each year, I’ve been paying roughly $552 to send my own money to myself, overseas.
After a surprisingly through identity check to open an XE.com account, I’ve just successfully done my first “trade” and sent my usual monthly transfer to the US. Cost to me? Zero. I B-Payed my funds to XE.com’s Australian counterpart, and they changed the currency (at a good rate) and then XE.com’s United States office deposited the funds into my American account as a local deposit. No bank fees!
I highly recommend this if you send money overseas even occasionally. Be ready for strict ID guidelines to open your XE.com account, but it’s worth it! I wish I’d discovered this two and a half years ago!!
Ah, the credit score. This week I’ve encountered a few people chasing after this shiny object. One was a recently single mom and also recently bankrupted. Fresh from that experience, she was after a credit card or personal loan in order to “get started rebuilding her credit”. Wow. That first financial disaster didn’t register as a mistake? Back for more? I told her:
“Personally, I wouldn’t put to much emphasis around building credit. It’s useful if you want to borrow money, but the best way to financial independence is to manage income well, and to build a strong savings foundation. “
Plenty of teenagers seek credit cards too, because they’ve heard somewhere that it’s important to build your credit. Sorry to burst your bubble, guys, but… the credit score would be more appropriately called the “I Love Debt Score”. As Dave Ramsey said,
Credit is not a solid foundation; savings is. Businesses call it retained earnings. Generally, people seek to build credit for the purpose of borrowing money later, such as a home loan. Buying a home is a worthy goal, for sure. But instead of borrowing some so you can borrow more later, why not just save for your deposit? Seriously, there are home loan lenders out there who don’t need you to have an “I Love Debt Score”.
So– don’t bother with the credit score myth. Get yourself a proper financial foundation, one that doesn’t include debt.
Wander into your nearest department store at any time now and you’ll notice the unmistakable jingle of… the Christmas music. Sick of it yet? This little kid has a realization:
It’s that time again. Brace yourself for rampant advertizing! Personally, I didn’t save all year for Christmas like I did in 2008, and I’m kind of ruing that decision. Oh well! If you find yourself in the same boat, your best bet is to come up with a plan of attack. At least, you can decide how much you’ll spend overall, and limit your “damage”, unlike so many other shoppers headed for February credit-card shock. If you go in with a plan and stick to it, you’ll be fine.
Oh, and don’t leave all the shopping to the last minute… give yourself some time to find deals and you won’t get caught paying full price at the last minute for the sake of convenience! Happy hunting…
And next year– I’ll be back to steadily building that Christmas fund with every paycheck!
There’s an old proverb that says, “a rich man’s wealth is like a fortress”. Fortresses are made to protect the people who live inside from attackers. If that fortress is solid, the folks inside can pretty much shut the gate and laugh at anyone trying to break in or climb over the wall. And watch as they get frustrated and then take an arrow in the backside.
Money acts as a defense against attackers– car repair bills, sudden medical expenses, etc. By saving money and having an emergency fund (or “mojo fund” as the Barefoot Investor calls it), the stronger and more solid your financial fortress becomes. If you have no saved money, then even scrawny attackers can barge straight into your finances and wreak havoc.
Even with pure intentions (“I’m paying down my credit card balance”) you can still be vulnerable to attack if you have no savings. If you’re planning to attack your debt and reduce your bills, make sure you have savings in place first to act as your defense while you’re busy inside the fortress getting stuff done. Fortify!
A friend just returned from checking out a Weight Watchers class recently, and excitedly told me about how it’s all about knowing how much you should consume each day, and eating meals according to that limit. The more I listened, the more it sounds very similar to spending money.
Consuming more products/services than you can afford to gets you in debt. Consuming more food than you can afford to gets you fat. I guess with money, planning your spending and sticking to your budget keeps you in good shape. With food, it’s similarly about not eating more than you can burn off with normal activity. At the end of the day, both are about self-control.
I get the concept, but putting myself on a food “budget” is another thing! Easier said than done. It’s a great way to think about food intake, though! I can’t just buy anything I want all the time, and I shouldn’t just eat whatever happens to be in the kitchen. Thanks, Weight Watchers, for the lesson on being good little consumers…
