1. There’s no time like now
Do you find yourself waiting for the ‘right time’? How do you know? What are you waiting for? We rely on so many variables to believe that we feel comfortable enough to take action, when in reality most of that time is spent making excuses or procrastinating. This tends to come from a place of fear. A fear of failure, a fear of unworthiness and the dreaded ‘but what if there is something better round the corner?’.
But time waits for no man. And your finances won’t miraculously sort themselves out like an unwatched pot. Ignore what your brain says and get started NOW!
2. Plan your spending and saving ahead of time
As mentioned above, time is your most valuable asset – don’t waste it. Use your time wisely to plan what you want to address, identify your priorities and work towards your financial goals.
What do you enjoy spending money on? Budget this in. Make money enjoyable. Be aware of your constraints and work around them. Pay Yourself first and live off the rest. Organisation and routine will save you stress and free up time.
Diarise a regular money date with yourself, allocating time to run through your bank accounts, investments and any other financial documents.
Make sure to keep an eye on the tax year end (5thApril) so you can utilise your annual allowances into a pension, an ISA or EIS/VCT investments, where applicable.
3. Visualise your future
Manifestation is everywhere right now. And for good reason. Find inspiration and motivation then deliver with action. Find the tools that work for you: whether it’s a traditional vision board, a scrap book, a Pinterest Board, Instagram saves or an Excel spreadsheet. Focus on the benefits of how your life might look once your finances are in order. Security, choice, control. If you’re feeling a little daunted at the prospect of checking your statements try flipping it, and see how stepping away from that will empower you and improve your mindset to take positive action.
4. Consistency is key
Building good habits takes time. When you’re starting out with managing your own money the help of apps, logging spending, investing can help. Like any habit you’ll benefit starting with aids…think of these as bike stabilisers… there to keep you upright and on course. Soon you’ll know exactly where you stand when it comes to your finances that you could say it’s as easy as riding a bicycle…
5. Work out your priorities
You can’t do it all at once: consciously managing all of your financial life at once will cause choice paralysis, overwhelm and likely end up with the ostrich effect.
In practice, this might look like making time for five minutes of spending reviews a week, or reading certain investing websites, following the markets or being inspired to make a change; ensuring that you wind down effectively before bed, to make sure that the hours you do get are restorative.
Break it down into a priority list and highlight what you need to tackle first. Pension Transfer? Mortgage review? Figure out how much each will cost if you don’t do it by a certain time, and then work out how long each is likely to take. Some tasks are quite administrative and take courage to pick up the phone. Schedule these into your day at times that work around you and your energy levels.
6. Define your Money Mission
What do you want your money to do for you? Establish your values and align your money with it. Remember money is a form of voting and if you take time to allocate your funds to causes or brands you believe in you’ll have a more considered and conscious attitude and relationship with your money and ultimately your wealth. Try to apply this mission to your investments, daily shopping, clothing, holidays and philanthropic choices where possible.
7. Understand your limitations
Comparison is the thief of joy. Be ambitious, but realistic. This way you’ll avoid becoming demotivated when you don’t reach your financial goals. What’s best case and ‘will do’ scenarios. Conduct a SWOT analysis on your earning capacity, your financial goals, and this might help you to rationalise decision making. Like writing a pros and cons list when choosing a new job… try to apply this approach to your finances.
8. Educate yourself using reputable resources
Don’t look to influencers for advice… but feel free to use them for motivation. Check their credibility and experience. Make sure to check multiple sources before making any decisions. Asking friends and family can seem like a sensible (and cost effective) idea, but they are unlikely to know your full circ*mstances, be able to give you unbiased guidance, or have access to the best resources. Use them as a sounding board but always make your own decision in the end.
9. Focus on the things you can control
Reducing bills, being economical with spending, putting yourself forward for a job promotion, getting your ducks in a row for your business growth. These are all things within your control and grasp. Managing the markets? No chance. But what you can do is learn to control how you react to market movements. By educating yourself on the intricacies and behaviour of investing you’ll be as cool as cucumber, even when the markets are showing red.
10. Find professional advisors that speak your language
What do you need to know and who needs to help you? Sometimes this can be the hardest question. Where to go? Unknown unknowns can be daunting. We offer our clients our signature 90 minute overview to help them gain clarity on which areas of their financial life they need to look into in greater depth. We also help clients build a wonderful team around them to support their needs and goals. This is especially helpful for those going through a significant financial transition, such as divorce.
Lottie Leefe is a qualified wealth planner assisting individuals on their global assets and investments and bringing humanity to everyday finance. She founded The Dura Society in 2016 as a sophisticated platform built on three pillars of women, wealth and well-being.The Dura Society consults, collaborates and coaches individuals and brands at the top of their game on financial wellness and more. Covering everything from investment, money management, intergenerational wealth, legal and taxes, economics, ESG, property, art and collectibles, venture capital, money and matrimony, NFTs and crypto, asset protection, philanthropy and more…via their quarterly newsletter, events and network.Lottie is a member of the Financial Therapy Association, the Personal Financial Society and an ambassador for Insuring Women’s Futures through the Chartered Insurance Institute,Spear’s 500 Rising Star 2021, Investment Week Rising Star 2020, and a Reiki level 2 practitioner.
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