« Posts tagged Recession

Seeking Happiness

September 28, 2009 / flipside posted in Random Ranting / 1 Comment

Happiness by 'sciondriver' on FlickrAt its simplest it does not take much to sustain life. We simply require food and sleep, nothing more! Okay I know that’s going pretty extreme, but its technically true.

Sustaining life is actually one of the things most of us take for granted, we do it automatically without realising it.

So what then drives us?

Hope? Hope for Happiness?

Most of us are seeking happiness in life. We all have in our heads this vision of the future, a time of our lives where we have no worries, no concerns or desires! We dream of owning that House, or that Car maybe even traveling and finally going on that trip we have always wanted to do!

Are you looking forward to that one time in life where you will be totally happy?! I hate to break it to you, but time is fleeting… how long will that moment in time last?

Question!

My question to you right now is, whats stopping you from achieving happiness now? What is holding you back from all those things you desire? I can hear your answers now… my job, my family, my need for money to live! All of these are totally valid points.

Statistics from 2008 claimed, ‘If you earn more than R5000 a month you are living in the top 5% of the country!’ Its a pretty scary statistic. Consider the other 95%… what are they living on?

Sunset Hopping by 'reebs*' on FlickrHere is the kicker! This is it! This is Life! You’re living it right now… yes things may look up in the future but life started happening the minute you were born. We have to break free of the mind set that happiness is something you find down the road through money, marriage or kids. Those do not guarantee happiness, at their simplest they are just steps in life.

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The expectation is often greater than the reward!

I love that statement, so often the expectation of a holiday overseas out weighs the actual trip. This statement gives a new viewpoint of seeking happiness now, are you simply feeling unhappy because you’re still waiting for happiness to happen?! How about rather looking at it from the viewpoint that it is GOING to happen, create an expectation of happiness. This is it! This is Life! Seeking happiness now in the small moments of life is not hard! Just look around you!

What is it that you desire?! Are they material goods? Will material goods bring you the happiness you are actually seeking? Is that Aston Martin really gonna change your life? Its just a car for getting from A to B! Chances are it will just become another item on your insurance list and that’s just going to bump up your premiums.

Am I advocating an anti-materialistic viewpoint? Not at all… I cannot wait to buy a new digital camera, but I am not putting pressure on it to bring me happiness. I am expecting it to take photographs of the happiness that already exists in life.

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Recession Proof Budgeting

September 18, 2009 / flipside posted in Business / No Comments

sad_globeSouth Africans are taking some financial strain during this Economic Recession. Not only is the recession affecting most peoples pockets but economic data has shown that it is also affecting households emotionally. I personally have felt the pinch and its not a great feeling. I began changing my methods of spending, and budgeting differently during the past two months and so far its been working great. Maybe it can help you too!

Sadly South Africa is quite indoctrinated in terms of functioning on a monthly system. But imagine if you were paid from week to week, and you paid rent from week to week too. You would begin dealing with smaller figures. Rent is one quarter of its normal, your weekly spending on food is also cut in four! I can hear you now, ‘Yeah, but at the end of the month its still 4 times that… so its all the same!’ This is true, but I could simply say to you, ‘At the end of the year its just 12 times more too!’ Imagine if you got paid once a year! Can you imagine the year end shopping rush with everyone getting paid on Christmas Day! The fact of the matter is, your finances can run away with you over a four week period so why not try to control it across smaller periods.

In reality if everyone moved over to a weekly system there would be no month end crunch. Budgeting for a week instead of a full four weeks allows you to really see and focus on the short term costs and not loose track over a longer period.

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Tips to Implement a Weekly Budget System

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1 – Get Big Costs Out the Way

We still need to deal with the fact that South Africa functions on a monthly system. Therefore get those monthly costs dealt with, pay your rent, your medical aid and retirement annuities at the beginning of the month. If you have any debt, setup a system to begin paying that off ASAP! Consider debt repayments as part of your fixed monthly costs.

2 – Pay Yourself First

As per the book Rich Dad Poor Dad, at the beginning of the month put away as much money as possible for savings. I am assuming you have calculated your monthly costs and therefore know how much you are able to put away comfortably. Over the past few months on this system I have reached an awesome 21.2% of my gross salary going into savings, that includes my retirement annuity.

3 – Loose the Credit Card, get a Debit Card

Yup, the best thing you could do right now is to get rid of your credit card! Its probably only hurting you more financially than its worth! A credit card only masks your spending, they are harder to keep track of and the system again works monthly! Break the habit ASAP!

4 – Work in Realtime

Credit cards give you a few months to pay, and you only have to pay a few days after you receive your monthly bill! I worked out that if I spent on the right day I could go for 55days without being charged any interest, before having to pay my credit card bill. This just throws the system of working monthly out the window and we are trying to achieve a weekly system! Once you have got the debit card setup stop using the credit card all together. The debit card reflects the cost of your spending onto your bank account almost immediately. It helps you to visualise and feel the cost of your spending, as you spend! That’s what I call realtime financial feedback!

5 – Cut your Months into Four

Photo thanks to 'Nils Geylen' on FlickrUsing your monthly budget and looking at your bank balance after all your monthly costs have been removed (step 1). Divide your remaining spending by four, and then divide that figure into more specific costs like petrol, food, and entertainment costs. Entertainment costs will include food bought out at restaurants and drinks at bars. I have an exact figure every week that I am to spend on groceries, petrol and entertainment.

6 – Cash is King

Yup it is! An even more effective way to spend is with Cash… hey its accepted everywhere and chances are you get at least 4 free cash withdrawals per month from your bank! Use them wisely! Draw the exact amount of cash you need for your weekly costs. Excluding items you know you can spend on your debit card, like food from Pick ‘n Pay! I withdrawal my weekly petrol money and my weekly entertainment money on a friday night before going out! Okay I am pretty good with spending on nights out on the town, so if you’re not maybe its better to draw your money on a monday! :D

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The media is beginning to claim that the recession is over! I wouldn’t get to excited though, South Africa is always a few steps behind the rest of the world. It took a few months for the recession to reach us and it will take a few more months if not years to get ourselves out of it!

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