STOP THINK DO: Are You Ready For A Merry Christmas

Most people start complaining about Christmas in October. It often coincides with the appearance of decorations in the shopping centres.

Instead of complaining about how quickly it is sneaking up, be proactive and get yourself organised. Aim to finish all your shopping and preparing by the end of November so that December is stress free and you can really sit back and enjoy this social time.

1. Make a list and check it twice. Never wander around the shops thinking 'what can I buy for my mother-in-law'. I keep a list throughout the year in my diary. I write things down as they come to mind.

2. Can you DO instead of BUY. Are there things that you can make from the heart ? Can you sew, cook or craft. Can you make a scrapbook album or write a poem. Can you give someone vouchers for your time e.g. 10 free lawn mows or foot massages. Be creative - it will make a memorable gift.

3. Less in More As I have said before, we buy 'gifts' from the worlds' most useful gift catalogue. You can buy a goat for a village, sink a well, buy school books or medicine.

4. Create Strong Family Traditions Traditions give us a framework to pin our memories to. We always put the tree up on 1 December and wear Santa hats and play old fashioned Christmas music like Jingle Bell Rock ! The kids always look forward to it ( and funnily enough, so do I)

5. Plan Plan Plan Get out your notebook and make your list. What are you eating, where are you going. What can you do now to make things run smoother for busy times.

Christmas is a season of joy, not stress. Remember.... don't fall into the habit of busyness.

STOP. THINK. DO. Take this time to celebrate the joy in your life.

STOP THINK DO - Part Four

Step Four is: PLAN PLAN PLAN

Planning stops things from sneaking up on you. Planning reduces your stress. Planning gives you time to save money or time to do something little by little.

Plan what you will eat for the week.
Plan what you will where and lay everyone's clothes out the night before
Plan what is coming up in your next week or next month
Plan for big events many months out
Plan you errands to make better use of time

Good Order Is The Foundation Of All Good Things - Edmund Burke

STOP THINK DO - Part Three

Develop a Plan and Organise a System For Paying Your Bills

If you have bills arriving in the mail that you didn't know were coming or you suddenly can't afford to pay for something else because you have to pay this bill, you are allowing your bills to control YOU, instead of you controlling them.

To prevent this, you must have a plan and you must work your plan into a system.
Firstly, list your big expenses throughout the year. These may include electricity, water, school fees, registrations, insurances etc. If you are unsure when these bills fall, then mark them on a summary sheet which is divided into 12 boxes, one for each month, as they come in through the year. Knowing what is on your horizon will enable you to plan for the larger expenses rather than dreading them when the bill arrives in the mail.

To control the bills I have a system whereby I tally up every bill that I expect to come in throughout the year.

 I look back through old calendars and bank statements to get an accurate list. I then add the total of all the bills for the year. After I get up off the floor and recover from the shock I divide this amount by 52 or 26 if you work on a fortnightly budget and then know that this is the amount that I have to put aside.

My version of "put aside" is to transfer it into an account that is only for bills. I don't touch this money, except for bills. Depending on how much control you need over your finances, you may choose to have a plastic bag for each bill, whereby you put $20 a week into the electricity bill bag etc. Some people choose to do a bpay electronic transfer to each company so by the time the bill comes in, the amount is in credit or close to zero.

The choice is yours.

The only rule is that it has to be "a system" that is, something that is not too complicated and works for you. If you are the type of person that simply can't have cash on hand because you are impulsive then don't choose the method where you hang onto the cash. You would be better of paying each company a small amount each fortnight.

When a bill comes in I write the due date on the calendar and the amount. I then have an "unpaid bills" clip that stand on my desk. One of my jobs on Mondays is to look at my budget and pay any bills. I pay the ones that are due in the upcoming week. I also write a list of bills that I have paid so I can see at a glance how much variance in, for example, mobile bills over the past few months.

As you know from my previous posts we work on a cash only basis for our day to day expenses and for our savings. See my previous post for how I actually do this.
http://avisionsplendid.blogspot.com/2007/07/working-with-cash-budget.html

To take away financial stress you have to be in control. Otherwise your money management is like a giant wave that keeps knocking you down every time you try to stand up. Removing financial stress will allow you to concentrate on more important things, like building quality family relationships and having a more peaceful, simplified family life.

Let me know how you are going via email or comments. If you have any helpful hints on how you reduce financial stress in your family, please let us all know.

STOP THINK DO - Part Two

STEP TWO: KNOW WHERE YOU ARE FINANCIALLY AT ALL TIMES.

We have embarked on a journey to take control and create a better and simpler life for ourselves and our families. Before we get into the nitty gritty we are doing some preliminary steps which are financial. Money is not the most important thing in our lives, but it plays a big role in our stress levels and can even cause relationship breakdown. We will therefore attempt to remove that stress by managing what we have and this will enable us to focus on things that truly matter.

So, in your notebook make a 'starting point' page.
1. Head it with today's date.
2. List ALL the money you have – every bank account, every wallet, every purse, every money box. Don’t list what you owe here, there will be a separate table for that.
3. Now list all the money you owe. This includes mortgages, credit cards, personal loans, loans to friends or family, lay-bys etc
4. Now, make a summary :

TOTAL WE HAVE: ___________________________

TOTAL WE OWE:_____________________________

Now that you have faced your financial truth you can start taking some steps to improve your situation. It is also helpful to mark a date on your calendar for 3 months down the track to do this again and look at how you have improved. If you want to keep a tighter reign on things you might re-do this sheet monthly. If you are really taking this seriously, you may even graph your progress so that what you have is in one colour and you can see that line going up, and what you owe is in another colour and you can see that line going down.

Don't be too frightened by the results. It is important to know where you are so that you can map out where you are heading. Burying your head in the sand will only make your situation worse. Take control !

Don't forget to give me some feedback. Email me with your results or let me know how it feels to face the truth!