Learn to control money but do not allow it to control you

whatatwit

Another one de-lurking here.

Firewalker, I look forward to reading your thoughts on this diary, it really does make me think (something I do too little of)

The dinner party menu sounds great.

Firewalker

Good evening,

I'll write more but thought that some might be interested to watch this. I found it really interesting and in tune with my latest exploits in behavioural economics and the recesses of my soul.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc&feature=youtu.be

Firewalker

Firewalker

Today I spend most of the morning writing – before we go away I have to get a piece of writing to a stage where I can leave it with other people to, play. So time is short – we are off next Tuesday. While doing this a thought kept creeping in; a thought about a horrifying item on the news.

We have probably all heard the news about Andrew Case and his family. Andrew and his wife took their two lovely babies on holiday, came back and were found dead. It appears that Andrew killed his wife and children and then hung himself. What, I am wondering, can make a man flip so? Some of the neighbours mentioned financial difficulties and while nothing has been confirmed it is a possibility. I have seen several posts where suicide was mentioned, seriously or in jest, as a way out of financial trouble.

Several days back someone started a thread on one of the forums here bemoaning the ‘decline in society’ and ‘social norms’ and it all amounted to his/her displeasure with people getting in trouble financially out of ignorance, silliness or bad luck. Whilst to me this person appeared to belong to a group of self-righteous, patronising and smug gits I usually send into space and don’t engage with I agree with him/her. Much is wrong with our society – but it is somewhat different from what he/she bemoaned. Money and possessions have acquired too much power if they trump human life. Money and possessions have become too omnipotent if they can destroy a future.

The saying for today is:
“All that we are is the result of what we have thought. If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain follows him. If a man speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows him, like a shadow that never leaves him.” - Buddha


Firewalker

savingwannabe

Firewalker wrote: »

Good evening,

I'll write more but thought that some might be interested to watch this. I found it really interesting and in tune with my latest exploits in behavioural economics and the recesses of my soul.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc&feature=youtu.be

Firewalker

Hi Firewalker, just logged on about to go to sleep. Doesn't the clip agree with Herzberg's theory on motivation? That a good employer offers both hygeine and motivating factors?

Firewalker

savingwannabe wrote: »

Hi Firewalker, just logged on about to go to sleep. Doesn't the clip agree with Herzberg's theory on motivation? That a good employer offers both hygeine and motivating factors?

Hi Savingwannabe, nice to see that you are still popping in. There is some similarity with Herzberg, I would agree. But I was more interested in two somewhat different angles. First, the fact that higher payment works only in very routine occupations; in any occupation involving cognitive input and creativity performance is not affected by the amount of payment. Second, I noticed the point about management in creative industries - this is fascinating givent that management in Universities is starting to resemble nineteenth century factories.

Firewalker

Firewalker

After a rather exhausting day I came home to be met by some wonderful news. Little boy had taken to playing tennis so everyday he goes to the local tennis club for couple of hours. Today he won the tournament and got the prize - £1. He was so proud when he told me and showed me his prize. And so was I – Wimbledon here we come, the sky is the limit. But more importantly he is having good time.

Enthused by this news we put our running shorts and shoes on and went for some hill running. And I could not believe it – this child runs as much as me. We run to The Hill, we sprinted up and down the hill nine times and then run back home. Will have to have a chant with my trainer and check whether it is right to allow little boy to do this kind of thing.

While running, though I got thinking about the subject that fascinates me at the moment – money. I have started noticing that many people have a very unhealthy relationship with money – and it does not matter whether they compromise their quality of life so they don’t spend anything or spend as if there is no tomorrow. In both cases money is an obsession and as any obsession is destructive. Think about it - obsession with food manifests either as bulimia or anorexia; obsession with a person can range from jealousy to stalking. What is striking is that in all cases of obsession its object has become a problem.

Dealing with the obsession is probably best done by making the object non-problematic. Could it be that having a healthy relationship with money means that money should not be seen as a problem? Even when one is temporary broke? How can this be achieved? How to achieve contentment without indifference?

Money stops being a problem when: 1) one has so much that it does not matter (‘money is just a thing you buy other things with’); 2) when one wants so little that it does not matter; 3) when one has enough. And 'enough' is a very individual thing. Where is my 'enough'?

Firewalker

Firewalker

Just to say that he has done it again - little boy came back home with 50p because he has won the tennis tornament again. Oh my...

Back to work and being very disciplined.

Firewalker

savingwannabe

When he makes it to Wimbledon please can we have centre court tickets as we know and love you????

Jolly chuffed. Keep it up.:j:j:j:j

Firewalker

Tonight I would like to pick up where I left it last night. Where is my enough? This question is not as self-indulgent as it may seem – answering it will, hopefully, help me set myself financial goals. These, I will have to add, are meant to support rather than be the life I would like to lead – life of independence and enabling.

If I were to rephrase the question it probably would be ‘when am I going to feel secure enough to be able to continue living with complete confidence’? Interestingly enough, OH and I worked it out and came up with a number. What will make us exhale is about £140,000 over the next two and a half years. How does this sound? Ambitious? Impossible? Well, impossible is nothing! It can be done although for the moment I have only a very rough outline.

And I know that it can be done because there was a time, not so long ago, when OH was earning very respectably by doing technical work – it is just that we were rather reckless with money. Now OH is also working on other ideas – some of these are very promising and, the universe willing, will be very successful. Now that we have a firm grip on our expenditure, any increase in our earnings will be a significant contribution to achieving the number mentioned above – or something pretty close to it.

In more practical terms we shall:

1) Build a cushion of £6,200 – this is probably going in ISAs and is money that will be touched only in extreme emergency. We will have this by November, latest. I do realise that this goes against all advice on this website but this is my initial security that will allow me to focus on the rest.
2) Aim to either eliminate completely or considerably reduce our negative wealth (otherwise known as debt but I refuse to use this work any longer) by the end of 2011. This means that after the work we are doing on the house this year (external decorating and bathrooms) all our earnings above what we bring in every month will go towards reducing the negative wealth.
3) Following that we will do the house up. There was a discord on this one – I wanted to reduce the mortgage, OH insisted on doing the house up. He won – doing what we are planning to do is likely to increase substantially the value of the house (apart from making it much nicer to live in).

Now all that is left is to make this money. But £140,000 is my enough – after that sky is the limit.

And the thought for today is:

“A wise man talks because he has something to say; a fool talks because he has to say something.” – Plato

Firewalker

Firewalker

Good evening! It is this time of the month again when monthly accounts are done and stock is being taken of progress towards objectives. Starting with the monthly accounts, I am very pleased to report that we are only 38p in the red – which is really an outstanding achievement given that we did lent £200 to son number two. Poor chap; he had miscalculated his funds and lent some money to a friend so we decided to bail him out – this is strictly a loan that will be repaid sometime in late September, early October. Of course, this is a proof that I am a ‘nice girl’ – landing money to family is one of the 75 mistakes that women make and can be avoided...apparently. Also, in July we have spent £254 on food which although slightly over budget is very respectable – particularly in the light of entertaining three times during the month. Entertaining also explains why we are slightly over on wine – as I mentioned before wine and coffee I am not prepared to compromise on.

We have also reduced our negative wealth by £20,007 which is about 20% of the total. So far, so good – and well on course to achieving our goal.

Related to this, today OH got part of his payment for some technical work he is doing and this allowed us to pay for the external decoration of the house, to leave something in his business account and to transfer some in the savings account – which brought the savings account up to £6,306. But please do not get excited – this does not mean that the cushion I mentioned last night has been build. Some of this will have to be used to pay for doing the bathrooms up and getting rid of the holes in our kitchen ceiling.

And finally, I would like to tell you about something that happened today and some may find encouraging, some may find it spooky and other may find it funny. You remember The Secret? Well, since I read it I have been experimenting with buses – and interestingly enough I have not waited for a particular bus company’s bus longer than couple of minutes. Today, I was walking down the street and thinking that I imagine a Magic Bus, and it is in the village and when I get to the stop I’ll see it at the previous one. I got to the stop, looked and sure enough – there was a bus at the stop before but it was another company’s. ‘Oh, well’ – I thought – ‘this one will have to do.’ And just then a Magic Bus overtook the other one and arrived at my stop.

The lesson of the story – it might just turn out that the Secret and the law of attraction, done properly, work even when one is sceptical to such things. William, are you reading? Common, what can you lose? I have already placed a very large, multifaceted and concrete wish with the Universe. And lets hope all will come as easy as buses.
Now to the cinema for a bit of well deserved rest.

Firewalker