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- Posted by Stephanie
- 21 May 2013
- Blog, Cash Flow, Financial Behavior
One of the most common things I hear from people about planning ahead to save money is: I don’t have time. I hang around with a lot of other small-business owners and entrepreneurs, so I get that for us, time is money. But money is also time.
It’s easy to get caught up in the “busyness” of everything. I see it all the time with the advisors I work with. But if you think about it, after your most basic needs are met, you aren’t working for money, rather you’re working for freedom, in other words time. It may seem counterintuitive, but slowing down to take the time to make a plan even for the little things can save you a ton more time in the long run.
It turns out that planning ahead can not only save time but also money. One great example of that is meal planning. You may feel like you just don’t have time, but you really only need to take about 10–15 minutes to decide on seven dinners (or even six if you want to eat out one night) and then add the ingredient to your shopping list. Yes you took an “extra” 10-15 minutes that it may not have felt like you had to spare, but you’ll save hours through the week. Even ordering take out takes time to select, place the order, and go pick up. True convenience is a good plan!
Stopping and slowing down for 10 minutes can save you hours in your week. Remember, money is time. So protect your time by planning ahead!
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- Posted by Stephanie
- 16 May 2013
- Blog, Cash Flow, Development, Financial Behavior
A recent email exchange got me going on this one.
No matter how many years I focus on cash flow, if someone connects with me and has something to share, a better mouse trap perhaps, or a concept they are working on, I’m always game to listen. Now nothing may come of it, but if I’m not sure I know exactly what they are talking about…I don’t assume I know exactly what they are talking about—because I DON’T!
But it never ceases to frustrate me when I know someone DOESN’T know what I’m talking about and still dismisses it. A while back I spoke to a reporter who interviewed me for a piece on debt. She told me she had spoken to others but it was clear that though they talked about cash flow and debt there was definitely something missing from their answers. There was a lot of “why” and “what” but very little “how.” So I sought out the other advisors interviewed for this piece and made connections.
Two of these advisors responded with interest and candour, and I was able to hook them up with some free stuff. But one was a total Brick Wall. I emailed him just like the other two. He wrote me back to basically say, “That’s ok, I know everything.” Well, thank goodness. He may know everything, but he apparently did a very crappy job of communicating this vast knowledge of all to the reporter in question. He emailed me several times to tell me how brilliant he was, each email confirming more clearly than the last that he didn’t even know what he was claiming to know…which was exactly what I was talking about.
But you know what? That’s ok. He’s not in my tribe and I’m okay with that. To those two advisors who got something from our interaction—I’m so glad there are advisors like you who realize we are always learning. Because the minute we think we are done learning, we’re all in trouble!
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- Posted by Stephanie
- 15 May 2013
- Blog
I had a blast talking with Cody today! I’ve put a link of the interview below!
I think it was my Newsletter Cody must have seen
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- Posted by Stephanie
- 13 May 2013
- Blog
Last week I spent Thursday morning with a group of amazing financial advisors in Wyoming as part of the 84th Annual NAIFA Wyoming Convention. The week before, I spent some time chatting with a very interest chap on the Financial Planning Board in England. Why am I telling you this? Because! Cash flow planning is currency neutral!
That’s right, regardless of which flag flies over the land you practice in, cash flow planning can be done in South African Rand, British Pounds, Euros or the good old Dollar (American, Australian or Canadian, take your pick). You see, cash flow planning is done in units and any unit will do. Also, the habit premise that forms the way cash flow is controlled is dictated by natural human behaviour, just doesn’t change that much from one nation to the next.
If you are in the US or the UK and you’d like to help your clients manage their cash flow and make both yourself and your clients wealthier while you’re at it, I’m running pilot programs of my Money Finder Bootcamp Online. You can get the secret Cash Flow Success Recipe and help to shape the debt management modules for your native land!
Connect with me here -
- Posted by Stephanie
- 09 May 2013
- Blog
LISTEN NOW:
Advisor.ca Piece: It May Be Too Late to Defuse the Debt Bomb
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- Posted by Stephanie
- 07 May 2013
- Blog
LISTEN NOW:
CBC Piece: Canadians Not Following Through On Debt Paydown Resolutions
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- Posted by Stephanie
- 02 May 2013
- Blog
Yup, you heard me. Cash flow is sexy! Do you really think your clients excitedly rush to their friends to show them the new mutual fund they bought from you? Do you think they lovingly caress their life insurance policy while gushing about how it’s changed their lives? Um…yeah, no…right?
Never fear, that’s ok. Mutual funds and other investments really are not sexy, and life insurance or any other kind of insurance is not life changing until or unless you claim on it…which frankly no one really wants.
The good news, cash flow is sexy. People are fascinated by what they are capable of accomplishing when you give them a cash flow plan that is behaviourally compatible with who they are, and helps them get the life they want NOW with the money they have. That they really will excitedly share with friends and family.
So the question you must ask yourself now is, Do you want in to the sexy side of financial planning, and to be the center of clients’ conversations with others just like them about how amazing the work you’ve done for them has been?
For the record, I vote for sexy and boring; together they keep clients interested, engaged and brimming with referrals while keeping their risks managed and their assets growing. But if you are just doing the boring part, you are missing the boat.
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- Posted by Stephanie
- 29 April 2013
- Blog
I know, I know. If you know me you’ve spotted it, the b-word—budget, and you know I hate it. I do hate it; I haven’t lost or changed my mind, so not to worry.
What I’m getting at is I’m happy to see more and more advisors talking about debt and spending. But I’m noticing there’s a lot of use of traditional budgeting.
So for those of you who are working hard to help clients manage spending through budgeting, I can help. I’ve got a much more efficient process you can more easily integrate into your regular process, and it’s far more behaviourally compatible with how your clients already use money.
Wondering if it’s worth learning something new in order to drop the idea of budgeting , take my FREE assessment to find out!
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- Posted by Stephanie
- 25 April 2013
- Blog
YOU CAN NOW LISTEN TO THIS BLOG POST HERE!
Tomorrow is our BIG Day! On April 26, 2013 Advocis Nova Scotia presents The Taste of MDRT Nova Scotia.
It’s been nearly a year of work in the making. I so love being involved in this event a second year in a row. I’d be lying if I didn’t say it was a lot of work and took a lot of time. But anything worth doing would have been just that.
I did not commit so much time lightly. If you pay attention to just how much content I create, not to mention the travel and everything else I’m working on, you can imagine it’s not like I was sitting around twiddling my thumbs.
No, I do these types of volunteer roles for a reason. There is a BIG battle going on in our industry that I think—without some serious effort from us—we’ll lose.
The battle is not with the regulator, or the government, or any institution or organization. The battle is with us, ourselves. The battle is with the overwhelming sense of apathy.
Apathy is killing our industry. Other countries mourn the loss of this very battle, and yet, even though we see stories and hear murmurs about all this, the apathy remains. It seeps in to our daily lives, it inflicts itself on our clients and keeps us from becoming our best selves.
I willing lay down an awful lot of my own precious and profitable time to fight this silent enemy. But this is not a battle won by a few. We must work together to create for our clients and ourselves the high value experience that will scare apathy and send it whimpering away with its tail between its legs.
So the next time you decide not to get involved, to keep quiet, to not speak, to not attend apathy-eradicating events…realize you’ve crossed over. You might as well be fighting with apathy, and you should not be surprised when out of the blue the industry is unrecognizable to you. It wasn’t actually out of the blue, you just missed it, being too busy to fight.
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- Posted by Stephanie
- 22 April 2013
- Blog
Who Do You Want Your Client to Become?
I found this to be such a thought provoking idea, which I took from reading The Icarus Deception.
So I decided to answer it:
I want my client (the financial advisor) to become an authority on cash flow and debt management, whose work changes the face of the industry, and whose clients become richer in knowledge as well as assets.
Who do you want your client to become?
