A Decent Future

So after all the years of rude awakenings courtesy your alarm clock, the crazy bolt to the bathroom to get all scrubbed up and ready for work, irritating traffic, cups and cups of coffee, annoying co-workers, stubborn clients, the  difficult task of balancing work and home….and all other events that define the life of a career woman. 

……30, 40, 50, 60, 61, 64, 65 and then you hit retirement age…some of us hope to have retired long before then. After all these years, what sort of life have you made for yourself? What has all that toil come to? Parents living off their kids and saddling them with the responsibility of paying their utility bills, living off a meager pension, kids inheriting a huge amount of debt from parents….exactly what plans are you making for your retirement…Some may argue it’s a bit too early to think of that, but I beg to differ. Our financial decisions now, have a great deal of impact on our future investments except of course you win the lottery or somehow hit the jackpot.

I was thinking of a family friend who used to be affluent and had a lot of assets in his younger days. He was CEO of a number of companies and lived a high profile life. Now in his sixties he is barely managing to make ends meets. Where did it all go wrong? – Decisions, Determination and Discipline

Decisions Like it or not, you can’t work forever. So start making plans now for your retirement. If you already have a nice stack stashed somewhere think of how you can get some returns and invest wisely. If you are part of a work pensions plan, forecaste your pension and think of ways you can increase  your input. If you haven’t already started with a pension scheme, Get information and advice on how to catch up. The earlier and quicker you pay up that mortgage the better. If you’ve got talents, make the bold decision to do something profitable with it…..

Determination  The easy part is to decide on what to do, but you would need to stay driven and focused to make it work. Live within your means and reduce your credit. You may not be rich immediately but you can build your wealth. All those spontaneous accumulations of Louboutins, Chanel and Vuittons..you need to think them twice. While some may argue that their Choos and Manolos are investments. Ask yourself how much return you get on these sorts of investments. The idea girlfriend - is to put in something and get at least a little bit more in return, Get it?...good. Now you could try swapping some of that designer collection for a share price portfolio

Discipline This is where you stay determined and weed out all the stuff that make you do otherwise. Be practical with your finances. Prepare an effective budget for your spending after summarizing your expenses and income, record expenses and payments and stick to your budget.

 There are people who have money and people who are rich - Gabrielle Bonheur Coco Chanel

The saying that the safest way to double your money is to fold it in half, is b*l*sh*t at its best, walk into an investment firm and speak to some professionals, make your money work for you.