I have written this for anyone who is
curious about the benefits of life coaching. It is intended as an
introduction to coaching to help you decide if it could help you.
(The advice given is not intended to
replace any given by any professional that is advising you in this
area. )
What is Life Coaching?
I am not going to write a long
description of what life coaching is. You can Google 'Life Coaching'
to find many great descriptions. This is intended to be practical.
You can try the exercises suggested and see if they help you.
Let's Get Started!
When you have completed the
questionnaire in the first blog post you may find that one area that
you would like to work on is the area of finance.
For many people our outgoings exceed
our income and this can lead to us getting into debt.
It can be very hard to budget when you
have a limited income but there are a lot of steps that you can take
to get your finances more under control.
Even if you are in a lot of debt there
are things that you can do to reduce the money you owe.
It can be terrifying when you realise
that you do not have enough money to make ends meet and it can be
hard to know where to turn for help.
Seeking Advice:
I am not a financial adviser so if you
are worried about the debt you are in, seek professional help.
Organisations such as The Money Advice
Service can help you.
The Citizens Advice Bureau can also be
very helpful:
Whatever your situation, it is
important to be very clear on the money you have coming in as well as
what is coming out of your bank account every month.
If you look at around 3 months of bank
statements you are usually able to get a fairly accurate picture of
your outgoings. Some of these are essential and some may be reduced.
Once you know how much you have coming
into your account and you know how much you have going out of your
account you are in a better position to make savings.
Look at what you are spending each
month. Are all the costs strictly necessary or can some of them be
reduced?
It may be that you have high utility
bills with your existing supplier and that you could save money by
switching. You can compare energy prices at Money Supermarket or
other similar price comparison sites.
Utility Warehouse offers great
reductions on Utility bills. I am a distributor for them and have
seen many people save money by switching to them. If you are
interested let me know and I will give you their details.
Is it possible that you could make some
savings when you buy your groceries?
Quite a lot of people buy a lot of
fresh fruit and vegetables but never get around to eating them so a
lot of food is wasted as the produce gets thrown out.
It may be possible for you to cook more
than you need and freeze what you don't eat so that you have another
meal for later on. This would save money as well as reduce waste.
Aiming To Be Debt Free:
If you are in debt it can be tempting
to look for 'get rich quick' schemes to try and get out of debt as
fast as possible. Some people buy things and try to sell them on for
a profit, for example.
I used to think this was a good idea
but then I attended a very useful webinar about debt. It pointed out
that it is financially wiser to put any spare funds that you have
available into settling your debt as early as possible rather than
investing what money you have in the hope of making a profit. This is
because most people have high interest rates when they take out loans
and reducing the debt quickly will rapidly reduce the amount of
interest you have to pay.
Our society is centred around people
buying nice things and living in luxury even if they can't really
afford to. Advertising tempts us to spend more than we can really
afford in an attempt to be like the people in the adverts who always
seem happy and comfortable.
Some organisations profit from other
people's debt. In fact debt is big business in many countries.
If you aim to live within your means
you will avoid unnecessary debt.
Sometimes compromises can be made. You
might love a new wardrobe that you have seen advertised but if you
look at sites such as Preloved you may find something similar for
much less money.
Organisations such as Freecycle have
been set up so that people can give away their unwanted things. One
persons 'trash' may well be another persons 'treasure.'
Charity shops. Boot sales and jumble
sales are also good places to look to buy the things you need
cheaply. Ebay has auctions where you can also grab a bargain.
Aim for your income to exceed your
outgoings!
For many people
thinking about their income and outgoings is a scary experience.
Looking at your
bank balance can be a terrifying experience when you are facing
hardship but the sooner you are able to gain an accurate picture of
the true situation the quicker you will be able to begin to resolve
it.
Look carefully
at your outgoings. Can any savings be made?
Are there ways
that you can economise?
Look carefully
at your income. If you are living on a low income are you sure you
are claiming any benefits that you may be entitled to?
Researching what
benefits you may be entitled to is a positive step forward.
Never be afraid
to ask for advice when you are experiencing financial hardship. Make
sure your advisor is unbiased and impartial. If someone stands to
gain from selling you a financial package they are obliged to tell
you this so you know where you stand.
Even making
small savings on a regular basis can really make a difference to your
financial situation over time.
Helping Family and Friends:
Many of us aim to be able to afford to
have treats and help out friends and family financially. It is not
much fun living 'on the breadline.'
We do need to live within our means and
it is better to focus on clearing our debts than to spend what
available finances we have on our loved ones at the expense of
looking after our own basic needs. People who love you will
understand that if you are experiencing financial difficulty then you
must prioritise remedying this situation.
It is very possible to find inexpensive
gifts at boot fairs or online. You can even make your own inexpensive
gifts. It really is the thought that counts.
If you focus now on clearing any debts
with high interest rates, you will be in much better financial
situation once these debts have been reduced or removed.
Once we have managed to get out of debt
it is important to understand what our relationship is like with
money. Understanding this can be he key to more prosperity in the
future.
Look at your relationship with
money:
Many of us tend to reflect our own
parental attitude to money. Maybe your mother liked to spend money
on the family. This may make you wish to do the same. Maybe your
father tended to borrow more money than he could really afford to pay
back. This could encourage us to repeat this risky spending pattern.
It can be tempting to buy new and
beautiful things using interest fee loans but it is important to
remember that while these loans may not carry interest you are often
committed to a lengthy period of paying back.
I had a good friend who was determined
to buy herself and her family a nice, new sofa.
I have to admit it was very attractive
and comfortable but there was a monthly repayment scheme that lasted
for 4 years. The sofa was mistreated by her lively children so the
sofa fell apart long before she had finished paying for it.
It is also tempting to take a number of
low repayment loans out but this can be a risky strategy too. You can
end up paying £5 here, £10 there and this can all add up to a
frighteningly big monthly total.
Compromise is they way forward here.
If you can find an attractive second hand item for sale and you can
afford it then why not buy it? If it is in good condition it will
last you a long time and will be available to you at a fraction of
the price you would have paid for a brand new product.
Economise:
It is an essential skill to be able to
economise when we need to.
We need to know what our essential
payments are. If we have a mortgage or rent to pay then these must be
prioritised, for example.
If we have debts then the more we can
pay back each month the more quickly we will be able to get our
finances back on track.
It is important to be able to treat
ourselves to little luxuries now and then but these need to be
affordable.
What things do you enjoy doing that do
not cost a lot?
Some people love drawing, for example.
Basic materials can be bought inexpensively and a lot of pleasure can
be derived from pass times such as this.
Look at the things you like doing best
and work out which are the best value and the most affordable.
When buying gifts for family why not
pool your resources with other family members or friends so people
can receive gifts that they will like but they won't cost you too
much.
Christmas:
Christmas is
meant to be a time of joy and goodwill. It was never intended to be
an event that causes people misery. Unfortunately many people feel
obliged to spend more than they can afford on gifts at Christmas.
Again, the people that truly care for you will not want you to spend
money you can not afford on them. It is also important to teach your
children to only spend what they can afford and not to expect lavish
gifts from people that cannot afford them.
They need to
learn that money really can't buy love and happiness.
Difficult Times:
Most people suffer times of financial
hardship at some point in their lives and it can be a very worrying
time for all concerned.
It is a good idea to seek financial
advice from people who are qualified to help and are impartial. Be
careful that the people that advise you are acting in your interests
and not hoping to make a quick profit from you.
If you act as soon as you are
experiencing difficulty then you are more likely to be able to
resolve the situation quickly but even if you have left it for a long
time it is better to act now rather than later.
It is only too easy to stop opening
bills and ignore creditors phoning you to demand repayments but this
is only going to make the situation worse.
I have met people who have been in
considerable debt but after seeking advice they have been able to
draw up a repayment schedule and gradually they have been able to
turn their financial situation around.
Once our finances are under control we are freed up from worry and can begin to focus on other things!
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