Five resources that have helped me better understand money
Money. How do you feel about it?
· Good?
· Bad?
· Indifferent?
Do you equate money with greed? Or with status and prestige?
Do you talk about it, opening sharing your figures and asking others about theirs?
Do you change topics when money is brought into discussion, feeling somehow that money = success and if you’re not yet bringing in X, then you don’t want to talk about it?
It’s just under two weeks out until the end of the financial year here in Australia, June 30 and regardless of how you feel about money or the limiting beliefs you might hold about it in relation to your business, we all need it to get by.
That’s why I believe that spending time (and sometimes money) understanding it can be key to your success — not purely financial but emotional as well. For years I prided myself (foolishly?) on the fact that my husband and I don't have credit cards and we have no debt apart from the mortgage. We are both of the belief that "if you can't afford it, you can't get it" and I took this, plus the fact I track my revenue regularly, to mean I was OK not to invest time into learning more about money. What I now know is that taking the time to really understand how things work i.e. mortgages, shares, investing, tax, having a company vs. a trust etc, all help immensely in building one's confidence and clarity around financial matters.
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I am fortunate to work with a huge variety of small business owners —some who want to earn their first five-figures in the next financial year and others who are into multiple seven-figures. As I say to clients, it’s all just numbers and yet we let our worth get tied up in them and, as a consequence, can shy away from taking the time to dissect, analyse and understand our finances. While we buy the latest course on SEO or invest in another book about visual branding, we can let financial literacy fall to the wayside —despite it being one of the KEY ways to grow our business and our money confidence.
So today, two weeks out from the end of the financial year here in Australia, I’d love you to consider investing your time into any one of the five resources below. Some are free, some are paid and some may offer a level of both. The point Ninez, is to ensure that you’re taking at least one step forward to understanding how money works and how you can start tracking, and hopefully growing, yours in the future.
1. Regular contact with your accountant: This may sound so simple, but I know many people who only ever talk to their accountant when it's tax time, rather than checking in every month to discuss changes, ideas and future planning. During 2020, I changed to a new accountant (shoutout MJA Accounting) and have been SOOO impressed by their level of service, knowledge and complete customer care. I didn't know what I didn't know until I found an accountant that really does feel like part of my team. If nothing else, this would be my #1 tip. If you have the resources you may also wish to invest in a financial advisor as well.
2. Canna Campbell, aka SugarMamma: I first came across Canna via YouTube when she was then a single mum to a little one and trying to do her best to pay off a mortgage. Her videos were real and easy to follow. Since then I have watched her family and readership grow with two bestselling books, as well as a hugely popular YouTube channel where she shares snippets of everything from buying second-hand luxury items and paying your mortgage off sooner through to investing in shares for the first time and becoming debt-free.
3. Dave Ramsey: Now this guy, based in the US, is a love him / hate him character. I don’t know him enough about him to vouch for his life / views outside of his money education channels, but I have found his books, podcast and YouTube channel informative and helpful from time to time. Dave specialises in helping people move out of debt, so if you're in that situation he would be one to check out.
4. My Money Mapping course: One of the first things I work on with every new client is Mapping their Money. In this self-paced online course I go through the exact process I work with clients on to ensure they are clear on how they make money, which revenue streams are most profitable and how to sell those products and services. If you’re in Australia you could nab this today and still be able to claim it in this FY's tax.
5. The Barefoot Investor: I first interviewed Scott Pape wayyyyy back in in 2007 for RACV magazine, a year after he had written his first book and was nowhere near the superstar financial guru he is today. In the years following I would email him and get solid and simple tips back. As he has grown those emails have stopped but the knowledge he puts out, via his books, his newsletter and his website are fantastic and make learning about money fun.
Money can be a really divisive topic. Depending on how we were raised and the examples set by those around us, we can feel all types of ways about it. It’s my hope that the resources above go some way to helping you feel more comfortable discussing it and, ultimately, more confident when it comes to money matters.