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Monthly Personal Finance Meetings Are More Exciting Than The Latest Season of Bridgerton!*
No, seriously. I know, I know, this is when you can tell I am an accountant. But don’t knock it until you’ve tried it! Monthly personal finance meetings are amaaaazing. They are WAY more fun than they sound (honestly) and they have a whole HEAP of other benefits. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think you need to have monthly meetings to stay on top of your finances, but when you’re first starting out I do believe they help you to establish long lasting healthy habits with money, they hold you accountable to improving your financial situation, they facilitate open money conversations with a partner or spouse (which we all…
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Was My House My Worst Investment??
I recently read this article “Why Your House is a Terrible Investment” by JL Collins and it really (and I mean reeeeeally) got me thinking I know it is an unpopular question here in Aotearoa, where everyone believes real estate is the ONLY way to build wealth (to be fair, this isn’t just a Kiwi mindset! It seems to be a ubiquitous belief throughout the western world.) But not one to shy away from my money mistakes I thought it was one worth asking. Even with high interest rates and ridiculously high (still) house prices us kiwis are relentlessly desperate to get on the property ladder. No matter how much…
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Monthly Money Review: March 2024
And just like that we’ve had Easter, daylight savings has kicked in and we’re nearly in the middle of April!! (Is it just me or was Christmas only yesterday?!) Anyway, the start of another month means time for another monthly money review. This will be my third, but just in case it’s your first here’s a quick recap: I share these updates where I publish my personal finance numbers for the whole world wide web (but mostly just my Mum at this point) to see for two reasons. One, it serves as part of my accountability process to keep me working towards my money goals for 2024 (the other part…
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My Top 10 Money Mistakes – Number 9
It is strange looking back on my life (so far) and evaluating my financial decisions like this… I have always firmly believed in no regrets. I believe you learn the most when things have seemingly ‘gone wrong’ or you’ve ‘failed’ at something, or made a ‘mistake.’ I also believe that you learn things exactly when and how you are meant to, not a moment sooner. I know I wouldn’t be where I am today if not for every single ‘mistake’ I have made, and I love my life – financial challenges and all. So writing this list of money mistakes feels a little at odds with my value of living…
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The Unforeseen Benefit of Frugality
I may have embarked on frugality out of necessity rather than choice, but there has been an unforeseen benefit to my new frugal life. One that I wanted to share because I think what often holds us back from taking those first steps to changing our financial position is how we assume it is going to look or feel. Frugality vs Deprivation I never thought of my budget as depriving myself, more spending purposefully… Or did I? Maybe that’s not true, maybe when I first created my budget and I looked at my tiny monthly clothes allowance, and my one bought work lunch a month budget, and what I had…
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Monthly Money Review: February 2024
I know February is a short month but good god it went fast! The start of another month means (yes, we are one month closer to Christmas and also) it’s time for a monthly money review. Just a quick recap: I share these updates where I publish my financial numbers for the whole world wide web to see as one part of an accountability process to keep me working towards my money goals for 2024 (the other part of my accountability process being my monthly finance meetings with my brother… which I really should write a post about, they’re so good) Where January was something of a disgraceful month, February…
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Controlling Your Money Monkey
I love walking my dog because beyond any other benefit it is simply a pleasure to spend time with him and be out in nature. But it has to be said that it is also always when I have my most powerful epiphanies. About myself, life and money. And this weekend I had the epiphany that we all have money monkeys we need to control! What is a money monkey? I can hear you asking your screen. Well, it’s a term I created (I think) for the cute little money quirks we have that derail our progress. Money monkeys are the things we do when we have been creating new…
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The Rights and Wrongs of Personal Finance
I thought I would address this early on BB&Co because the personal finance space is a fiery one (filled with strong opinions and firmly held beliefs) And when you share your thoughts online, it can be seen as suggesting that what you are doing is the only way or the right way to do something. And that anyone doing anything differently is doing it the wrong way. But there is a reason personal finance is called ‘personal’ finance. A good one. It is deeply personal. And deeply rooted in psychology: how you were socialised, the money stories you learned growing up, your early money experiences, even the demographic you were…
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One Step Forwards, Two Steps Back: I Have Credit Card Debt Again!
I started the year exactly how I didn’t want to! With a new credit card debt. I am not someone who has ever had to rely on credit cards to get from payday to payday. I always had such well paying jobs that I had plenty of money left over each month to spend on… whatever I wanted. And enough to be able to save for any big purchases. Then after selling my first home in 2003 I had so much equity that I paid for a £16,000 ‘holiday of a lifetime’ (to New Zealand) for my husband & I, our wedding, as well as a move to the other…
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My Top 10 Money Mistakes – Number 10
Sharing my biggest money mistakes when I am trying to establish myself as a money ‘expert’ might not be the wisest career move… But hey, I figure if I can prevent even you from making any of the mistakes I made then it will have been worth it. Writing a top 10 might also suggest I know so much now as to make me immune to future financial f*ck ups. Much as I hope that is the case, I suspect it couldn’t be further from the truth. As with all mistakes we often don’t realise the mistake we have made until long after the fact (hindsight is 20/20). And so…