HCWHY: When do you pay your bills?

Decided that I’d better post something on HCWHY before they drop me from the writing team altogether, so there’s another post up on the site from me. This time it’s about that friend we don’t really like to receive – that’s right, Bill.

The opening paragraph goes thusly…

Ah, bills. Those little envelopes with panelled windows arriving in the post that don’t offer the start of a pleasant conversation but rather a reminder that our resources have, for some reason or another, been committed to someone else this month. And the next and the next, in many cases. What do you do with them when they land in your “inbox”? There are a number of ways to approach this, from dealing with them immediately, to some kind of scheduled payment, to conveniently forgetting about them until they come marked with an angry red stamp. I’d like to suggest, for a number of reasons, that you should pay them as they arrive.

Hop onto this site if you’re curious to see more…

When the tinsel’s gone…

Can’t believe it, but I put another post up at HCWHY at this time of year! I think I’m compulsive….

Anyway, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to do one of those “it’s the end of the year, think about the bigger picture” comments. If you’re curious as to what it’s about (or even if you’re not, I need the hits!) hop over to this link and have a read…

When sharks prey…

If you’re drowning in financial difficulties (or an overdose of Christmas wants), it’s always a tempting to swim a little further out in search of someone who’s willing to lend a solution. Tempting, but not always a good idea.

Hop onto the link at my latest HCWHY blog to see some of the issues around this.

I know what you borrowed last summer…

Nothing like a subtle hint of fear to get us thinking about things and this week the unknown that is your credit record gets a little attention.

Fortunately, since the advent of the National Credit Act, the thought of what credit bureaus might be saying about you doesn’t need to inspire worry anymore. Hop over to the blog on HCWHY to see why.

How much is too little?

Hmmm – time to play postbox again? I’ve put another post up at HCWHY, but I’m not sure how long it will stay on the front page. The link is here if you want to visit the post directly and the opening paragraph goes like this:

It’s not uncommon to hear people asking “How much is enough?” when thinking about their financial status and the prospect of what they can achieve once they’ve got things under control. Lately, though, I’ve been wondering if it wouldn’t be good also to ask “How much is too little?” After all, it seems to me that real financial freedom is about more than just good money management: it should be part of a greater freedom to pursue things that you feel really matter.

Have a look if you like, otherwise I’ll put it up on my blog in a little while.

The Psychology of Now

Well, it finally happened. So long between posts that the only updates are what I’m writing at HCWHY. Waayy too many other things happening now, I guess…

Anyway, the latest post starts like this:

“I want it all / And I want it now!” Queen’s rock anthem from the late 80’s summed up much of the mood of the decade – remember how everyone wanted to be a yuppie? Flashy cars, new houses and shiny clothes? While the song has faded, though, there’s still a lot of the sentiment around. I think it’s worth looking at how much it applies to us, because at the end of the day effective money management is more about our minds than it is about our maths.

Click on this link if you’re interested in more.

On lifeboats and other things…

Well, the post is up at How Can We Help You. My first few lines read: “We’ve all been in the situation before: sailing along on a more or less even keel when suddenly an enormous wave appears from nowhere to upset our careful navigation as it threatens to capsize our carefully nurtured boat. How prepared can we be for these kinds of events?”

If you’re feeling like a dose of hot air, head on over. Hey, anything to get our minds off the cricket – don’t get me started, I feel a post coming on about choking…

How to sink your boat (or not)

Interested? Sneak a look at the blog post on How Can We Help You. I know, I know, I should post it in this blog but I have an overdeveloped sense of responsibility in pushing the hits up on that one…

That time of the month again…

Yep, another financial post up at How Can We Help You. I’m trying to apply some of the lessons we learn at work to our personal lives – hey, if companies pour millions into research around something we might as well see if it’s useful on a smaller scale…

The posts generally don’t stay on the front page too long, so scoot over if you want to have a look.

Cross-posting again…

Well, my new financial advice post (there’s a scary thought!) is up on How Can We Help You?. Going to be putting a post up every second Tuesday, and this one starts out like this…

Can you make work work for you? Lessons from procurement, pt 1

We spend a considerable amount of our time at work, carefully refining techniques aimed at making businesses successful. Why not see if you can use what you learn at work in your private life? Companies pour millions into researching and developing ways to do things more efficiently and one should be able to carry across at least some of those lessons. As an example, procurement departments at companies…

The website’s growing nicely and there are some good tips there. Have a click and see what you think.