For a while now I’ve been fascinated with the mirage of advice and sharing on what the best morning routine is, whether you’re out working a job or working from home.
Today while I was getting ready for the start of my day, I was reflecting on how does a morning routine really affect whether we have a productive, happy day or not?
I wanted to do some research into this trend on talking about our morning routine and see if there is any truth to the benefits of having one.
You see the majority of us have a morning routine whether we like it or not.
We all get up to start our day, shower (well some do), brush our teeth, hair and get dressed before heading to the kitchen to either eat breakfast or start our day off with our favourite beverage either coffee, tea, smoothy or whatever takes our fancy. Most of this is done all before heading out the door or to our desk to start our working day.
But I want to find out more about the “morning routine” that I hear the high achievers do at the beginning of their day.
First, let me share with you the common one that I’ve read time and time again and it goes something like this….
Plan out your morning the night before.
Set your alarm to wake up earlier.
Drink a glass of water upon waking
Move and exercise your body first thing when you get up.
Stay off tech and your devices for the first hour upon waking.
Before heading to work or your desk – spend time journalling and writing down your intentions for the day / week.
This is the usual take on what a morning routine looks like according to experts.
Continuing on with my research these are the top 5 searches on google that people are asking on this very subject:
What should my morning routine be?
What you should do every morning?
What should be your daily routine?
What is the first thing you do every morning?
What is the miracle morning routine?
Why are we so fascinated with ensuring we have ourselves a top notch morning routine?
Well, what I found out in reading loads of articles and researching the various books available on Amazon it’s really very simple.
It’s all about being organised to the point that you know what your major objective or project is that you want to achieve for the day and week ahead.
And it’s all about making the time without delay and interruptions to completing the designated tasks or projects.
Because at the end of the day we all want to feel like we’ve achieved and completed what we’ve set out to do.
This sounds great, but that’s easier said than done.
Something gets in the way of us achieving what we want to do and that is procrastination.
Procrastination is one of the biggest self sabotages in our life. People often procrastinate because they’re afraid of failing at the tasks that they need to complete.
This fear of failure can promote procrastination in various ways, such as by causing people to avoid finishing or even starting the task in the first place.
So one way to combat this is to plan the night before what you want to achieve for the next day.
This already sets out the intention on what you are going to do once you’re ready to start your day and saves valuable time, when you get to your desk or work place.
I believe that this is one area that when I plan out exactly what I’m going to do the night before, I just get in without delay and waste no time at all getting on with what I’ve set out to do for the day.
I also find that at the beginning of the week I already know what I can expect to achieve for the rest of that week.
What I have noticed that the times I haven’t done this I’ve wasted many a good day and week achieving “bugger all”, which is super frustrating and annoying especially when you have an expectation of getting things done on your list.
Next what I find is that when I adopt a healthy attitude towards food and moving my body I achieve way more in my day.
I’m not talking about heading to the gym for an hour long session here I’m talking about being aware that your body needs to stretch first thing in the morning to wake it up and I’m talking about being aware of what you put in your mouth all day long.
Because I don’t know about you, but what I’ve found is that when I eat healthier and make healthy food choices, I feel better mentally and physically.
Now as for writing down in a journal your intentions and gratitude for the day.
I have mixed feelings about this.
Firstly, sometimes I forget to write in my journal first thing in the morning because I have so many other things to get sorted being a working Mum.
So for me, what I find more valuable is writing in my journal at night.
I generally grab my journal and write down the kind of day I’ve had whether good or bad and I also write down how I’m feeling.
What I find by doing it a night I allow myself to get out of my head some of the things that may have been bothering me. It also allows me to write down what I’ve thankful and grateful for.
So do I agree with what the experts say you should do upon waking – yep most of it but I feel we all need to adopt what works for us in the morning and whether that’s getting up early, stretching or writing in a journal that’s completely up to you.
I do feel that deciding what you want to do or achieve the following day is best to do that the night before as it not only saves time but gives you a clear direction on how to start your day.
At the end of the day just do what works for you and makes you feel good.
So whether you adopt some of the rituals that I’ve shared above or come up with your own morning routine and habits, either way it’s about just getting on with the job at hand and making sure you have a good day.
If you’d like more support and help to achieve more in your day then why not head over to my MONTHLY COACHING program where you will feel supported and loved during your financial and emotional journey.
Look forward to seeing you there.
In the meantime, here’s to your health, wealth and happiness.
If you’ve recently lost your job or you feel you’re about to, here are some things you can do right now to make sure you survive during the uncertain weeks or months ahead.
Okay so you need cash and you need to earn it fast.
There are 3 basic things you need to make sure you have secured during this rough uncertain and unpredictable time and that is:
Make sure you have food on the table for you and your family.
You have shelter. A roof over your head to weather out this nasty health disaster.
Protect your mental health and wellbeing.
Here are 5 ways to make sure you’re going to survive;
1If you have a mortgage broker now is the time to make contact with them if they haven’t already got in touch with you to discuss your home loan options.
If you feel you don’t have someone who you can trust in this area then I’ll drop you the name of a broker who is loyal, trustworthy and has the homeowner’s best interests at the forefront.
A point to note is that I don’t have any affiliation with this company, nor do I receive any kickbacks. I’ve just known them for a very long time and they’ve shared many tips with me to help my clients pay down their home loan debt as fast as possible, all without any strings attached.
2 If you’re not comfortable talking with a mortgage broker then get on the phone with your bank or lending institution and negotiate a deal that sees you freezing your monthly mortgage payments for the next couple of months.
What the bank will do in most cases is hold of taking payments for a short period of time, or they may even negotiate with you just paying interest-only payments.
Once this storm has passed, they will get you making small additional payments on top of your regular mortgage payments, once things go back to the “new normal” and you’re earning an income again.
3 Get in touch with your credit card provider and see what they can do for you to hold off making any monthly credit card payments. There may be something they can do to stop the cash bleed going towards paying your debts while your cash is in short supply.
4 If you’re renting then get on the phone and talk to your landlord to see what they will do to help take the strain of worrying about how you can afford to keep the roof over your head.
Most cases they are going to be in the same situation, worried that if you move out how will they afford to keep up their ongoing mortgage commitments on the property you’re living in. It’ll be up to them to negotiate with the bank to see what they can do on the other side to hold off future mortgage payments until things become a little more financial.
5 Now you’ve made contact with your bank or lending institution, next you have to see where you can find some cash or get some part-time work to make sure you survive during this traumatic time.
With the coronavirus pandemic impacting almost every business, some entrepreneurs are thriving and looking at ways to support their employees during this difficult time.
There are some industries that are still hiring and in fact looking to increase their staffing requirements because they’re in areas where they are in high demand during this time.
Supermarkets are one example as soon as they stack the shelves they are empty again. Some of the areas they are hiring and looking for are packers, bakers, customer service staff – check your supermarket’s website to see what they need.
Fast food deliveries have seen an increase in demand due to self isolation requirements and companies like Uber eats have seen an increase where they are looking for more drivers.
There’s a job board I discovered this week called Jora which is an Australian based search engine for jobs. Unlike traditional job boards, individuals can search through thousands of career opportunities, all sourced from many job sites from around Australia.
They list updates every 24 hours with new job opportunities. The site even breaks it down into job type, salary, location and job titles. Go check out it.
Here’s the link to Jora Australia just click on it and see if there’s something for you.
Other ways to get extra cash is;
You could look around the house to see what’s cluttering your home that you could sell online.
Or if you’re crafty and creative, how about sell your stuff online at sites like Etsy.
What about if you’re a cafe owner who a person who can bake. Why not teach someone how to decorate cupcakes, or another favourite baking item of yours and get paid for it by setting up a class online. People are basically in isolation looking for new creative ways to fill in their time.
You could also look to partaking in online surveys or focus groups and get paid to give your opinion.
Another is to sell your expertise online, whether you’re a tutor, teacher or have an expertise that you could share or teach online and get paid for it.
Why not look at some freelance work at sites like Fiverr, Upwork, Craigslist to name a few. Check out these sites as there may be something you’re good at and get paid for.
Affiliate marketing is another way, if you have a blog or website, you could get paid for advertising someone’s business on your site.
6 Okay next look to see where you can cut all unnecessary costs.
Go through your bank statement and see what you’re spending your money on.
What subscriptions do you have that you can go without for a while that will save you any money big or small?
I recently did this exercise as I often have things I’ve subscribed to that I don’t use any more. So because I hate giving good money away, I cut about 4 subscriptions and put $80 back in my pocket per month.
One of these was to suspend my audible account for the next 90 days as I have enough books in my library to keep me going for a year.
It may not sound like much but saving $50 or $100 will make the difference when you need to put food on the table or keep the roof over your head.
If you’ve got an iPhone go through the settings tab on your phone and check out your apple account to see what subscriptions have slipped through the cracks.
Gym membership is a big one at the moment because you can’t go out so why not suspend or cancel it if you can.
What streaming providers do you need? Do you need everyone that’s on offer at the moment like Foxtel, Netflix, Stan, Disney or even Amazon Prime to name the ones off the top of my head?
Maybe decide on one or two and cancel the rest. Wherever you can save a few dollars do it.
You’ve got to be ruthless and tough. Just as I am sitting here writing this our daughter came in wanting to buy an online game for her iPad.
It may have been only $5 and she said I’ll use my own money. That’s fine but as I said to her do you really need it right now and why not see if you can save that money for a bit longer to can go without for the next month before you decide to shell out your pocket money.
If we can teach our kids now the importance of saving, when a time like this comes up in THEIR working life, they’ll have the skills to knuckle down and not spend on non-essentials.
Now is the time to teach your kids about the value of money and how looking after the cents will amount to huge amounts of dollars later in life.
Look at what you’re spending your money on and see where you can cut down on things.
Sadly, most don’t have 6 – 8 months worth of emergency money so look at ways to get some dollars in the door fast.
You’ll need to make sure you have about 90 days worth of money to see you through.
Your job right now is to get a job if you’re not working and bring in some money to take the pressure off.
This will help keep your spirits high and look after your mental well being and health.
There is nothing more stressful than financial worry and pressure, so do what you can and see if any one of the suggestions I’ve offered above helps you out.
If you need emotional support or looking for more information on how to take the financial pressure off, then join my FB Group where I will be here for anyone needing an ear, as well as, sharing more tips and information.
I look forward to hearing from you.
In the meantime stay safe and healthy.
Reference: Mortgage Broker – Harry Bozin CLICK HERE for more info.
As I start the year off preparing for what I plan to achieve and share with you this coming year, I came across an article I wrote 2 years ago but never published.
I thought back and wondered why I wrote these inspirational thoughts?
On reflection, it was because at that time my Dad lost 3 of his brothers (my uncles) and his best mate all in the same year and who were all in their 70’s.
I also realised that last year I wrote a ton of stuff whether it be educational or inspirational but sadly never shared it with you my reader.
So today is the day that I promise to share more financial and mindset content that in the hope helps and benefits people in my community.
Here’s what I’ve learned these past 12 months:
1. Random acts of kindness are rare today. When you do something nice for someone without expecting anything in return, you may have just brightened up their day without knowing it.
2. If someone is unkind to you unless you’ve done something terribly horrible to them – it’s not about you – it’s about them and the challenges they may be facing behind the scenes.
3. Don’t judge anybody or any situation – you never know what someone is going through. Just because they put on a brave and smiling face, it doesn’t mean they are having a good time at life!
4. True friends are the ones that after months of not seeing them – don’t get upset or offended but greet you as if they just saw you the other day.
5. If people don’t acknowledge you – it’s ok. They may not have seen you like you think they have or if they have – possibly have a lot on their mind.
6. Money may not grow on trees – however if you work not only hard but smart – you will be growing your own tree that will look after you for many years to come.
7. Treasure the loved ones in your life – as you never know how long they will be here for.
8. When you look at exercise in a different way, other than to lose weight – amazing transformations happen – not only physically but your mind becomes super fit and sharp. Now that’s a bonus worth exercising for!
9. Love where you live – no matter on the size of your house or location. When you really love where you live – happiness appears from the corners of each room.
And, stop and smell the roses – I mean REALLY stop and smell the roses and get out in nature. It’s God and the Universe’s way of showing you all the beauty that surrounds you daily!
So while I wrote this 2 years ago, it still rings true for me today and has become even more important for me to follow the steps to achieve more happiness and fun in my life.
What have you learned over the past 12 months that you’ve decided you don’t want anymore and long to bring more of this year?
Leave me a comment below as I’d love to hear.
So until next time, wishing you more health, wealth and happiness this year.
With Christmas and the holidays just around the corner, it’s important to understand how to use your credit card wisely.
For some, the best way to use it is to not use it all.
Especially for a lot of you who get yourselves in financial trouble because you spend more than you earn.
Understanding how your card works is key to managing it effectively.
Some have up to a 55 day interest-free period. Which means from day 1 of your credit card cycle you could have 55 days of so-called free money & spending without costing you a cent.
This is where some of you may get into trouble because when your statement arrives you’ve realised you’ve overspent and have no way of paying the amount racked up back to the zero balance.
So here’s where the bank loves you because now they’re going to slog you anywhere from 19 – 22% interest.
Here are 6 tips that will make you more mindful for when using your credit card:
1. Keep track of your spending. If you’re not good at this then go get yourself a visa debit card which uses your money not the banks and stops you getting into financial trouble.
2. Pay your card on time. This may seem obvious but for a lot of people they forget to pay the balance or minimum payment by the due date and this ends up costing them more. This is where the bank slogs you around $15 for not paying on time.
3. Pay off your outstanding balance as quickly as possible. Banks love when you don’t pay the balance owing in full off because they can then start charging you interest on the amount racked up anywhere from 19 – 22%.
By getting into the habit of sweeping off what you’ve spent on your credit card every month – will save you thousands of dollars. You see every year you don’t pay off your balance sees you going further into debt.
For example; here’s a really frightening statistic that I got one client to read on the back of their credit card statement to shock them into how NOT paying the balance off in full is costing them. In this example, the balance owed was $5000 and the client was paying just the minimum monthly repayment around $95. This client if they didn’t get their butt into gear and pay the card off in full they would be paying it off in 72 years and owing over $25k in interest charges!
4. Check your statement monthly to make ensure there are no transactions that you didn’t authorise. Today there is too much internet fraud with online purchasing that starts with a $5 or $10 amount then next you know someone has swiped you for a couple of thousand dollars. This is how they do it small and slowly and go unsuspecting. So check your card statement regularly to ensure there are no unsuspecting amounts on there.
5. If you’re buying on the internet be aware of a fee called the “foreign transaction fee” which is a fee that occurs when you buy something from the internet and it’s in a different currency like US because your bank will convert this cost back into your currency for example; Aussie dollars and you’ll be slogged a foreign transaction fee.
This doesn’t seem like a lot but today the trend is to buy online and these amounts add up if they’re not in your country’s currency. So an option to get around this is to look at a credit card that has “no foreign transaction fees” attached to the card. For me, a lot of the monthly operating expenses in my business are from the US and because of this, I have a credit card that doesn’t charge the additional foreign transaction fee which saves me hundreds of dollars per month. Look at your bank or financial institution to see whether they offer this type of credit card, and lastly
6. Don’t buy items you really can’t afford with no way in hell of paying them back by the end of the month. This is not good money management and is seeing your hard-earned dollars going to others and not you. You work hard for every dollar you get so make it count and if you really want that particular item save up for it – because it makes it all the worthwhile knowing you actually own it not the bank!
That’s it for my 6 tips on how to better manage your credit card. If you’re looking for more training and education in how to work money to your advantage then check out a money program that’s super affordable and will get you back in the black.
How To Keto Your Money is a 21-day kick start program designed to get your money back in shape. Find out more HERE
Any questions leave me a comment and if you enjoyed this please also let me know.
Until next time here’s to your financial health, wealth and happiness.
Loneliness is not just for the elderly either sitting at home or in nursing care waiting to die.
It’s a very real feeling for a lot of people today for all ages, with or without family.
In fact, a study done by an American health insurance provider Cigna showed that younger people Gen Z have the highest loneliness score, followed by millennials and then Gen X.
Today we are feeling more isolated and lonely than ever before and we are more disconnected in part because of technology.
While technology has helped many of us connect with loved ones and friends who we haven’t seen or kept in touch with for some time, we are more alone than ever before.
Studies have found that despite being more connected, more people feel more alone than ever.
So it seems that because technology makes it easier to stay in touch more and more people find themselves feeling distant and never having any human contact.
We human beings crave intimacy and human contact We crave that connectivity where we can talk face to face.
From my own experience, I’m busier than ever however, at times it feels that having loads to do doesn’t always fill up my happy cup.
I was thinking back to when we use to just go out with friends and have a good time without having to worry about posing for that perfect snap to share on social media and to tell the world yeah we’re having a good time!
What’s wrong with just enjoying the moment with the special people that we’re out with and keeping those snaps for our own memories or for sharing later after the event?
Loneliness might not seem like a medical problem but it can impact your overall health and wellbeing.
I remember watching a show where they brought kindergarten kids into a nursing care centre to help brighten up the residents day.
One older man remarked before the kids came in that he felt he was just waiting to die. He was so grateful for the kids who showed him some kindness, laughter and fun and it reminded him that there’s still more life in him yet.
This situation is not just limited to the elderly in nursing care.
Loneliness can come about when people have partners, whether married or not.
The study from Cigna asked about relationships and 43% of respondents said that they sometimes or always feel that their relationships are not “meaningful.”
The same percentage of participants said they sometimes or always felt isolated from others, even those closest to them.
How many times have we seen people on their phones out for dinner and are not communicating but looking at their device instead.
Couples are not talking as much as they use to and I often laugh when I see couples talking to each via their social media posts.
I’ve heard from friends and seen it for myself that while hanging out to engage and talk with our partners – the other is on their phone appearing to be more interested in other people’s lives than their own.
Maybe that’s why there are more relationship breakdowns?
I use to think a lot had to do with money but I’m wondering whether it’s a 50/50 between no communication and no money?
So it seems that because technology makes it easier to stay in touch, more and more people find themselves feeling distant and never having that true connection. Or at least not enough to avoid the feelings of being alone.
Loneliness can be overcome, but it does require a conscious effort on your part to make a change. Making a change, in the long run, can make you happier, healthier, and enable you to impact others around you in a positive way.
Here are ways to prevent and overcome loneliness:
1.Identify that when those feelings of loneliness and unhappiness come about to look at ways you can change by doing something, whether it be volunteering, going for a walk, meeting a friend, finding groups in your community that offer activities that you’re interested in and go do them.
2. Talk to your partner or friends and suggest some real conversation by putting down the devices.
3. Understand the effects that loneliness has on your life, both physically and mentally.
4. Look at ways to cultivate new friendships by joining a club or join a “meetup group” that offers something you’re interested in and gets you meeting new people.
5. Focus on developing quality relationships with people who share similar attitudes, interests, and values with you.
6. Lonely people often expect rejection, so instead focus on positive thoughts and attitudes in your social relationships.
Loneliness can have an overall effect on your health, so be sure to look at including some of the suggestions I’ve shared above, so it doesn’t affect your health and wellbeing.
If you’re looking for more financial or emotional support then join either my FB Group or Monthly Coachingto get inspire and live a happier, healthier life.
Until next time, here’s to your health, wealth and happiness.
You may have noticed or “may not” that I’ve been off the air and haven’t posted or shared anything for a while.
There’s a couple of reasons for that and I’ll share with you ONE now and the other I’ll save for another time in a more intimate group via a live training call on how to move forward when you’re feeling emotionally, mentally and financially stuck.. soon.
So make sure you keep an eye out and join me for this special live training.
So one of the reasons I’ve been a little quiet is because I’ve felt there’s been so much noise on social media loads of talk, new stuff coming on our feed – some good and some I feel not so good.
So I decided to stop and just think about what are people looking for?
What am I looking for?
The answers were obvious.
Firstly. we all want the same things in life to live free from stress and worry, whether it be about money, relationships, work or other stuff.
A life that when we come to the end of our days we can say YES we had a good time and we lived the best possible life for us, one with loads of fun and a life with meaning.
And secondly, what I discovered was that 80% of life is about the stuff that’s going on between our ears the constant conversation we’re having in our head, where the 20% is about the doing – the know-how.
You see I use to think it was the other way round.
80% – knowledge, know-how and just doing it, while the
20% – is about mindset and getting that right.
I realised that in order for my clients to be truly successful in all areas of life I have to help them unravel what’s going on upstairs. What thoughts, beliefs and misconceptions they were constantly thinking about themselves and their life.
You see most of my clients were sabotaging their long term happiness because of the beliefs they were carrying around about themselves – self-sabotaging thoughts.
As I started to work more closely with them I discovered their limiting beliefs were holding them back from living the life they truly desired.
So I had to change things up and flip things on their head “so to speak” by focussing on breaking down these limiting beliefs and re-building new thoughts about themselves to create a realistic transformation.
Because what I discovered was that it wasn’t as easy as I thought to just to get their money in order, I had to get their mind thinking different thoughts, because most didn’t feel good about themselves or even like who they are.
So I’ve decided to change things up a bit and spend time equally talking about mindset and financial, with more emphasis on looking to improve some of the crappy beliefs we carry around about ourselves.
For example; when you truly love yourself and are at peace with who you are and how your life is you find that you don’t talk about people, bitch about them or compare yourself to them.
You also find you have less interest in gossiping and spend more on what makes you happy.
If you don’t believe me then I challenge you to stop and listen to the thoughts you have in your head and hear the words you’re speaking.
Are you talking about someone all the time, sticking your nose in where it’s not wanted or are you an active listener and participating in conversations without judgement and criticism?
When we take our focus off others and focus on our own life – we’re able to help not only ourself live a better life but others around us, because we’re not getting involved in their dramas.
What we’re doing is freeing the often negative, exhaustive thoughts that are constantly swirling around in our head when we’re not involved in gossip, criticism or judgement.
So it’s all about the 80/20.
80% – Mindset, thoughts, beliefs & how we feel.
20% – Know-how, knowledge & education.
In order to build both financial and emotional muscle, learn to let go and focus on yourself and your happiness first.
For more support and help to do this join my monthly coaching or access, any of my ONLINE PROGRAMS to live the life you’ve always dreamed.
Until next time…….here’s to your financial health, wealth & happiness.
