Category: Future

Is the financial advice experience negative or positive?

A question I have been mulling over – ‘is financial advice negative or positive’ – or is it aimed to create negative feelings, then solve them with overly positive predictions or scenarios, or actually, should it be to create positive feelings, then stay sensibly grounded, aware of what could happen (negative scenarios)? Continue reading “Is the financial advice experience negative or positive?” →

Can you recognise the vicious cycle of money worries?

There is a vicious cycle combining money and mental health  – quite simply, worrying (about money in this case) makes mental health worse, and poor mental health, makes managing (money in this instance) harder.

Although we are taking money as the example here, the example can be extended to many areas – just substitute money for ‘work’, ‘relationships’, ‘health’  and many more.  In particular though, the money cycle is one which can have a self-destructive path which is far more challenging to escape from. Continue reading “Can you recognise the vicious cycle of money worries?” →

What your emotions and the financial markets have in common

Your emotions and the financial markets may have more in common that you first think.

Over the long term, the general trend of financial markets is upwards. Like it or loathe it, the concept of financial growth (some may call it capitalism) seems to work.  Of course, from time to time, there are little wobbles along the way, sometimes (2001 and 2008 spring to mind) there is a calamitous drop in value. Given time however, and avoiding panic, generally, things recover, and after a while, are back to where they were, and improving again (unless of course you had all your assets in one company which went bust) .  This is the message we convey to our investment clients at Serenity – trust in the plan, and despite the short term wobbles, in the end, the plan will see you through.

Using happiness as the global currency instead of money, generally, society can hope to work towards greater joy, feeling better about the things around us and ourselves.  Trust that generally, life will be ok, and we find that the investment in ourselves will pay dividends, be it health or mental functions.  Continue reading “What your emotions and the financial markets have in common” →

Belief, focus, time management, health and ignorance – that’s all it takes…

You probably have great intentions to move forward with one thing or another, yet doubt creeps in, you get distracted, run out of time, don’t feel up to it, or spend so long gathering information, that the time has passed.

There are 5 key non-negotiable disciplines of high achievers.   Continue reading “Belief, focus, time management, health and ignorance – that’s all it takes…” →

Are you a traveller or a tourist through life?

 

Very soon, your thoughts may well start to turn towards their holidays. Are you though a traveller or a tourist?

Travellers tend to enjoy everything, embrace the moment, experience, wonder, not over prepare or over complicate, and focus on enjoying the here and now.

Tourists however, tend to want to tick things off their lists, have to be over prepared, everything planned to perfection, collecting photos for Facebragging and deeply concerned with telling everyone else what a great time they are having – sometimes, to the detriment of their own real enjoyment. Continue reading “Are you a traveller or a tourist through life?” →

Leave the smoke and run to the sun

Are you one of those people who commutes around 90 minutes a day to get to work and again the same in evening as the return journey?

If you are – this true story of someone I was working with will resonate with you… Continue reading “Leave the smoke and run to the sun” →

If you thought life planning was all about holidays, then think again

Did you think that Financial Life Planning is either encouraging people to spend their money, or to save it for extravagant holidays.  Certainly, a big challenge is enabling clients to find the freedom to spend their money (especially if it was inherited from parents who never spent), and helping them live to their means with an eye on the future.  The real goal is happiness – being able to help people be at ease with their position, and helping them to enjoy life without the burden of worry (still of course with a responsible financial eye on the future). Continue reading “If you thought life planning was all about holidays, then think again” →

The benefits of leaving the city and heading to the beach

Why does it seemed that so many people in Cornwall are laid back to the point of being horizontal ?

Frazer Hicks the boatman from the Isles of Scilly once famously described the local word ‘dreckly’ as “like manyana, but with less urgency”.

So what is it about living near the coast, on the beach and in sight of the sea? Scientists have discovered that the ‘blue space’ effect has an incredible way of making you feel at ease.

There are four notable ways : Continue reading “The benefits of leaving the city and heading to the beach” →