How to beat inflation?

I recently received this cartoon in an email. Good Humour indeed. But lets look deeper into this...

When strikes me in this Cartoon is that its very clear that depending on Salary alone to Manage Cash flow is not enough. We need to look at Passive income streams that will supplement our income.

Planning to have a good Passive income stream requires diligent financial Planning. Firstly, what is very important is Discipline and Commitment. Able to save for the lean days is like the Ant and Grasshopper story. Its not easy when you see people around you having a good time buying what they want, when you are give up some pleasures for having a better time in lean time.

Robert Kiyosaki, the Author of Rich Dad Poor Dad and designer of Cashflow came, says he invests for Cashflow and not for Capital Gains.

The options that are available are plenty.. to suit everyone's budget and need... One just need to start the journey....

Financial Resolutions

This cartoon Prompted me to write this blog..

Do you make resolutions every year!

When we talk about Financial Resolutions, all of us can have different resolutions that is relevant to us.

- Buy a house,
- Upgrade the car
- Travel overseas
-save for the rainy days
- save for a wedding... etc.etc...

For for anything that has to be financially planned, the first thing to look at is the Cash flow.

- Do you spend less than what you earn monthly.
- Do you save at least 10% of my monthly income.
- Do you have at least six months worth of my income as emergency funds.
- Do you pay my credit card bills and other debt obligations, in full and on time each month.
- Do you have adequate financial protection.

If you have worked out a Cash flow statement of how much you earn and how much you spend,
if you have a surplus then its good. But if there is deficit, then you need to do some serious Budgeting.
The three things that matter for a good Budget-

• Know what is your Income, 
• What are the expenses, 
• when the due dates are for each payment to be made. Budget is time sensitive. 

Once the Budget and Cash flow is done, you need to review it regularly to see the progress towards your goal.

For any resolution to be achieved, constant review is required. Wishing you all the best in achieving your Resolutions...

Time is Money

When we talk about Money, I often hear comments about how unfair it is that some have so much money and there are many who don't have even the basic for survival..

What stricks me is that many of us forget something very important. TIME. The Rich or the Poor, we all have one thing that is totally fair. We are all given the same amount of time and how we use it is totally up to us.

I would like to share an email I received with excerpts from a book First Thing Every Morning by Lewis Timberlake.

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If you had a bank that credited your account each morning with $86,400—with no balance carried from day to day—what would you do? Well, you do have such a bank...time.

Every morning it credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it rules off as "lost" whatever you have failed to use toward good purposes. It carries over no balances and allows no overdrafts. You can't hoard it, save it, store it, loan it or invest it. You can only use it—time.

Here's a story that drives the point home.

Arthur Berry was described by Time as "the slickest second-story man in the East," truly one of the most famous jewel thieves of all times. In his years of crime, he committed as many as 150 burglaries and stole jewels valued between $5 and $10 million. He seldom robbed from anyone not listed in the Social Register and often did his work in a tuxedo. On an occasion or two, when caught in the act of a crime by a victim, he charmed his way out of being reported to the police.

Like most people who engage in a life of crime, he was eventually caught, convicted and served 25 years in prison for his crimes. Following his release, he worked as a counterman in a roadside restaurant on the East Coast for $50 a week.

A newspaper reporter found him and interviewed him about his life. After telling about the thrilling episodes of his life he came to the conclusion of the interview saying, "I am not good at morals. But early in my life I was intelligent and clever, and I got along well with people. I think I could have made something of my life, but I didn't. So when you write the story of my life, when you tell people about all the burglaries, don't leave out the biggest one of all... Don't just tell them I robbed Jesse Livermore, the Wall Street baron or the cousin of the king of England. You tell them Arthur Berry robbed Arthur Berry."

Here are six terrific truths about time:

First: Nobody can manage time. But you can manage those things that take up your time.

Second: Time is expensive. As a matter of fact, 80 percent of our day is spent on those things or those people that only bring us two percent of our results.

Third: Time is perishable. It cannot be saved for later use.

Fourth: Time is measurable. Everybody has the same amount of time...pauper or king. It is not how much time you have; it is how much you use.

Fifth: Time is irreplaceable. We never make back time once it is gone.

Sixth: Time is a priority. You have enough time for anything in the world, so long as it ranks high enough among your priorities.
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Have a wonderful day and Prioritize your day well in advance so that you dont end up having a huge " LOST ACCOUNT".
Do post your comments.