Money with Alpha

If you find yourself in a situation, whether it be in your personal life or business, that you don't completely like, the only way to make a change is to first become aware of the issue or problem.

Awareness is THE first step in any journey. Without it, you don't actually go anywhere, do anything or change anything.

When it comes to money, this is essential. Until you become aware of needing to understand your finances more and know how your money mindset is impacting you, then you won't do anything about improving either your finances or your mindset.

Once you have the awareness, next comes Curiosity. Questioning why you are in the situation you're in, why you believe the money stories that you do, etc. This helps you to figure out what you need to change, which is where Clarity comes in.

Clarity makes everything SO much easier. We often launch off into problem solving mode, before we are even aware of what problem we are trying to solve. Heading off without this means you haven't started with awareness first, and then comes frustration, procrastination, and more "fun" things.

Cashflow is something that is the lifeline for small businesses. Having started out as a corporate tax accountant, I was always trained to focus on the Profit and Loss (or Cash Statement) and the Balance Sheet.

However, cash really is the health check of any business. Your accounts can look very healthy. However, if you don't have cash available to pay for things, then that becomes a big problem.

Because many of us have never been taught how to manage money, it often means that managing money within your business can be equally, if not more, challenging.

There are a number of ways to both track and improve your cashflow. Here are 5 ways that you can do straight away:

1. Review your business plan and the goals you have set for yourself this year. Are you on track? If not, what is the cause and how can you get on track?
2. Streamline systems you use - review what you use against what you're paying for
3. Look at your monthly cashflow - your profit over the prior 6 months and next 6 months to see when you are most profitable and why. Trends can help you to make better decisions about what product or service to focus on promoting. This is like a budget and cashflow statement in one, where you document what you plan to earn and spend, then go back and record what actually came in and went out.
4. Make sure you put month aside for tax (GST, company tax, and any other taxes you may be liable for), and super. This also includes any withholding tax and superannuation that you need to pay for your staff.
5. Put money aside each month to cover months where expenses are higher, so you don't dig into either profits or an overdraft.

Mindset is something that impacts every aspect of our lives, particularly money. What is it though and how is it formed?

There are 4 aspects that I believe are how our mindset is formed:

1. Identity or Sense of Self
2. Beliefs (about you we are based on our identity)
3. Behaviours (that reinforce who we believe we are)
4. Habits (repeated behaviours that embed our beliefs and reinforce our sense of identity).

In this episode I go through the foundations of mindset.

Here is a link to my new FREE Guide, which I mention in this episode:

Money Mindset Makeover for Female Entrepreneurs

In this episode Rudi opens up about an incredible journey and how navigating stereotypes and biases has been part of a life altering transition. We cover off many topics here from following your innate curiosity about life to experimenting and using your Values as a compass to help you gain clarity.

Rudi works with women to help them reveal their authentic best current self. To find out more about Rudi, here is where you can go:

• Website
• Instagram
• Facebook

Life is about polarity - things come easily to us or are difficult to, problems are big or small, people are challenging or easy, life flows or feels stuck. I could go on, but I'm sure you see what I'm getting at.

Prosperity is a goal that many of us aspire to achieve in our lives, both personally and in business. It's about more than just accumulating wealth; it encompasses a sense of well-being, fulfillment, and the ability to make a positive impact. One powerful way to pave the road to prosperity is by harnessing your strengths.

We are often taught to focus on working on our challenges, because our strengths are something that come easily to us. There is certainly merit in this approach, however, it assumes that we know what our strengths actually are. And then, even if we do know, how we can translate them into something that improves our lives and the lives of others?

As with all things relating to improving our lives, it starts with awareness. Have a listen to find out the other elements of this.

While money itself is something we exchange for something we want or need, there is so much emotion attached to it.

We are taught from a young age to believe that money is the thing that we all need in order to live a happy life. And, while money does enable a more comfortable life, we aren't actually taught about it, and the messages we are fed are often very gender biased.

Men are told to invest, take on risk, grow wealth. Women are more likely to be told to save money, budget, don't take risks. The end result becomes very different for men and women, plus women take time out of the workforce to raise children, so they are even further behind financially.

In this episode I talk about ways we need to start changing this.

Stories are powerful. We learn through stories, and we tell ourselves stories all the time. When it comes to money, we need to make sure these stories aren't holding us back.

When it comes to relationships this is amplified, as there are now at least two potentially conflicting stories being told!

Here are 4 strategies to help manage destructive money stories in relationships that are covered in this episode:

1. Awareness
2. Language & Communication
3. Kindness
4. Habits.

Time is one of those limited resources that we all want more of. Having enough time to do "everything" drives many of us to follow new fads and hacks.

The thing is, we can have all the time we need, if we have clarity on what we want and we support ourselves with the right habits.

Sounds super easy right? Well, yes and no. Yes, because if we had clarity and habits to support the available time we have, everything would flow smoothly. No, because this looks different for everyone, and life has a way of getting IN the way. As soon as one "block" of time tumbles, the rest come falling down, and it feels difficult to get everything built back up again.

So, what is the solution? Here is a 5 step process to help you figure out and map out how to manage your time, and then make sure you have habits in place to support what you want to achieve within the time you have available:

1. Clarity
2. Prioritise
3. Your relationship with time
4. Review your habits
5. Align your habits and time.

Managing your money as it comes in and goes out can be challenging at the best of times. It's even more challenging when your income fluctuates and some of your expenses do also (when they are linked to your income). This is particularly the case if you are employed casually, are self-employed or run a business.

Using a cashflow management method for both Personal and Business Finances becomes even more important when your income is variable.

There is the "bucket" method, which is essentially using different bank accounts to manage different areas of your personal and business life.

This episode goes through a way you can do this that is simple and effective.

What comes to your mind when you think of being "financially free"?

It's a term that gets used, but it's unlikely that we really understand. I know I had no idea until not that long ago!

Freedom is one of those words that is often interpreted differently.

There is perspective and mindset that goes with this, and when it comes to money it also is different for different people.

The important thing is to have thought about it and be conscious of what financial freedom is for you, so you can better plan for it, and then celebrate it once you have achieved it!

In this episode I go through some ways to help you identify what financial freedom is for you, and how to calculate a number to help you figure out when you get there!