I-Believe Blog

The I Believe Blog Has Moved

2008-08-02T11:03:38-07:00

The I Believe Blog has moved to a new magazine style Blog covering all aspects of Health, Wealth & Happiness visit now and don't miss another thing : www.dianecossie.com

Thanks for all the great comments left on this Blog, please join me on the new one, it will be one hell of an adventure!

7 Things You Can Do This Week To Get Some Action Going

2008-07-22T11:15:46-07:00

If you are anything like me, you will love Mondays! Mondays to me are like a New Years Day every week, I start each and every week planning ahead and setting some mini goals, which are small sections of the overall action plan that takes me at least one step towards my goal.

Here are 7 things you can do this week to make sure you start to implement those all important small changes that are essential to reaching your goals.

1. Read a book (even if you have read it before) that Inspires you to do something different. By feeding the mind with something positive, you will automatically find that your body responds positively by taking action.

2. Join a gym! If part of your overall goal is to have a fitter, healthier body then make a commitment to yourself and join a gym. A good gym will cost less than one meal out per month and a trainer will equip you with a workout that suits you and your long term fitness goals.

3. Switch the word "Why" in your vocabulary to the word "How" instead. All too often I hear people saying things like "Why Oh Why Does it Always Happen to Me", it becomes a totally different sentence when you say "How Did I Let This Happen To Me Again?" Empowering!

Ask for sauce on the side, or swap an item on the menu for a lower fat version at a restaurant. In the UK we seem hell bent on:-
Firstly : eating EVERYTHING on the plate ( you pay for a meal whether you eat it or not )
Second: why not ask for what you want, and that is to control exactly what type of food you prefer to eat. Be more assertive and ask for a healthy choice next time.

5. Write a business idea down on a notepad and start a journal with the idea. If you can sketch a basic business idea down on a piece of paper the size of a small envelope then it will not be too complicated to put into action. First get the inspiration down in a tangible format, then go to work on the strategy.

6. Be nice to the waitress, shop assistant, sales person, taxi drive, bus driver or whoever it is you meet on your way to and from work every day. Your job tomorrow is to make THEIR day by being pleasant!

7. Stay calm when driving for the whole week! Road rage is SUCH a waste of energy for everyone concerned, no matter how bad the driver in front actually is, concentrate on working on your business idea instead, you'll stay calmer, more in control and use those brain cells for something more positive instead.

Trying to incorporate Goal Setting into your life all at once can cause you to feel overwhelmed, or frustrated at the pace of progress, but by focusing on making positive switches every week, you will soon find you have more time and more energy than you ever thought possible to really start to make those changes happen.

It's All About Self Reliability

2008-07-21T11:03:00-07:00

I cannot stress enough how many times recently and over the last few years I've seen women's lives change from comfortable to having to start over due to circumstances beyond their control. Whether it is realising something in themselves, that they have not reached their potential in life, an illness that has meant them giving up their career, or they have found their marriage suddenly dissolves underneath them, whatever the circumstances, without being financially independent every decision from that moment on becomes harder and harder.

With today's living expenses rising higher and higher, it is advisable to have at the very least independent savings from your spouse. Ask yourself this one very important question this week:

How Wealthy Are You?

Step One: Add up your expenses , everything from your rent or mortgage, through to clothing, insurances, pets and food with everything in between!

Then ask yourself if there is anything you have forgotten from this list, such as trips to the cinema, facials, weekend breaks etc The closer you are to your actual expenses total, the greater your chances are of success in understanding what needs to be done to become financially independent.

Step Two: Calculate how much money you CURRENTLY have, not including your salary from your job or work. So in reality if you stopped working right at this moment how much money would you have in savings, stocks, investments that could be turned into cash and any cashflow that is being generated from assets.

Step Three: Now simply divide the total money you have today into your monthly expenses from Step One. The answer you see on the notepad is the number of months you could live at your current standard of living if you were forced or decided to stop working. That is HOW WEALTHY YOU ARE.

Now if you are not too worried, and think it's all OK because, you are well insured for example, or you an inheritance coming to you one day, or that most of your money is tied up in property then all of these things play a part in us seeking some kind of security.

Without focusing on passive income building, asset buying, and gaining positive cashflow from investments on a monthly basis, most people simply live their entire lives within 3 months of going broke. It is for this reason, that I began my Passive Income March a few weeks ago and having made a start on my first Network Marketing Business in the last few weeks, I am now the proud owner of a growing passive income generating business.

Can anyone do what I'm doing? Absolutely but you must have a clear starting point and know exactly where you are going, luckily the Network Marketing Company marketing plan, plus my previous online experience means that I am able to really hit the ground running.

What is most appealing is that I am taking charge of my own destiny, not relying on luck, or the throw of a dice, but sheer delight that I have not only learned some new skills that are now being put to good use, but also the effect of the results on my family's future. By pursuing this now will mean that real security and financial freedom are not just left to chance for my family.

This is in line with the first rule of successful investing in Kim Kiyosaki's Rich Woman book, which is Rule Number One : Arm Yourself With Some Education. Without knowing how to read a personal balance sheet, reconcile a bank statement, understand your expenditure in detail and know the tools required to bring to an online Network Marketing business, none of this would be possible.

If you have been putting off Getting Started on learning about wealth strategies do your own wealth test, understand where you are starting from and start today!

Week 16: Give Your Kids The Best Financial Start In Life

2008-07-20T04:32:22-07:00

Week 16 : Kids Money

I was amazed this week to read that people are already having to dip into their savings and reduce their children's pocket money to meet the rising food, fuel and utility bill prices.

It reminded me of how important it is to prepare your children properly for an independent future, especially financially, and this of course is one of the reasons that my daughter & I created Kids Money Packs.

The problem with being a parent is that decisions involving your children tend to rely almost entirely on emotions. For example who can resist that beaming grin, the glint in the eye, the "Oh pleeeeeease can I have one?" moment and of course the pleasure of being able to be a provider of joy to your children is naturally a very rewarding feeling.

With all those good intentions, charged with all those parental emotions comes a huge stumbling block when it comes to the dynamic trio of Parents, Kids and money.

First of all some sort of pride seems to get in the way of decision making, such as always being the provider of what your children want. Always being seen to be able to afford whatever is the latest "must have" gadget or gizmo comes largely from peer pressure and has very little to do with affordability.

Second comes consistency, or should I say lack of it. This weeks news item lays this one firmly out in the open for all to see and understand. The fact that parents have decided that in order to make ends meet at the moment, they are reducing the pocket money they give to their children sends out a very confusing message to the children and teenagers at the receiving end. It is confusing because it is completely inconsistent and because there is in reality no structure to the way parents interact with their children around the subject of money, this inconsistency spills through into other areas too.

Kids Money Packs are designed to SAVE parents money, they are designed to provide a consistent way in which Kids can learn ALL the advantages of early wealth building money management techniques at an age when they are young enough to be able to provide a sound basis on which to build as they reach the age of 18 and above.

As this is a TRANSFER spend product, it does away with any pride getting in the way of parental decisions, because your children will learn to make their own, and it is 100% consistent it's delivery of a proven way to return to the principles of attaching effort on the children's part, being rewarded by parental involvement.

The principles are likely to stay with them for life, and by making their own decisions they will become more confident, goal orientated and are highly unlikely to become yet another debt statistic in the future.

For the purpose of the Pay Off Your Mortgage Challenge, we have placed a very conservative saving of £15 per week by using Kids Money Packs. In reality it could run into thousands and thousands of pounds over several years. * we have added the savings to the totals as part of the year challenge

designated website at : www.kidsmoneypack.co.uk

Any savings that you make should be added to your Freedom Payment each month and used to Pay Off Your Mortgage in 3 Years or Less. Anything else & it simply will not work.

Week 15 : Spruce Up Your Direct Debits

2008-07-13T02:52:05-07:00

It is immensely enjoyable re-visiting this challenge for all sorts of reasons. First and foremost I'm more than happy to share the knowledge, which is available from many different sources as is health & fitness, how to start a business, quit smoking, lose weight, shape up, set goals etc etc.

What is fascinating is that EVEN WITH the amount of knowledge and information available on an enormous range of topics, the fundamental problems still exist in their millions. The simple fact is, even though people KNOW that this sort of approach works, very few will EVER take up the Challenge themselves.

WHY? Who knows, but what I do know is that if you simply take the time and effort to really understand how this formula works, then you will be able to move forward in life to places you simply never knew existed before. If you truly understand the power of this Control Freak formula you would understand how powerful

UPSIDE DOWN PROPERTY DEVELOPING can be and you would begin to realise that your current situation is nothing other than the results of your past and has nothing to do with your future.

This week is all about checking your Direct Debits, Standing Orders and subscriptions to things you have probably forgotten about. I mean do you really need that subscription to "Fly Swat Weekly" -- just because you have every copy since it began and maybe if you finish collecting each copy you will have a priceless collection to go to auction some day and sell for at least £100 or so! Check out alternatives to gym's golf clubs, football tickets, pottery classes and slimming clubs ( that £5 per week to sit in a dodgy village hall would pay for a gym membership complete with swimming pool & fitness schedule.)

Check every single debit from your bank accounts each month, add them up and then ask yourself one simple question:-

Is it a WANT?

or Is it a NEED?

For reasons of sanity, I have imported all Blogs ( Pay Off, Women Invest Too & Goal Setting, Motivation & Action) into one at the I Believe Blog:-

Pay Off Your Mortgage & Goal Setting Blog

The Blog includes a pilot 10 minute Podcast on goal setting. The reason I mention this within this post is that the first time I stumbled across Goal setting was at the start of my own Pay Off Challenge. It is also the reason in my opinion why the vast majority of people, despite being shown a way to Pay Off their mortgage will simply never even try. It all comes down to one thing .... setting a goal and knowing that it is part of the bigger picture of where you want to be in life.

For the Pay Off Your Mortgage Challenge this week, I would expect most people to be able to reduce their Direct Debits and Subscriptions that they do not actually need by at least £ 60 per month.

Jim Rohn's Effortless Motivation ... Enjoy!

2008-07-09T08:41:55-07:00

If you wonder why Jim Rohn is considered by many to be one of the greatest philosophers of our time, sit back for a few minutes & enjoy his flair for words of wisdom

Combating Today's Sitting Down Lifestyle : Product Recommendation

2008-07-08T03:09:22-07:00

The image ( left ) is of Ali Vincent, the all inspiring winner of the Biggest Loser USA 2008 series, and if you watched the show, you will know how much focus, visualisation and determination she showed in reaching her goal, which was to become the first female Biggest Loser.

The biggest shock about working online from home is when you notice the Pedometer that used to register a regular 5000 steps or more a day, spent commuting, up and down hills and steps to my place of work, then spending most of my day walking around my place of work now struggles to register anywhere near half that amount, and that's if you have a handy treadmill or walk the dog every day.

The online lifestyle that beckons time and money freedom to spend more leisure time with your family and loved ones comes with a price tag ....... the journey to reach that point means hours spent in front of a computer and that in itself is not a healthy pastime.

So what is the best way to combat this side effect? Join a gym! Let's face it, the commute time you save on having a work from home office MUST be compensated by regular visits to the gym. It not only forces a necessary break away from the computer screen, but it regenerates the mind and spirit for the next day.

It also allows for a conversation subject that does not involve the latest Traffic Strategies and advert conversion rate statistics.

I'm not alone in in acknowledging the fact that computers have added to the sedentary lifestyle most of us now lead, which apart from the Nintendo Wii have gradually brought our normal fat burning capabilities to lower than even the required level of being active and therefore fit.

I absolutely love and recommend Holly Rigsby Blog

http://FitYummyMummy.com

For great advice, nutritional information and looking toned, healthy and gorgeous, I would recommend her book to anyone, not only is it is one of the best written books on nutrition I have ever read, but it also incorporates Goal Setting brilliantly as part of finding your reason WHY, which a key factor to success.

By incorporating a new challenge of a healthy fit body in your life, you will ultimately experience the need to overcome hurdles, find motivating factors to keep you on track, deal with life's little hurdles and swap unhealthy foods for healthier choices to achieve your goal.

It is a good barometer of how committed you are to finding and reaching success in other areas of your life, if you find yourself reaching for the packet of biscuits in week one, and missing gym sessions frequently with a number of excuses, acknowledge that you need to spend more time and education on developing your mindset, your personal goals and your WHY factor.

Podcast Episode # 1 : 10 Minute Goal Setting

2008-07-06T12:18:00-07:00

Download Podcast1.mp3

Episode #1 : 10 Minute Goal Setting (* file size is 13.1MB)

The recording of a Podcast is very easy, the editing of a Podcast is not! I can get my lovely music intro OR the content, but not both. I am not cut out to be a DJ, thankfully my talented daughter came to rescue to achieve the "mix."

The music track is one of many from the fabulous www.aaronbeats.com

Now I not really a conventional thinker, so I've just put everything you need to get started in setting goals in three simple steps within the 10 minute Podcast. In the next two Episodes I will give some outline tips on Motivation and that all important ACTION.

As I say on the first Podcast, I have as part of Success University got access to the best goal setters in the world, Bob Proctor & JIm Rohn to name but two. I also recommend Tony Robbins, who has touched thousands of people's lives with his motivational speaking.

Whichever route you choose, don't waste another moment, set aside some time this weekend and make a Goal for where you will be on your Master Plan by 25th December 2008!

We are over half way through this year already, there is no rule that says you have to wait for the next New Year to change your life around, as Tony Robbins says it all starts with one thing .... make a decision.

I hope you enjoy!

Kind regards

Diane

Week 14 : Pay Off Challenge ... pay attention to cash expenditure

2008-07-06T02:34:19-07:00

This week is straight out of the Control Freak Manual, it's the jingle jangle of your pockets, it's the hole in the wall, it's the old fashioned way of paying for "stuff" good old CASH.

Now we tend to be creatures of habit, so if you have always preferred cash, because you know where you are every week, for example; if you have not got enough money, you can't spend it sort of thinking. Or perhaps you like to feel you are in control of your money and perhaps "pay" yourself an allowance for the week to live off and save the rest for a rainy day.

There is one major problem with cash ... it is VERY difficult to TRACK, and therefore tends to becomes a great big "miscellaneous" in your home budget or home accounting.

To be fully in control of your spending, you need to keep a track on your CASH withdrawals .... not just you, but EVERY member of the family.

Buy a pack of small notebooks, and make a record of CASH spending each day for ONE MONTH ... then swap notebooks with another family member, so you can be accountable to someone for every single penny. Explain WHY you NEEDED to make that purchase!

An example would look like this:-

Month of July : Family member Mr Spendy Spenderson

3rd July : Cash withdrawal £ 60.00

£ 30 football night at the local pub

£ 10 lotto ticket

£ 20 play station game on special offer

9th July : Cash withdrawal £ 50

£ 15 extra fuel & sandwich on long journey to work

£ 35 new electric hedge trimmer -- half price offer

This is where the preparation pays off, the purpose of all these weeks put together so far is to grow the gap between your Income and your Expenditure, just as you would in business, the amazing thing about the formula is that just a 10% difference, if put into the Control Freak Recipe would clear a mortgage, loans and credit cards OFF in 8 years or less WITHOUT DOING A SINGLE OTHER THING! Amazing isn't it? That is why the website is named "Pay Off Your Mortgage in 8 Years or Less" plus the fact that it easy to remember of course!

So let's base this week on the average reduction on spending cash recklessly or sub consciously over the month, we usually find that the saving to be achieved is around 50% less than your current spend. So for the purposes of the Pay Off Your Mortgage Challenge I am using £ 50 per month saved and added to the Mortgage Freedom Payment.

Any savings that you make should be added to your Freedom Payment each month and used to Pay Off Your Mortgage in 3 Years or Less. Anything else & it simply will not work.

Week 13 : Holidays

2008-06-28T03:57:00-07:00

It's summer here in the UK, at least it is better than last year! That should not be too hard given the wash out last year, so it is only natural that when the grey winter turns into Spring and then Summer that we get very excited about our holidays.

We have been lucky in recent years to benefit from cheaper flights to Europe, but what I find most people do is try & spend their way through the holiday as if there is no tomorrow. First there are the ones who save, and save, and save each year a set sum of money that is "the holiday fund" then they spend it. Whatever figure they have in their heads is NOT the holiday - it is what they intend to spend. Then on top of their "holiday fund" which seems to be the ONLY thing that will make them happy for a couple of weeks each year is the way this then spirals out of control the minute the alarm goes off at 4am in the morning to get to the airport.

First & foremost, if you are going to travel more than once in a year, save money on your travel insurance and buy it annually --- save around £ 100 per year.

Do you really need to spend £ 9.00 per person on the cheapest, least nutritious, most horrible looking breakfast on earth at the airport, declaring "well I'm on holiday!" Family of four eating horrible rubbish --- save £ 36.00 per breakfast

Do you really need to text/call the friends you saw last night to tell them you are in the airport now? Then tell them again when you have landed that the sun is shining at double the rate because your message has now been beamed into space and back again on your expense. Wherever you go, get a local phone and pay the cheapest call rate.. this alone can save a staggering average of around £ 250.00 per year

Do you really need to buy ALL that duty free, just because it is "VAT free" ask yourself .. IS IT REALLY? D'ya think? save around £ 100 per trip per year

You are bored at the airport, the plane is delayed ( again! ) and so you wander round for a while, buy a ticket for the PORSCHE ( £ 20 ), have a few pints or glasses of wine ( because you're on holiday! ) buy a few packets of crisps, sweets, magazines and newspapers and you have suddenly spent without a conscious thought another £ 60.00 before you have even taken off!

Here is one I learned the hard way, get a timeshare, all accommodation paid for every year, all round the world, then upgrade the flights instead saving no money at all. A phrase I picked up in the USA is one I will never forget.. " Do you HAVE to go to the MOUSE HOUSE?" meaning, Disney World, Florida every year! Don't get me wrong about any of the above, I fully intend to have Mickey as my next door neighbour in the near future, but seriously if you realise what paying off your mortgage, clearing your credit card debt can REALLY do for you and your family FOREVER you would take a hard look at your holiday habits over the next few years & Pay Off Your Mortgage with some of the money instead.

There are HUGE sums on the table here for saving potential, for the Pay Off Challenge this week, I am going to assume that the vast majority of people spend around £ 3000 on holidays each and every year. If you are serious about making those holidays MORE frequent then slash that budget by two thirds, plus stay in control at the airport and you will have Freedom Payment Money in the region of £ 2500.00 per year.