Whenever people ask me what I did before I came to Genistar and I say I was an accountant they always say ‘wow so you knew a lot about finances before, you must have known all about this’ and my answer is always a resounding ‘NO’!

How far from the truth could this be?  Even having worked in the bank before, it never gave me the tools to  do what I currently do i.e.: giving families a financial education.  In fact I was a broke accountant (qualified as well), struggling so badly I had to take on a second job to cover my bills, as I was told if you can’t buy a property in a good state of repair, buy a run down one  (on an interest only mortgage) then some nice sub-prime lender will loan you the money (at an exorbitant interest rate) to do it up.

As a  matter of fact I can remember the guys doing the mortgage telling me interest only was the way to go as most people always move on to other properties and, with property always appreciating I could always remortgage and get a new deal.

So much for being a smart  brainy accountant!!  I needed to get a financial education.  The lessons I’ve learnt at Genistar are invaluable.  No one told me about the ‘Rule of 72’ before Genistar, no one educated me that getting 3% on my savings was no good when inflation is over 4%.

There are myths that needs to be done away with as I know that even people with less than High School education can get PHD (Proper Honest Direction) in finances.  Genistar will provide this and help families to become financially educated, which is what we need – I was an accountant and I needed it!

- Barbara Anderson

There’s the popular cliché ”If wishes were horses, beggars would ride”.  It’s natural to want to have the best things materially for yourself, your loved ones and sometimes maybe to even go over the top, to show off or spend a lot of money buying something special for a loved one.  I believe this is always going to be the case, assuming money permits.

This is 2012.  The game has changed.  Yes, everyone will like to show off, have the best things of life, and give the best gifts to a loved one or even a charity.  Alas!  The times are changing.  According to the media and surveys, more and more people are repaying their mortgage with credit cards, about 78% of people living in the UK have no savings, unemployment and redundancies are going up!  Welcome to the harsh realities!  Welcome to 2012!

How bad is The Economy and Personal Finance in the UK today?

As I’m writing this, the personal debt level is going through the ceiling.  There’s next to nothing if you are looking for a “decent” personal finance.  Unless you always plug your ears and cover your eyes throughout the day, you must be used to the continuous chronicles of calamity regarding the state of personal finance in the UK.  As my role is to educate via this blog, I will list some statistics that may just make you realise the reality of where we are and maybe, just maybe, there is a wee need to live below your means (assuming you are currently living above your means!)

• Every 15 minutes, 28 seconds a property is repossessed in the UK
• Every 4 minutes, 32 seconds someone will be declared insolvent or bankrupt
• The bulk of the complaints to the government personal finance help body Citizen Advice Bureau are debt and personal finance issues. More than benefit and tax!
• The average household debt in the UK is £55, 988 as at January this year. More than any country in the world!

I can go on and on and on.  That is not my mission here.  I hope to share few ideas about how to avoid being part of these negative statistics very soon.

Most People don’t Plan to Fail.  They Fail to Plan

I will be gobsmacked if your burning desire is to fail.  I believe most people on planet earth really want to be somebody.  Live a better life and ultimately succeed in anything they choose to do; work or business.

Unfortunately, no one has ever been taught about money at school.  We are taught algebra, dissection of toads and frogs and some other interesting but not-too-relevant-to-life subjects!  Subsequently most of us don’t understand how to deal with our finances, how to budget or how money works.

These are recent reports from the media, Wikipedia and the internet:

• A British survey found that consumers do not actively seek out financial information.  The information they do receive is acquired by chance, for example, by picking up a pamphlet at a bank or having a chance talk with a bank employee
• A baseline survey conducted 5,300 interviews across the UK in 2005.  The report identified four themes:

1. Many people are failing to plan ahead
2. Many people are taking on financial risks without realising it

• Some 83% of the UK population believes not enough is being done to educate people in financial matters, according to the study.  And 63% said they wished they had received financial education lessons in school. Similarly, 65% thought that “financial advice should be provided in the workplace.”

We Will Teach You how to Live Below Your Means

The first step from debt to debt freedom is living below your means.  It is always difficult to change, that’s why the most commonly used substitute word for change is improvement.  If you need an improvement or change in your personal finance, a Genistar representative can help you put a plan together to determine how quickly you need or want to start living below your means.

We offer every client a complimentary Financial Game Plan that will show you how to trim out the fat in your spending/budget, how to get out of debt (if you have any) and ultimately how to achieve financial independence.  I would like to clarify that this will not happen overnight.  We will be with you at each step of the way, showing you how to shed the bad habits, how to acquire the discipline and knowledge to effectively become able to live below your means.  We have done it for thousands of happy clients. Why not you?

“The first step from poverty to riches is the most difficult….. it can be
defined as having a clear concise mental picture of the thing one seeks” – Andrew Carnegie

Wow, what a statement!

So if the first step is the most difficult, if you can master that one, the rest are easier right?

This made a lot of sense to me, but where to start?

What do you seek? What are you passionate about? What will you regret if you go you whole life and don’t achieve?

First Define what your CCMP is, BE VERY SPECIFIC, research it, try it, test drive it, talk about it, look at pictures and watch programmes about it.

You must become an expert in the thing that you desire!

Next, WRITE IT DOWN, not just general statement like “I want a new car” but very specific statements like “ I want a new BMW 320 Diesel, four door automatic, in Metallic Silver, with a black leather interior, a 6CD changer in the boot, built in Sat Nav and Bluetooth….etc..” What will it cost in £££s?? I think you get the picture! Give it a SPECIFIC TIME FRAME or deadline.

There is something powerful about committing a goal to paper. The act of writing out the goals forces it to be specific and it is harder to change than one imagined in your mind. It also makes it easier to read it every
day.

Andrew Carnegie says “The act of writing ones goal down forces it to be specific as to its nature, the act of habitual reading fixes the nature of the purpose in the mind where it can be acted upon by the subconscious”

After writing the goal, you need to GET A STRATEGY to achieve it. In a business like ours this is very easy to do as we know our numbers. When you do something long enough a pattern emerges and it becomes predictable. We know our numbers so our business is predictable which means it’s easy to plan.

Once you have your strategy, you will know what price that you need to pay. How many hours do you need to work? How many field periods each week do you need to commit to?  If it’s too many, if you can’t commit so much time, you may need to change your strategy. If that’s the case, change the time frame or free up more time to commit to the field periods. It must be realistic or you are destined to fail at it.

It’s also important to break down your activity into smaller goals or “micro goals”. These are the daily goals that you can focus on in the very short term to achieve the bigger goals.

Once you have re-assessed your strategy, and decided on a definitive course of action then the next stage is simply DO IT – GET TO WORK – TAKE ACTION or whichever phrase suits you. Without putting action to your plan it’s just a lovely dream and all theoretical and theory doesn’t get you your goals!

Constantly check your progress. Monitor your activity against your strategy and make sure you stay on track. Daily or even several times daily is best.

And lastly, but by no means least, YOU MUST HAVE A BURNING DESIRE! How do you get one of those? Read your goals several times a day. Look at pictures. Daydream about them. Imagine how it will feel when you get them. Imagine the taste, the touch, the smell, the feeling it will give you when it becomes a reality. The most effective goals will stir your senses, makes your mouth water, makes you smile, makes your eyes widen or your heart beat faster. They should make you feel that if you don’t get them, you will be gutted!

To summarise you need a CCMP, a solid  specific plan written down and acted upon, coupled with the images and that inspire the emotions that will keep fanning the flames of your burning desire and causing you to continue the action to achieve your goals.

Most people have unspecific and unrealistic goals and no burning desire to get them and most peoples goals will remain wishes and pipe dreams. DECIDE today that you will not be one of them. Start working on your
CCMP and your Plan and as Art Williams so famously says “DO IT!”

I would highly recommend that you buy and study the book “The Wisdom of Andrew Carnegie” as told to Napoleon Hill which explains this better and in more detail than I ever could.

by Steve Owbridge
(with a lot of help from Andrew Carnegie)

Just when you thought you were having a bad day….

Recently I was on a two week, non-stop journey to visit all of the Genistar offices throughout the UK.  It was a gruelling schedule with meetings everyday and a seminar almost every evening in a new city.  I got home to my flat in London, threw down my bags and had a cup of tea to relax after this two week business trip.  I was mentally and physically spent.

Author – Jeff Lestz