what I’m not doing

I was re-reading last week’s blog and I’ve decided that’s a very scary list and it could take me to all sorts of places from which my brain prefers to shy away.

It made me realise that along with all of my “to do”, I also needed a few “to don’t” items, just to keep myself on track.

This blog is me talking to the universe about the journey I’ve started to a better financial me and I have some ground rules for myself:

• be positive
• keep learning
• no naming the financial institutions in my life (it’s The Bank, The Super etcetera)
• no dealing in dollar figures (I’m just not comfortable with that) so I’ll be using either percentages or time (eg, six months’ living expenses in The Bank). Where I do use dollar figures, I’ll generally be working in Australian dollars
• be clear about what has/hasn’t worked for me and why.

Why this approach? To start with, I’m a relatively private person (who is now writing a blog on the interwebs because I am apparently also complicated) and I’m just not comfortable detailing exactly what’s in my savings account or how much I get paid a fortnight.

I also realise that I live in a pretty wealthy country (Australia) and in a major city after a childhood in the country and a working life in mostly larger regional centres. My cost of living is going to be different to even the people who live next door.

My six months’ of living expenses will likely to be different from yours, my “must haves” and “don’t needs” will be different because I have access to great coffee and amazing live music events and I love both. I also have access to some really decent money savers for the big loves in my life (love you #citylibrary and #coffeemachine) so, yes, there will be differences.

So why The Bank, The Super (superannuation company, not some guy who does building maintenance) and other names I’ll come up with for the institutions in my life? That’s because I can probably be a bit more honest if I’m not naming them. They work for me in the right now but there are some I have to explore changing as part of my (first ever) annual financial health check (I’m looking at you Health Fund) but what makes them good/bad/indifferent for me might not make them good/bad/indifferent for you. That’s for you, your family/friends and your financial gurus to work out. (And if you can share your process for doing that with me, that would be great.)

There are also some other guidelines for Growing Pineapples:

• there is no get rich quick, there’s a goal for a comfortable life
• it’s all about what’s “rich” for me, which might not be rich for you, it’s about earning more and spending less
• BUT it’s also all about having a life now, otherwise, what’s the point?

I’m looking to build some good financial habits, things that will help me both live now and be able to eat more than toast in my old age. That’s what my journey is, not detailing every dollar or every company in my life.

 

The image on this post is by Vincent Guth on Unsplash