What happens when things get squeezed too far?

Filed under about the Pounds CAN Meet The Ends model by lily on June 20, 2011 at 12:39 pm {no comments}

Making the pounds meet the ends has become increasingly harder in the past year or two. Food prices have gone up. Flour for example is twice the price now than it was a year ago. Everything that is made of flour has gone up in price as well as a result. Fuel prices have gone up whether you want to heat your home or run the car it costs a lot more now than it did. There are fewer jobs as organisations become leaner and meaner in order to survive. One organisation I know of had never had to shed jobs until last summer when they had a minor reorganisation. This summer they are having a major reorganisation and with 20-30% of the job disappearing. Even the tax man is getting tougher as they are trying even harder to find people who have tried to escape paying tax.

Everything is being squeezed and people are starting to squeal. Those who are squealing the loudest at the moment are those who are being asked to contribute to more to their pensions. A few years ago it would have been unheard of for people to threaten strike action because they were being asked to pay more for their pensions. There would be strikes for more pay or because people disagreed with government policy like becoming less dependent on coal as an energy source.

I have even had one person tell me that they intend to stay at home on the day of the strikes in case they get caught up in any unpleasantness. This is because strikes by angry people have in the past turned very unpleasant. Even the strikers have called some situations battles. Hardly surprising when the TV showed police in riot gear and people from both sides walk away from the scene covered in blood. I am hoping that this is an over reaction but only time will tell.

Somehow we need to find other ways in which to make the pounds meet the ends. The aim of one of the course that we are working on at the moment is to help people find alternative ways of surviving the current situation. It is based on our bridge model where we look at how to make good choices in terms of spending and finding an income because the right foundations are in place. I wish it did not take so long to prepare these materials as they are needed today not next month. There again good things take time to produce.

Tags: about the Pounds CAN Meet The Ends model, pounds, work

Get to know us better – What is the idea behind our logo?

Filed under about the Pounds CAN Meet The Ends model by lily on May 31, 2011 at 10:57 am {no comments}

Have you ever heard someone complaining that they could not make ends meet? That was the original idea behind the logo and the old name of the web site i.e. Making the Pounds Meet the Ends.

The original Making the Pounds Meet the Ends course looked at how to increase income and decrease your spending so that you could make ends meet. When I was looking at updating this material to create a new membership site I had a download of inspiration. I suddenly realised that using the image of a bridge would be really useful. A simple bridge can be made up of two pillars with a walkway or road in-between them. Hold on a minute could a good personal financial plan involve building two pillars i.e. one by increasing income and one by controlling expenditure and then adding a span in-between them by developing a spending plan (or if you really must use that dreadful word, a budget).

The amazing thing about Pounds CAN Meet the Ends is that it started as a web site with a very different flavour and yet the logo and domain name are still appropriate. It was a way of expressing my need to minimise expenditure because I did not respect myself enough to allow myself to spend enough to be comfortable. One look at the original keywords would tell you that. These included “UK reduce cost of living” “domestic economy” “reduce expenditure” “frugal lifestyle” and “saving money” No mention at all of any way of improving the situation by increasing income as any thoughts about doing that were just not on my radar at that time. When it was revitalised into a blog I realised how much my attitude had changed. This is what led to the change in the title from Making the Pounds Meet the Ends to something more much positive i.e. Pounds CAN Meet the Ends.

Look at that logo again. It has the two pillars i.e. money coming in and money going out. Yes the pounds are turned different ways but I cannot make my mind up which should represent income and which expenditure. Maybe one day I will set up a poll for you to decide that one. It also has the text like a span. That logo was designed for the original web site that floundered somewhat aimlessly. Once that concept of a bridge came to me I looked at the original logo and I could see that it would take very little adjusting to make it look alike a bridge. It had been designed so that the text in the middle took up all the space so it was moved so that it moved up a bit.

Would you like to develop a healthy relationship with money. Not punishing yourself and squeezing your spending until the pips squeak but maintaining a reasonable level of control. Looking for ethical and creative means of increasing your income rather than accepting that you can never make any improvements. Come and join me on my journey.

Tags: about the Pounds CAN Meet The Ends model, bridge, budget, building, change, domestic economy, expenditure, frugal lifestyle, income, increasing income, inspiration, journey, minimise, money, personal financial plan, pillars, plan, pounds, relationship, span, spending

What should we do next?

Filed under Lily the Pink by lily on May 3, 2011 at 10:06 am {no comments}

We have set up a survey to help us decide what we should do next? We have had some ideas but would love some feedback on them.

http://www.lilythepinkministries.com/WhatShouldWeDoNext

Tags: bridge, budget, building, business, decreasing spending, discipline, domestic economy, earning, expenditure, foundations, frugal lifestyle, household, income, increasing income, inspiration, journey, Lily the Pink, minimise, personal financial plan, pillars, plan, planning, pounds, power of money, profit, relationship, rock, span, towers, unrealistic expectations, value, work

Money and emotions

Filed under the income mindset, the spending mindset by lily on April 29, 2011 at 10:00 pm {no comments}

What is it about money that stirs up so many emotional reactions? It stirs up greed, i.e. the fear that we do not have all we need or should have. It stirs up jealousy and envy i.e. the fear that they have more than us and the expectation that we should have more. It stirs ups the desire to do all kinds of wrong doing so that we get all we want. Somehow we need to control our reactions towards money.

It is the fear that we do not have all that we need that leads to use borrowing money only to then get into difficulties. It is the expectation that we should have more that causes us to demand higher pay, or claim expenses that stretch the rules beyond breaking point etc. It is the desire to get money to pay for their drug habit that leads some towards prostitution or theft. No wonder people are afraid of money.

Money is simply a tool a tool that can be used for good or evil. Problem is people fall in love with it or rather what they can do with it if they have it. Once this happens, money controls them and they do all sorts of things that they would not do otherwise. However we need to learn how to use money wisely. The simplest, and yet in some ways the hardest way of doing this, is to decide what your objectives are and make a plan so that you can achieve them. Not only does this take a lot of discipline but it also takes a lot of heart searching to work out what you really want to achieve.

There are choices to make. For example, do you want the most a cup of coffee every day or to pay off your credit cards? You would probably be amazed if you added up the total of what you spend a year on cups of coffee just on the days you are at work (£2 a day for 5 days a week for 48 weeks a year works out at £480 a year). This is why it is so important to develop a spending plan. We are in the process of updating the materials that we created some time a go so tha tthey are suitable for adding to a membership web site.

Tags: borrowing, breaking point, brick, bridge, budget, building, business, change, decreasing spending, desire, discipline, domestic economy, earning, emotional reactions, emotions, expectation, expenditure, fear, foundations, frugal lifestyle, greed, household, income, increasing income, inspiration, jealousy, journey, minimise, personal financial plan, pillars, plan, planning, pounds, power of money, profit, relationship, the income mindset, the spending mindset, unrealistic expectations, value, work