View from Another Side

2008-08-24T21:05:00.000-07:00

"It's not fair - people just don't understand how difficult it is! I try to explain, but they just shake their heads and walk away".

What was so difficult for this client?

- Was it paying off their credit card? No!

- Was it reducing their spending on clothing or 'toys'? No!

- Was it asking the boss for a well-earned pay rise? No!

This was someone who had over half a million dollars of spare cash that they were needing to invest - and they didn't know how to go about it.

Now, at this point, some of you may well be thinking "They reckon they've got it hard - HUH! I wish I had that problem"! and while others of you may smile and agree, I invite you to stop a minute and think about this situation a little more. Rather than giving answers, here are some questions for you to ponder!

1. You may be saying you wish you were in that situation - well, why aren't you? What is stopping you from getting to this stage of your money management and investing? Do you feel jealous or envious of this person? If so, rather than judge those feelings, go further to find out what's underneath them. You may find out what has been stopping you!

2. Do you find yourself thinking "Glad that's not me"? If so, why are you glad you're not in this situation.

3. Have you experienced these feelings also? How did you deal with them?

4. Whether you have spare cash to invest or not, do you have an investment plan in place? Does that include education? (It doesn't only have to be AMM work!)

5. Are you surprised that someone who does have this sort of 'spare' money is expressing these sentiments? Why? Do you think that having money will take away your stress and/or your problems?

6. Do you feel relieved that finally, someone has the courage to speak out about the problems and stresses related to having money and managing it responsibly?

We offer this case study and questions and invite you to jump in and do some exploring - take these questions and use them to look closer at your goals for the year and beyond. And finally, what happened with the person quoted at the beginning? Well, first, we looked at the difficulties of being wealthy and how misunderstood or minimised the related problems or stresses can be. Now, we're putting a life plan and some investment goals together and this person is finding that investing can be rewarding, fun and exciting as well as still a bit scary!

Now I don't want to put you off becoming wealthy! It is wonderful, I can assure you! Just remember, it doesn't matter how much money you have, there are still money issues that will need to be worked on!

---------
Louise Brogan is a Director and full-time coach with All Money Matters. Louise does 1:1 consulting as well as facilitating Groups. For more information contact lbrogan@allmoneymatters.com.au