Author: Kim Potgieter

Where there is a Will, there is a way

Written by Kim Potgieter on January 8, 2018. Posted in Life Planning.

Death is not easy to discuss. Very few people are comfortable discussing death with their parents or children and it is often approached in a tongue in cheek sort of way. My purpose is certainly not to instill the fear of death in you, but to motivate you to be prepared for the inevitable. As Benjamin Franklin said, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” With 2018 just starting, why not tick drafting your Will off your to-do-list right from the start. It will give you peace of mind that your affairs are in order and time to think and reflect on all...

Retirement – do we, or don’t we?

Written by Kim Potgieter on December 29, 2017. Posted in Life Planning.

Do you remember the ‘Salusa 45” advertisements of a few years ago? I remember the commercial so well – portraying people of 45 years or older as people who need a tonic for extra energy and nutrients; as people who are nearing their retirement age, and as people who are struggling just a little bit with the daily demands of life. We are still bombarded with idyllic images of “retirees” living in beautiful lifestyle estates, spending their time walking on the beach, watching the sunsets and enjoying a relaxed and tranquil old age. But is this still relevant in today’s day and...

Mind over money over matter

Written by Kim Potgieter on December 5, 2017. Posted in Your Money Relationship.

We are living in uncertain times. Both globally and locally, our political and financial landscapes are shifting, leaving many people anxious about the returns on their investments. This type of anxiety can affect our emotions. And, making decisions based on how we feel is never a good recipe for financial planning, long term. In the face of fear, many people are tempted to convert their investments into cash. But once you do that, how do you know when to re-enter the market? What if you shouldn’t have got out of it in the first place? A move like that brings a whole set of new...

Come clean with your debt

Written by Kim Potgieter on November 22, 2017. Posted in Your Money Relationship.

The holiday season is fast approaching, and already we are bombarded with enticing 50% discount sales and the “buy 2 get 1 free” offers! It is so hard to resist spending a little extra on that special person, especially when faced with beautifully decorated shop windows and last minute holiday deals! Getting into debt is easy, but getting rid of it, not so! It is no wonder that we suffer from January blues! Apart from covering our Christmas debt, we are still faced with school fees, insurances, medical aids, and the list goes on and on… “ Credit buying is much like being drunk....

Can money buy happiness?

Written by Kim Potgieter on May 1, 2017. Posted in Your Money Relationship.

Money has an important place in our lives, jaguars – and jokes – aside. All we need to do is try to get by without money to realise that it’s absolutely essential for life in the modern world. But can it buy happiness? Well, that’s a whole other story. Of course, we know the answer to this question. Money can’t really “buy” happiness. As human beings, we have a default wiring towards some kind of spirituality. We’re self-aware enough to know that it takes more than money to make the inner workings of our world tick. But no matter who we are or how much money we have, we also have...

Money: bogeyman or best friend?

Written by Kim Potgieter on March 30, 2017. Posted in Your Money Relationship.

She, along with Roberta Taylor, wrote The Couple’s Retirement Puzzle, a book that equips couples in retirement with much of what they need to navigate this new life phase. It was a book that resonated with me and what I do, and when I was in Boston in 2014, I got to meet Dori. I met up with her again in South Africa a couple of weeks ago, when she came to my home for dinner. If you’ve had a life-planning meeting with me – or even read my book – you’ll see similar themes to Dori’s at play. On the front over of The Couple’s Retirement Puzzle, the words “couple” and “conversation” are...

V is for vulnerable this Valentine’s Day

Written by Kim Potgieter on February 5, 2017. Posted in Your Money Relationship.

I’ve seen it myself over the years. Whether those specifics are true for every woman and man, I don’t know. But what I do know is that even though people have different needs, we do, in fact, need. Being in relationship – whether with a spouse, children, other family or friends – is what life is all about. Relationships can be safe spaces but they can also be places of pain. Pain is what causes us to pull back to protect ourselves. All of us have opted, at some time or another, for self-protection above vulnerability. And yet the need doesn’t go away, does it? We want to connect, to...

Bring on the brave

Written by Kim Potgieter on January 30, 2017. Posted in Your Money Relationship.

In the spirit of embracing 2017, I came across a blog published by researcher and author, Brené Brown. In it, she asks four thought-provoking questions. When you have a minute, take a look at them and answer them for yourself, in the most real way you know how. I’ve done that below. Here’s what Brené asks: What do I want more of in my life? How do I let go of what’s no longer serving me? What will make me feel more alive? Brave? At the end of every year I need to know that I have contributed more than I have criticized. How have I contributed and what will that look like going...

A belief in the miraculous

Written by Kim Potgieter on December 19, 2016. Posted in Life Planning.

I am the first to admit that I allow the fullness of my schedule to crowd my life. So, this day of visiting gardens was both a special time to relax and a reminder of what I have been missing. I walked through these majestic blooms with their delicate petals, riotous colours and heady scents and just soaked in their beauty and the peace that emanates from them. Together with their aesthetic appeal, I have come to appreciate the passion with which people cultivate their roses. Like his roses, founder, Ludwig Taschner is a survivor. Born in...

Mastering the Art of Personal Alchemy

Written by Kim Potgieter on November 14, 2016. Posted in Your Money Relationship.

Reinvention means a planned, positive change to your life, the key to which is awareness of how you are thinking at the time. To successfully reinvent ourselves, we need to move out of the past and create a new perspective that allows us to identify the possibilities that exist now and in the future. Often we feel that nudge … we want to change, but then we focus on the past and seek solutions based on what we know, on bygone experiences. This backward look can take us as far back as childhood, to an incident or possibly something our parents said, not...

Author: Kim Potgieter

When it comes to your money, Be inspired, Be brave, Be on purpose.

When it comes to your money,
Be inspired,
Be brave,
Be on purpose.