This is my purpose – to search for teachers who inspire me, to inspire as many people as I can, to be brave while doing it and to purposefully help others with their relationship with money. My money mission as a Certified Financial Planner® is to share my learnings about money relationships and to transform mindsets to align money with meaning to enable positive transitions. I am as clear on this as I am on my Life Plan. But it’s not always been a clear path for me. To get to this point took a good dose of hard work and a huge dollop of courage. I’ve had a long, personal struggle...

A money story based in fear, loss and anxiety affects you, and your family as well. Because our stories are shaped by what we hear, see and believe while growing up, we have to learn from these messages, to change the outcome of our lives, and those of our children. As parents, our responsibility is to teach our children right from wrong and be wary of not teaching them to be just like us. No parent deliberately wants to pass on bad habits, low self-esteem or ill-advised money behaviours. I cannot pretend to be the expert advisor on money conversations to have with your children...

In some ways, I am grateful for the journey my money story has taken me on. I have spent hours of self-reflecting and even more on trying to find my purpose in the world. I have read every book on financial planning, retirement, money stories and being courageous in the face of uncertainty that I could lay my hands on. And in my hours of reflection, I have come to understand that our journeys cannot be rushed. It takes the time that it takes. And you have to stay brave even if you stumble and fall every now and again. In the words of Brene Brown, my favourite author of all times, “If we...

Knowing the information is not enough to drive a behavioural change. We all generally know that it is important to live a healthy life and eat a balanced diet. But how many of us spend enough time exercising and eating healthily? To ‘know” something and then use that information to change your life, takes effort. This is because the mind has a comfort zone – where everything is predictable. It’s a familiar place and we need a lot of motivation to leave this place of safety. Just thinking about change can fill us with fear and anxiety. It is much easier to repeat the same predictable...

You can now start writing the plot for your new life story. This is the fun part! We begin to realise that we have a way of changing our lives and start looking at life with a renewed sense of optimism. Remember, with every assumption you have about money, you make choices, and your choices are based on your money story. Let’s look at your money story and decide what works for you and what no longer serves you. Have your notes on your current money story handy. These are the beliefs and behaviours that navigate your life around money presently. Now look at them critically and ask...

Bruce Lee expressed it so beautifully by saying “As you think, so shall you become” – and I am reminded that this is why we do it. We are the ones that give meaning to money. And the meaning we give to money manifests in our self-statements and behaviour. And once we understand our money story, we understand what we believe about money, and why we have certain attitudes and behaviours around money. And the hard part? You have to own your story! By owning your story, you can begin to understand all the money patterns that is governed by your story. I consider my own money journey. ...

A positive money story is one where you have a healthy relationship with money; where you view money simply for what it is – a currency earned as an exchange for your time or value add. In this money story, money is used as an enabler, as a tool to support and facilitate your life plan. I meet so many clients that feel powerless when it comes to money. And normally, in these cases, they see money as their master and themselves as the servant who is repeatedly flogged by this merciless ruler who continuously impose sanctions on their dreams for their lives. It is here where I want to...

I realised that it is the people in my life, special family members, friends, colleagues and clients, that fill my life story with happiness, laughter and significant memories. But most of all, with learning and wisdom. The first 50 years of my life is a wonderful story because I have learnt and grown from every person that were a part of it. It is now time to turn the page of my life story and start composing the next chapters of my life. I am poised and ready to compose a bestseller! Filled with big actions and big consequences! Most of all, I am excited to share my learning and...

Sometimes, in stories, the line between fact and fiction becomes blurred.  How we remember things may not be an actual account of what really happened, but how we perceive it having happened. This is because a lot of our behaviour patterns and belief systems downloaded in the first years of life become automatic.  We behave in a certain way, or think about things almost intuitively – an automated, ingrained response. I consider my own money journey.  My parents had a very dysfunctional relationship with money, and I realise how it has shaped my own attitude towards...

So many of us feel that we are not worthy of having money in our lives. This could be the result of low self-esteem and constant negative messages that assault our confidence and self-worth. How many times have you heard people say: “Having money or being wealthy is just not meant for me.” Or “I will never have enough money.” One of the biggest blocks to receiving abundance is the feeling or perception that you don’t deserve it. To be open to receiving money, to confidently expect from life what you are worth, to ask freely for abundance and knowing that just by being you, is enough...