I let all of this go and carried on knowing that what will be will be and if it is time then it will happen.  Sure enough, this summer we decided to buy our first home.  I work for the builder and I know the reputation that Neilcorp Homes has so it was an easier decision than I had thought it would have been.  RRSP’s aren’t doing much these days, space is getting tight in our apartment and the country life was calling my name. So I gave in and dove into being a first time home owner.  We are now two days away from getting the keys to our new home and I’m finding myself feeling like it’s Christmas.

Since Christmas has come early for us and I’m feeling the winds of change I’ve decided to set some goals for the new year now.  My list starts with the following:

-  Teach others what I’ve learned

-  Build a successful yoga practice in the Almonte area

- Enjoy the ski season(when I’m not down south)

- Appreciate something every day

- Seize opportunities for growth

- Remember that with risk there is reward

I still look forward to my vision board session over the Christmas holidays but for now I’ve got a focus.  Why not start early?  I’ve always been told the early bird gets the worm!

A day of clarity for your finances:

9:30 – Welcome

10:00 – Yoga

11:00 – Let’s Dream

12:00 – Lunch provided

1:15 – Goals and Dreams in Action

2:30 – Yoga

3:00 – Survive/Thrive Budget

4:00 – Questions, Wrap Up, Meditation

Step away from the everyday and find clarity in beautiful Wakefield:

• Clear your mind using yoga and meditation
• Set goals
• Take an honest look at your spending
• Turn your budget from surviving to thriving
• Learn Financial tools for setting plans into action
• Live your dreams by managing your money
• Develop a clear course of action
• Start getting ahead

Stacey Shrout, owner of Balance Accounting & Financial, is joined by Financial Planner Catherine James-Zelney and bookkeeper Laura Shrout.  All three are certified yoga instructors.

SPACE IS LIMITED TO 20 PARTICIPANTS

Contact service@balancebusinessonline.com or 613-818-7150.

After working for myself for over five years now, I found myself working almost six days a week, which was tiring. The Monday blended into the Sunday and I began not enjoying any day of the week. Finally I decided, it was time to take charge. I’ve reduced my client base and decided to focus on happiness instead of the financial return. This shift has left me with a handful of clients I enjoy working with and enough money to live a comfortable, contented life.

But, then the guilt set in. I started waking up on Mondays with an overwhelming feeling of
guilt—I should be at work, I should be productive. How could I just sit on the couch, it’s Monday. That feeling reminded me of my high school days, when I would skip school and hide out at my friends’ house. It is an awful feeling, worse than having to work because it made me feel unsatisfied.

One Monday morning, after signing into Facebook, I realized I had to change this mindset. There were comments on my friends’ walls saying how awful Mondays were. Their feelings about this dreaded day are exactly how I’d felt most of my life.

That Monday, during my coaching session, I brought up my guilt. As we talked through the issues I realized that Mondays needed to be my Savasana for the week. For people who don’t practice yoga, Savasana is a relaxing posture intended to rejuvenate the body, mind, and spirit by lying on the floor in a corpse position. Because of my yoga training I could understand the importance of Savasana and I needed to transfer it into my everyday life. Tim Stringer, my coach, explained the whole yin and yang theory and how we need to have yin to balance out the yang. He suggested I look at Mondays as the yin that balances out the rest of my week that is very much yang. The light bulb went on. That afternoon, I sat on my couch and read a book. No guilt, no computer.

Because I am the type of person who likes to have a plan, I’ve decided that Mondays are YIN Mondays and I will plan to relax. Reading, sitting in stillness, and enjoying that balance will help me to fully enjoy my life.

Communication has since become a scientific field in its own right. Also, we take communication for granted because it is partly intuitive. No one really taught us how to laugh or cry, how to express gratitude or sorrow, or how to be happy or angry. There is a purpose behind every communication, whether we want to convey information, ask for help, influence, or entertain someone. Also, there is a feedback or a response from whomever we communicate with. It is not just a form of good etiquette, but also a part of our basic human nature to be responsive. Therefore, communication is not just talking, writing and gesticulating, but also listening, reading and observing. Today’s communication has to follow today’s lifestyle—it has to be fast. In order to be fast it has to be good and clear.

Workplace communication is manly focused on efficiency and it is structured around a particular hierarchy. Communication boundaries will be set and changed in accordance with the strict set of guidelines as opposed to the personal or family communication. Principles of the business communication are set to prevent confusion and unnecessary loss of time which in turn would affect efficiency.

Communicating is much harder than talking about it, but there are countless books sold and seminars offered to those interested. Communication is much like us, human beings–it works best if it is properly maintained. Once neglected, it requires drastic measures to be repaired. We should try building functional relationships through seminars and training or collective brainstorming sessions. One of the most important things is developing trust and respect between coworkers. It is all very human to make a mistake, and it takes a responsible worker to admit it. Otherwise, dishonesty will eventually lead to resentment and conflict is inevitable. Conflict at the workplace is a very, very delicate and potentially dangerous situation. Besides legal issues and possible firing of an employee or employees, there were situations were disgruntled employees did actually fire on their coworkers.

Client communication is the one that brings the money in, and failure to properly communicate might send your client someplace else. This aspect of the business communication is more complex and sensitive, due to the high level of potential legal and/or financial liability. Trust, respect and responsibility are key aspects of the successful client relationship. Clients would also like to know that we are sensitive to their needs and one of the best ways to express that is a face-to-face meeting. You will most likely learn more about your client and offer more than by email and phone only. Skype offers a great alternative to face-to-face meetings. Prepare properly before any appointment and make sure that you have up-to-date information beforehand. Make sure that all of your emails and letters are proofread, and address your clients properly. Above all—treat all of your clients as human beings with feelings, and most likely you will be treated the same.

More on communication next time around—in my next blog. There is simply so much to say. In the meantime, practice your communication skills any time you can—doing it right will benefit everyone involved.

Wishing you a very good communicative health,

Stacey

An early morning’s rush, a ride in a crowded bus, running late for work, a busy day at work, and return home in an evening rush or a crowded bus.  Let us add bills, kids, leaky faucets, broken furnaces, and an occasional distressing phone call form a friend or a relative that leaves you completely emotionally drained.  I am feeling stressed just by writing about it. From the time we wake up and until we go to sleep, an exposure to any kind of stressing activity is a given. I don’t know about you, but stress makes me less productive, less professional, and more prone to making mistakes, which can be very costly.

GOING DEEP

I think life if not about having more time to think and execute, but about having more of a “quality” time—where your mind is relaxed and clear to make meaningful decisions. This goes both for family life and a professional, moneymaking career. Psychiatrists make good money counseling people on work related stress, and drug companies offer anything imaginable under the Sun. Name your stress type and they will prescribe something for you. Much like that famous cell phone ad, we could have a pharmaceutical ad– “there’s a pill for that”. But it turns out that all those red, blue, green, yellow, or just plain white pills have side effects. Anything from bloating, nausea, headaches, and bladder sensitivity to just plain old dependency developed after the prescription wears out.

I AM THINKING

If only there was a way to relieve stress at both home and at work. Something that would help us become a better partner, parent, friend, sibling, and worker—you name it. But it would have to be readily available, free, and socially acceptable. In addition to that, it would have to be natural. So I’ve looked around and realized that there is something just like that. It has all of the above, and in addition, it protects your heart, relaxes your muscles, boosts your immunity, decreases pain, and gives you one of the best abdominal exercises you’ll ever have—all at the same time. Wow, imagine that. I am, of course, talking about the laughter.

THE GIST

Our brain is more than happy and eager enough to take care of our stress, only if we would stop for a second or two and laugh. We all know that in laughter our muscles contract, out heart pumps faster and we occasionally shed a tear or two of “pure joy”. We can also feel there is something else going on in our brain, something we can not see, but it makes us feel better, much better.

That “stuff” is ten times more powerful than morphine and it’s known as endorphin.  Just think back to your latest honest-to-heart laughter and remember how relaxed you were afterwards. Laughing out loud will help change your perspective on things, while allowing you to see the situation less serious than initially perceived. Laughter creates necessary psychological distance between happy and overwhelmed.

LAUGHING WITH OTHERS

Most of us have spent at least some part of our professional career in a cubicle or in an office that might have a window or not. I will not dwell on the possible reasons why would one be stressed at work, but I will mention that work-related fatigue could eventually lead to conflict, tension, and a complete burnout. Laughing with our colleagues and friends at work, on the other hand, goes the other way—it follows the path of collective stress reduction. By humoring others around you, you will reduce their stress levels and lighten their mood. In turn, your colleagues will be relaxed and more productive. Stress at work does not help anyone, especially those who are not either skilled or willing enough to leave their jobs at the front door when they get home.

LAST WORDS

It is a little bit sad that we have to remind ourselves to laugh more. Thinking back, when I was a kid, laughter came naturally. It is not that we as kids used to watch more stand-up comedy or comedy shows, but we were happy and uninhibited. It could be that we grow up to be stiff, politically correct, and cynical grownups. We simply forgot how easy is to laugh, even for no apparent reason. There are medical doctors out there doing stand-up comedy and interacting with their patients through humor and laughter. There are studies telling us that laughter creates “T” cells—commonly known as “happy cells”—that help in preventing infections. Even if you have no reason, laugh:

• because your doctor would want you to.
• because your body and your brain want you to.
• because it will help you live a longer and healthier life.

Above all, laugh because you’ll make people around you laugh.

A little introduction into the world of the 21^st century business decision-making. It is nothing short of an information jungle at work every day and to have a dedicated and open channel of company-wide communication is simply a must. Nowadays, it is crucial to be aware of just about every most important decision-making element in your business organization in real time. The terms used sound more like something out of a spy thriller then a monthly business magazine. Business intelligence tools, business activity monitoring, business performance management, enterprise manufacturing intelligence, data mining, process mining, decision engineering, etc. Sounds complicated, but a concept I’d like to talk about makes all of the above, user friendly and simple—a concept called digital dashboard.

Digital dashboard is a widget-like monitoring system and it’s an indispensable tool for decision makers. Designed to be easy to read and understand, digital dashboards allow a user an unobstructed and immediate access to all key indicators. And all of that with a mouse click—it’s that simple. Benefits of using such a reporting system are too many to mention, but here are few:

• Customizing and tailoring a dashboard system to a specific set of parameters to address a very specific problem within an organization:
  • marketing department with its real-time marketing performance indicators;
  • sales team with a precise standing on every lead and sale;
  • internal communication system that would be alerting specific individuals or an entire team with an up-to-date data.
  • Accounts receivable issues
• Dashboards are on your desktop, so they do not have to compete with all the emails and telephone calls you will receive on any given day.
• Dashboards are not static widgets since they offer additional background information on a specific data stream. That additional information can be accessed in detail in a different database with a simple mouse click and without unnecessary login.

One of the best dashboard products out in the market is Klipfolio Dashboard, by Ottawa’s own Klipfolio. IBM, Staples, and Intel (just to name a few) are companies in a highly competitive field, and what brings them together is Klipfilio Dashboard. Those companies have realized that the time frame necessary to digest and analyze data is crucial in a timely decision-making. This is not true just for the big, worldwide conglomerates. Any business organization dealing with clients, customers, and products will benefit from a digital dashboard.

Time is the only thing that no one buys back and it is absolutely important NOT to waste it on data analysis and reporting the old fashion way. Long gone are the days of flipcharts and weekly assessment meetings—business organizations have simply run out of the time on that one. Welcome to the future and digital dashboards.

When it comes to employment vs. self-employment, the times have changed in many ways. The very first decade of the 21^st century has confirmed and reinforced the employment trends seen in the 90’s. It has become much harder to find a secure job, which would in turn provide for our families and us. Long gone are the days when only one member of the household had to work and when the freshly cooked meal was waiting served for the whole family. Slowly but steadily, the working hours had stretched into evenings and weekends, and gradually a side job became “the norm”. Soon everyone in the household worked and coming home to a freshly cooked meal was reserved for the weekends. Running out of time was a reality.

Fast forward to the end of 2010 to see that the economy and employment has changed drastically. Work market has become more competitive and more people are entering it daily. Mindsets toward employment and financial benefits are changing as well. It used to be that working for someone or working for yourself was very different and on the opposite sides of the work spectrum, as far as job security is concerned. On one side there was a steady pay check no matter what and on the other side one makes as much as it “produces”—that varies from day to day, week to week. And there are other elements as well—retirement, sick leave, vacations, etc.—that make the case for being employed and relatively worriless.

But…

Job security does not dictate economical trends; it’s the other way around. Even large companies fold, or are broken up and sold in pieces. Unions are less effective and less powerful as more and more jobs are outsourced. Outsourcing is happening right here and now and it is not slowing down. Municipal, provincial, and federal jobs are one of the few “safe” job options left out there and the competition is fierce.

No matter how good the employee is, a financial reward will always go to the employer who could—if the price is right—sell the business to someone else. Producing five or ten times more will not translate into making that much more money, and negotiating one’s salary has become a tedious process. One simply has to do a good job in self-marketing through continuous education and by adjusting to ever-changing employment trends. “Going with the flow” is not as easy as it sounds.

So…

With the right mindset, the employee is already self-employed and a freelancer, if you will. Self-marketing, competitiveness, and flexibility are just a few elements that would help an employee negotiate the new pay scale or earn an additional week of vacation. Why not make an additional step and truly become your own boss. As self-employed, one is destined to make mistakes that could translate in the financial loss. But as the learning curve becomes steeper, so does the capacity to earn more in a more cost effective way.

Last but not least….

If you have a passion and if you think that you cannot buy time—be your own boss and pursue what you believe in. Life tends to be a marathon, rather than a sprint to the finish line. If you can choose where to run, why not pick the scenery that you could enjoy.

My husband and I have come to that point, or should I say—I have come to that point and told my husband he is there as well! I don’t know how many people out there have sought help for planning for their future. I have found there is an overload of information and it can become overwhelming. It seems like everywhere you go there is a different opinion. How much you need to invest, where should you invest it, why should you invest it. So, what do you do, who should you listen to?

Maybe this is why people just don’t plan for their future. Is it that they don’t know where to begin and they just keep putting it off until later? Or is it that people continually need to have a bigger house or a nicer car and they can’t afford to save for their future because they are always looking for something bigger and better?

I grew up with parents who were very wise when it came to their finances. We lived a very comfortable life, had nice things, we went on trips, but we never lived outside our means. Both my parents got to retire at a fairly young age because they planned. People go through life living paycheck to paycheck hoping that nothing changes, but what if something does. My husband would live like this if I let him. He loves to spend money…on anything and everything!!!

I had to come up with a plan of action—to meet him in the middle—so we could both be happy. We sat down and found a common goal to work towards—to buy a bigger house. I created a budget and showed him how much money we had coming in monthly. After our bills, our savings and our investments he still had a certain amount that was his money, no questions asked. I turned our savings into a “bill” that had to be paid each month; it wasn’t an option not to save that money. Anyone can create and follow a budget; it’s just doing what works best for you. However, you have to remember to base it on your needs and goals. Think about how much money you would like to have saved for the future. It’s much easier to stick to something when you are trying to reach a goal.

Set goals.  Budget. Be rewarded.  It’s simple.

You look at your apartment and see familiar walls, furnishings in need of an upgrade, and a kitchen that’s missing that center island. There is not enough sunlight, no doubt. Rent just went up and your new neighbour is not the quiet type. You feel you are ready for a change, but moving to another apartment is out of the question—this one is close to work and the neighbourhood is nice.

Also, you’ve worked hard and saved some money. Why not travel? How about that new car you’ve been ogling for the last few months? A trip to Las Vegas would certainly qualify as an easy and fast disbursement of your savings.

Fortunately, you were taught to be prudent and smart when it comes to money. Out of all things possible buying a house either tops the list or it’s in the top two. A house that is small enough for an easy maintenance and just big enough to help you fulfill all of your interior decorating dreams. Also, you’ve been told repeatedly that real estate is the best investment you can ever make, a sure thing. Your parents and grandparents think alike and you are the last of your siblings and cousins to hold that prestigious title—a tenant.

Just so we are clear, the above-mentioned scenario could have been about a couple, with or without kids. Principle remains the same—buying your own place beets the rent. You’ve probably—at one time or another—seen “buying vs. renting calculators”. But since that is a calculator, it deals in numbers only. Let’s talk about some other factors and leave the math to the calculators.

The following factors are just of the top of my head. As everyone’s situation is somewhat unique the deciding factors are unique as well—therefore different and plentiful.

Lifestyle

Who are you, as in what do you do, do you have your own business? Would you rather spend your time fixing and maintaining you property or working in a professional capacity, as that time is ultimately billable. Would you rather spend time fixing and maintaining you property or with your family, friends, acquaintances or otherwise unknown strangers who much like you take long walks in the nature? Are you a city person or a suburban and/or rural dweller?

Investing

Let’s introduce an additional factor—investing, and I mean, stock market investing. As a possible scenario we’ll have “renting while investing” vs. buying.

Question: Out of the two aforementioned scenarios, what would give you more return on your investment? Come on, this one should be easy, a no-brainer. Stock market with all its failures, losses, and unpredictability or a real estate market that gives you roof over your head and leverage or collateral on additional purchases. All of you who think that it’s the real estate market that is more profitable please raise your hand. You are in a majority and you are also WRONG!

I am not saying it’s not possible to have a bigger return on a real estate investment in a shorter period of time. My friends have bought their house a few years ago. After extensive research they’ve decided to go with a variable rate. Economy was bad and they’ve ended up paying a big chunk of their principle. If they would sell the house now they would make considerable amount of money. So yes, I have to agree that it is possible to have decent return on your real estate investment, i.e. buying a house, if you are willing to do extensive research, bite a bullet with a variable rate, and be lucky enough to go through an economical slump that would lower your mortgage rates.

However, in the long run investing in stocks is better because of the following:

• An effort you need to invest or expand your investments—buying and selling your investments while enjoying your comfortable chair
• Stock market performance by far exceeds real estate market performance over longer periods of time and since you mortgage is at least 25 years long it definitely concerns you
• Stock costs are much, much lower which in turn means that you don’t have to beg your family for a down payment
• Diversification—or in the most simple term “do not put all your eggs in a single basket” kind of a deal.

But if you like leverage–one that lets you build your equity and collect other related benefits—real estate is a way to go.

But please do not forget—unless you are cashing out your new property—you DO NOT own it, your bank does and you are paying it off. Stocks you’ve purchased you DO OWN and you can liquidate them at any time. No begging, negotiating, or dealing with cheap buyers.

In conclusion, renting vs. buying decision is not an easy one, as it is not all about the math. It is also about your lifestyle and your personality. I hope that I’ve helped a bit.