Mastering Money

RESHAPING UNCONSCIOUS BELIEFS ABOUT MONEY

ACCOUNTS SOFTWARE

RECONCILING YOUR BANK ACCOUNT

This is the process of matching up your own record of outgoings with those in your bank account. All accounts systems have a way of doing this. There are two basic starting points for reconciling:

(a) you enter the details from receipts you’ve collected and then compare these to your bank statements (either the hard copies or online summary), or

(b) you download the transactions directly from your online bank accounts and check that there are no transactions you dispute.

You mark off each matching item as being reconciled. At the end of the process, the balance in your accounts system matches that in your bank account. Many people find that it works to do this process weekly or fortnightly.

SETTING A BUDGET

Estimate what your annual / monthly outgoings are. Then set a target expenditure for each category of items. Include in your budget an amount for holidays, savings, gifts etc. The total budgeted expenditure should be less than or equal to your income. You will then be able to track your actual expenditure against your budget, using your accounts package.

NET WORTH

Net Worth = Assets minus Liabilities
Assets = total value of property, cars, stocks and shares, pensions, savings, major possessions etc
Liabilities = total value of mortgage, loans, credit cards etc

Some people suggest excluding some items such as the family home. However, the important thing is that you always calculate your Net Worth in exactly the same way so you’re always making a valid comparison as you track it over time.

GRATITUDE JOURNAL AND VISION BOARD

These iPhone apps will support you in the area of wealth.