Personal Stability in a Changing World
Everything changes, but perhaps never more so than at the moment.
Work, freedoms, the weather, the world – it’s a highly confusing picture out there.
And with no sign of it becoming less so any time soon, I wanted to share something with you that has become a weekly oasis for me…
An Oasis of Stability
What Am I Talking About?
The methodical act of doing your personal finances.
Wait… I can almost hear the groans and gasps as I write that. But stop for a moment and think about it.
I’ve written previously about taking personal responsibility for what happens in your world. But, this time, I am talking about the act of doing your personal accounts rather than what they contain.
Here's what I do
Once a week, I sit down with my book-keeping programme, my receipts, bank statements, credit card chits, and invoices. And I methodically update everything from the last week.
I reconcile the entries, check these against my online bank records, pay whoever needs to be paid and make a note of the remaining balances. Every week I know exactly where I stand financially. I can then plan for any future expenditure, and, most importantly, I feel in total control of this aspect of my life.
In simple terms, figures don’t lie, pretend, or try to cheat me. They are either a credit or a debit, and when laid out against each other, they produce a balance that pinpoints where I am.
Getting clarity
There is no fiddling I can do to get the numbers to tell a different story. There is no hiding from the truth the final balances tell me. They don’t try to humour me, comfort me, or intentionally worry me. They are simply facts, that is all, and they provide me with pure clarity.
This task also does not need much brain function or activity. Inputting figures and hitting the equals button is about all that’s required of me, apart from carefully inserting the correct figures.
The only annoyance that crops up occasionally is when my reconciled balance does not quite match my bank statement. However, all that issue requires is a little backtracking to find out where I made the error in my inputting.
Beating the hackers and other benefits
There are other benefits too. In not wishing to make errors, I set time aside solely for my accounts. And while focusing on them, I pay no attention to anything else or think about other tasks.
By doing my accounts once a week, things don’t mount up, and so it never becomes a massive job or takes too much time to do.
It also means that I spot any discrepancies very quickly. So, when like many, my credit card was hacked, I was able to easily identify the expenditure that was not mine and alert the bank accordingly.
Calm, tranquillity and stability
I get real enjoyment from this rare period of calm and tranquillity, even if the subject matter does not sound appealing.
I’m sure some will say that you can get a similar calm from doing the ironing. However, a pile of neatly pressed shirts doesn’t offer the same feeling of control and knowledge of where you stand in relation to the outside world.
For me, finances = stability, and I’ll take that in today’s climate.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this topic! Let me know in the comment section below.
As an international public speaker and leadership trainer, I help individuals and businesses move forward and overcome challenges with confidence, strength, and compassion. For more information, check out my in-person and virtual services.
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