Accumulus Financial Life Planners

27/04/2023

So why aren’t we doing it?

1- It’s not fun.
True. But remember, as Stephen Covey says, “If the ladder is not leaning against the right wall, every step we take just gets us to the wrong place faster.” Budgeting is how we make sure our spending ladder is leaning against the right wall.

2- I already know where my money is going.
No, you don’t. Sorry. Unless you track your spending, you don’t have a clue where your money goes. Everyone I’ve ever seen go through the process of tracking spending for 30 days usually ends up saying some version of, “I had no idea I was spending that much on X."

3- I’m not sure I want to know.
I think this is the biggest mental hurdle. The reality is that as we become aware of what and how we’re spending, we’ll find some things that surprise and bother us. Then we have to decide: Do we want to change?

The answer to that last question is… Yes! Of course, you want to change!

Why else would you be contorting your body into weird shapes in a heated room with people chanting "Om" at you? Right? The whole point is to become more aware.

Just give it a shot.

1- Try tracking your spending for 30 days.
2- Don’t stress about what app to use.
3- Just carry around a pen and a little notebook, and each time you make a purchase, write down what you spent and how it made you feel.
4- At the end of the month, go back through your notebook and just notice. Become aware. That’s it.

What do you have to lose?

Carl Richards

23/09/2022

Had the pleasure of being back in hills again last weekend with an amazing bunch of people as we completed the 4 Peaks (the highest point in each Province).

Our climb was to to celebrate the life of Ethan who has moved on.

His light shone bright all weekend and we were showered with sunshine on 3 Peaks and the moon and the stars appeared on Slieve Donard as we summit at 2.30am last Sunday ✨ 🌙

The cuppa Tae never tasted so good🙌

The 2 charities we selected were a huge support to our friends over Ethan’s life and its lovely to know they will benefit from the our climb.

If anyone would like to throw a few shekels their way, the link is below.

https://www.idonate.ie/fundraiser/4PEAKS4ETHAN

Think I am finished in the hills for 2022😂

iDonate.ie - 4PEAKS Remembering Ethan

27/04/2022

Real financial planning is a process that never ends, not a product you buy once and call good.

Carl Richards

17/04/2022

24/01/2022

Is it hard for you to talk about money with your spouse or partner?

The answer is YES! It is hard, because it often feels defensive. She spent too much. He spent too much. Was that aligned with our values? What are our values? How come there isn’t more? And if only she would spend less, then I wouldn’t have to work so hard. :)

And now, drum roll please… the part of that message that made it so hard to read:

From, The Spouse.

In other words, MY spouse!

I have to admit that upon reading that, I was discouraged. There was even a part of me that felt like a fraud. Who am I to be talking to other people about money if my own wife feels this way?

But I also need to admit that she’s right. It’s challenging for us to talk about money. Not just with each other, but with our parents, our children, even our siblings and friends.

And you know what? That’s OK.

This, my friends, is one of the keys to talking about money: knowing that it’s going to be hard. Sometimes, it’s going to be painful. And that’s OK.

At that time, my wife and I had been married for 23 years. She was my best friend then, in spite of the fact that we’d had more fights about money than I’d care to admit.

And you know what? We’re still married, she’s still my best friend, and we still have fights (or at least arguments) about money!

That’s the point. In spite of the difficulties we have talking about money, we’ve both agreed not to give up.

Talking about money may not be necessary for all couples. If you’re one of those rare people, great! More power to you. But I doubt that is the case for the vast majority.

My own experience is that talking about money is unavoidable. Like taking out the trash and doing the laundry, it’s just one of those things that has to happen.

And if that rings true, then you really have just two options:

1- You can end your relationship with someone, and then you won’t have to talk about money with them ever again.
2- Or, you can keep trying.

My advice?

Keep trying.

-Carl

15/12/2021

O N L I N E R E F E R E N C E S & B O O K S W E L O V E

Our Money Mentor Service is created especially for Gen Z-ers and Millennials.

For More Info, go to link in this bio or -> www.accumulus.ie

And you can Download our Explainer Brochure too

FYI Accumulus Financial Life Planners are the guys behind

13/12/2021

A Pension is for Life, not Just Christmas!

R E P O S T from 2020
Pensions Ireland Explainer and Top Tips

In its simplicity, a pension is a savings bucket into which we contribute, with a long-term view that it will form part of our future asset base.

Our message is very simple, Do Not Put Off Starting Some Form of Savings Today.

Read On via link in bio or www.lifeandmoney.ie -> MONEY

10/12/2021

Greetings, Carl here.

One day, I imagined that I had a vault where I kept the most valuable lessons I’ve ever learned.

I opened the vault and was surprised to find that each of those lessons had been hard at the time. Often, deeply painful.

There was unforgiving weather on trips to the mountains. Really hard work. Major financial mistakes. Cherished ideas I was sure would work but flopped instead.

My most valuable lessons are painful, so I keep them in a vault. And because I keep them in a vault, I don’t revisit them often.

Isn’t that interesting? The lessons I value the most are the ones I seem to be intent on protecting myself from.

That seems backward. It seems to me that instead of trying to protect myself, I should build a life that exposes me to those sorts of experiences as often as possible (with some much-needed rest and recovery in between).

Instead of avoiding valuable lessons, I’m trying to learn to be comfortable being uncomfortable. I’m setting my life up in a way that allows me to do things that may not work. I’m conducting experiments that are safe to fail instead of fail-safe.

I’m trying to cherish hard-earned lessons.

Doesn’t that sound better than keeping them locked away?

-Carl

P.S. As always, if you want to use this week's sketch, you can buy it here.

26/11/2021

The Ebb & Flow of Your Financial Lifetime by Accumulus Financial Life Planners

24/11/2021

Money Mentor Service available, created for Gen Z-ers and Millennials.

Visit 'Accumulus' via link in this bio to Learn More or www.accumulus.ie and view/download our Money Mentor page Explainer Info

We are the guys behind