To prosperity and beyond!

According to Glenn Stevens Governor of the Reserve Bank, it is said that as Australians, we handle adversity well but prosperity badly. In other words, we like to spend what we’ve got, with no regard for leaner times ahead. Although Stevens was mainly referring to the public purse, the extent of our personal debt suggests the assessment can probably equally be applied to us as individuals.

We are taught to “Just say No” in other contexts. When it comes to our spending, reinforced by our rampantly consumerist society, we find it difficult to deny ourselves. And when we want it now, we don’t like to wait. Hence the profusion of no-deposit, no-interest deals (what’s that they say about something too good to be true?).

Remember the marshmallow experiment conducted in the sixties – kids were offered a single treat immediately or two treats if they managed to hold out for fifteen minutes. Only 30% of the children held out for the full fifteen minutes. Those who resisted temptation grew up to be more successful teenagers - better at coping, at holding down friendships and achieving higher grades.

Granting ourselves each and every desire is akin to those four year olds unable to resist the puffy little treat although infinitely rational to do otherwise. Just as, against rationale, we find it hard to resist that perfect set of heels, or designer handbag.

Stevens correctly points out that consumption deferred can easily be enjoyed in the future. A gift to our future selves. Put aside, or even better, wisely invested in our superannuation or personal portfolios, we can enjoy potentially multiples of the original amount in the years ahead. Let’s resolve in 2011 to practice the lost art of denial in pursuit of a prosperous future. Off to do some Christmas shopping...

Wishing peace and prosperity to all our clients, followers, friends and family for the year ahead, 2011. Signing off ‘til then!

When is enough, enough?

It always seems that if we had just a little bit more then everything would be better. When you’re hunting for a home you seem to fall in love with the house that sits just out of your budgeted price range, the designer dress at $1000 seems to fit just so much better than the one at $250. These situations crop up in our life consistently as human nature seems hard wired into wanting what is just out of reach and keeps us aspiring ever higher. Yet nothing can disturb our peace of mind more than this quest for more or the “better” thing that is out there somewhere.

How can we achieve a balance between this striving for more and keeping our expectations realistic so we can enjoy a feeling of satisfaction in our lives rather than a low level of anxiety about not having “enough” to be happy?

Funny word, enough (try saying it quickly 5 times!). We use it often in our regular vernacular. For example “I’ve had enough” is regularly used by me in exasperation at my 3 children who despite consistent prompting NEVER put the towel back on the heated towel rail. No, seriously, I mean, NEVERRRR.

Enough conjures up images of sufficiency, adequacy or as much as is necessary but what all these definitions have in common is a requirement for subjective assessment on the part of the individual as to what is necessary and sufficient. And that is where the whole thing becomes a whole lot trickier to pin down.

Through the government’s compulsory superannuation system and the accompanying message that the 9% our employers make on our behalf will not be enough to fund a “comfortable” retirement we all must live with the reality that over our working lifetimes we will need to make considerable effort to grow our retirement savings to reach that desired level of “enough” – whatever that may be for each of us.

So what is required here is awareness of what “enough” means for you, your partner, your family. Translating this awareness into a dollars and cents budget of what your desired lifestyle costs provides a reality check on how much you need to accumulate to fund this lifestyle.

And finally, there is universal acceptance that working on our appreciation levels for all the things in our lives, even the most simple ones like a sunny day or the food on our tables is an antidote to feelings of dissatisfaction that can creep up on all of us from time to time.

So as we head into the Christmas period spend a moment each day in quiet contemplation of what you are grateful for and see how this can shift your mood.

And yes, I suspect I can work on my gratitude for having a bathroom with heated towel rails despite them never actually having a towel put on them!!