Matt Leech 17th December 2012
Do you get paid monthly, fortnightly or weekly?
I think we can all agree that the frequency in which you get paid can have a huge bearing on your capacity to manage your cash flow.
I often hear clients mention that they "hate getting paid monthly" as it feels like a long time between drinks.
It actually doesn't matter if you earn $400,000 or $40,000 per year I hear the same thing all the time.
When you delve a little deeper into the frequency of money, it's ideal to match your bills & expenses to the frequency in which you get paid i.e. if you get paid fortnightly, make your mortgage payment come out fortnightly.
If you get paid on the 15th of every month, try to move all bills to come out on the 17th so that you have a true indication of what's left over after expenses. Knowing what this surplus is opens up a lot of possibilities. (I know it sounds easy but you would be amazed at how many people don't do this).
With access to so much credit, it 'muddies the water' on what we actually have to spend and we end up relying on credit cards to get us through. The debt cycle begins that you use your "real-time money" (the latest pay you received) to pay back last months credit card spending.
Where I see couples often go wrong is where they have a joint account and they both have access by keycard. They are both spending with no idea of what the other is spending and the frequency which the money goes in & out isn't understood. By building some structure to their lives, we can organise a 'salary from their salary' so that their needs are easily met with some surplus left over to grow.
For more ideas on tools for cash flow, shoot me an email here matthew.leech@psk.com.au
