Lee Byers Asks Is Managing Your Money The Key To Expat Happiness
A new survey has revealed that far from it being a fact that earning more and more
money makes you happier and happier, you need to be in control of your money and managing it more successfully for you to be anywhere near happy!
So naturally theres a lesson in there for all of us taking control of our finances is key to our success and emotional wellbeing in life, and as an expat there are plenty of novel ways to get to grips with money matters much more effectively than when you were back onshore and a slave to HMRC.
If managing money is the key to expat happiness, the offshore world of savings and investment products must be how you access that key. In this report were going to explore the statistics that reveal how having control of your wealth is important for your wellbeing, and we will show you how expatriates have an advantage when it comes to getting in control of their finances.
The Survey That Proves Control of Wealth is Key to Happiness
Aviva, (formerly Norwich Union), recently undertook a survey to see if there was any correlation between an individuals self esteem, happiness and emotional wellbeing and their management of financial matters. The surveys findings show a very real association between low self-esteem and poor money management as well as improved self-esteem and being in good control of your wealth.
Interestingly, where a respondent was a high earner but still not in control of their moneys management, there was a marked decrease in self-esteem seeming to prove that more money doesnt make you happier if youre not in proper control of it.
Those of us on a modest salary who perhaps struggle each month to meet all our monetary commitments might think that the solution is to earn more but there is evidence to prove that no matter what you earn, you can develop a capacity to spend right up to that increased limit. Millionaires going bankrupt are not unheard of are they? So, once again, lets reiterate the point here to get close to happiness you need to be in comfortable control of all aspects of your financial management.
How Expatriates Have a Money Management Advantage and Therefore a Happiness Edge!
Well go into the ins and outs of money management in a minute, but first lets look at why we expatriates have an advantage when it comes to taking control of our money. Basically we have improved and increased choice over how and where we save, invest and bank our money.
When we move abroad the world of offshore and international financial products, services and solutions becomes available to us and therein, depending on our personal circumstances, there are ways for potentially saving tax, getting improved gains, seeing better performance for our money and even just achieving a better management of all aspects of our finances.
Onshore in the UK if you want to make the most of your money you really have to shop around and even scrape the barrel to find a decent rate of return, and if you want to diversify it can make it hard to keep track of what money is where and earning which rate of headline interest, when an account needs checking and changing and so on. But when youre living abroad and you can save and invest offshore, you can access tax advantaged solutions, you can manage all your assets and investments under one umbrella, you can get better rates of interest, lower charges, more diversified investment solutions. The list is endless and only potentially limited by your own tax and personal status and your goals and attitude to risk.
So, the fact that as expatriates we have more choices and more ways to effectively and efficiently manage our money means that we have more ways to get closer to the holy grail of having all of our financial affairs in order - and therefore we can get closer to being happy!
Getting in Control of Your Moneys Management
Now that we have clear evidence to prove we have to be in control of our money if we want the chance for improved self-esteem and an overall feeling of positivity in our lives, all we need to do is understand how we get in control!
It really isnt that difficult the first thing you have to do is decide that youre going to commit to getting in control! The first part of the plan is boring and fiddly, a bit annoying but SO worth it! I recently embarked on this plan (after all, you need to practice what you preach) and I honestly do feel much better about myself having completed all the steps I am about to reveal
Step One - Get all your financial paperwork together and make sense of it using a spreadsheet. Collect information about every single regular bill you pay each month, where any savings you have are stored, the rate of interest youre paying on your mortgage, loan and credit card, and how much interest youre earning on your savings.
With this information you will have a clear idea of what your main financial commitments are each month, and how far down the line you are towards saving money for your financial ambitions.
Step Two - Keep a spending diary for a month you will need a notebook and pen with you at all times! Note down every single penny you spend its incredible how knowing you will have to admit (if only to yourself) what you spend your money on stops you from frittering cash away! (By the way, if youre trying to lose weight, a food diary has a similar effect youre not going to want to note down that cream cake or pint of beer so youre not going to give in to your cravings!) Anyway, I digress
With your spending habits noted you can now do two things 1) you can see how much of your salary you spend each month and 2) you can see where money is wasted.
Step Three - use your findings wisely. You should be able to see whether youre eating up all of your salary or whether you have some money left that you need to start saving otherwise you risk frittering it away. You can check that youre not overspending and if you are you need to rein in your cash outflow or risk falling into debt. You can also see where money is truly wasted an expensive coffee once a week is a treat, an expensive coffee every day on your way in to work is perhaps an extravagance that you can strip out and save yourself the local currency equivalent of a tenner a week.
Step Four set yourself some goals. Now you know where your money comes from, where its going to and how much of it you get to enjoy and how much is necessary for the essential bills in your life, youre almost there. You can now set yourself some financial goals.
Your goals will change as you go through life inevitably so you will need to carry out a review of your money matters at least annually.
Your initial goal might be to pay off your credit card because any interest youre earning on a savings account will be nowhere near what youre paying out to have your credit card debt just sitting there! Your next goal might be to pay off chunks of your mortgage or you could be saving to get married, or for your childrens school fees. Whatever your goals are, the sooner you set them the sooner you will be able to work towards them, and the sooner you will truly feel in control of your money. And apparently the sooner you will be happy!
In Conclusion
Getting in control of your money and knowing youre earning enough, saving enough and you have a good idea of what money is where will leave you feeling much more relaxed. If you can de-stress you can of course feel improved self-esteem, and assuming your life is progressing well for you, you can hopefully be happy. None of this is rocket science, none of this is that surprising and the good news is that for expats it is even easier to get to the point where your money is saved, invested, banked and managed well.
by: Lee Byers
Is Jamorama Good-Jamorama Review Eat Stop Eat Pilon-Eat Stop Eat Review Farmville Secrets And Cheats-Farmville Secrets Review High Interest Savings Account: The Safest Way To Care For Your Money Mass Money Makers What You Didn't Know About it Satnav Device: Navigon 40 Review Eat Stop Eat Principles-Eat Stop Eat Review Junk Removal Ontario: What To Look For And How To Get The Most Out Of Your Money Nerf Guns: Review Of Nerf Longshot CS-6 Fap Turbo Expert Guide Rapidshare-Fap Turbo Review Braccialini Buy-Braccialini Review Farmville Secrets And Tricks-Farmville Secrets Review Braccialini Cardellino-Braccialini Review