How well do you manage your emotions and your money? (Possibly appalling time to ask this as we squeal into Christmas)…….

This question gave me pause for reflection as I considered a comment Lady Jane Edwards made at  Brisbane Business Hub last week.

At the helm of BBS Communications for over 35 years, Jane’s international reputation boasts an extraordinary client list including Buckingham Palace and the UN, so she knows a thing or two about life and business. And her advice to women?

“Learn to manage your emotions and your money” she said.

Lady Jane Edwards

This really hit home for me as I’ve been guilty of losing the blot with both, especially this time of year when everything speeds into Christmas.  In the last week alone, I’ve had a cat emergency and to replace 4 tyres on my car, both cause for angst and financial interruption.

So I found myself pondering Jane’s advice and thought it worthy to share.  In case you don’t know her, beyond the title, Lady Jane has the street cred to back up her insights. At only 32, she presided over a $35 million public relations budget for Expo 88. Organisers needed 7.6 million people through the doors to break even, and smashed it out of the park with 18.5 million attendees, thus kick starting her stellar career.

You know that for years I’ve been fascinated with the management of both money and mind, in that order (no doubt a sign of age)!

The two are ultimately linked though. If you have financial capacity to make, keep and grow money, then it stands to reason you have less mental angst when things change or go wrong.

If you’re looking for a place to start, I suggest taking stock.

• What’s your break even? What do you need to survive?
   
• And what discretionary spending can you curb to create more mental space and peace? (I recently cancelled a credit card and looked critically at all my subscriptions and am in the process of cancelling a bunch of them. (Beware expenditure that’s habitual and outlives its usefulness).
   
• No-one really tells you money mindset is a conscious reframing for many of us. Depending on your starting place, moving from “lack” to “abundance” takes work.

Beyond that, managing emotions is a WHOLE SEPARATE BEAST I’ll address in our next note….