Three useful tips to end a money managing nightmare

[RogueInnovation]

Stability
Flow
Cycles

This is a short post but on a crucial concept that was created to get me out of the sidewalk in the most steady and fundamentally sound way I could. I found a way to basically stabilise any situation I find myself in, and these three keys are the foundations that have reoccured and held financial stress points together whilst I have been using my time on my business.

I judge a financial situations merits based on three keys. I make sure to NEVER just judge on money in the bank, because if I do, my appetite increases, prices inflate, comfort zones change and I find myself dwindling towards a catastrophe all the time. I judge the merits of stability, I understand the process of flow, and I comprehend the cyclical nature of time and opportunity, and together these three keys help me assess how I can respond to a financially stressful situ.

The first thing we feel when money comes in is RELIEF, but often time this relief causes our hands to come off the wheel, and you will almost certainly drift. So instead of relief as my first reaction I put the money through its paces, so I can safely qualify cash for specific budgets and purposes.
Stability:
How stable is this cash? Is there someone that can make an error? Is there an element of whim to any of the components? Are there delays (two day delays can make a huge difference)? Is there a heirarchy or any form of displacement of accountability? Am I making any assumptions? What are the worst case scenario errors? What is the track record, how does it feel, can I trust it, do I have a way of using a critical failure to my advantage? How am I hedging off loss, minimising risk, and positioning myself?

Once I assess the stability of that stream, I still don't trust it implicitly (that is a sidewalker mistake). I simply allieviate fears of poor diligence.

Flow:
Flow is about judging what goes in and what goes out, rather than saying "what I possess". Possession leads to ego, ego leads to feeling invincibility, feeling invincible leads to blind spending, and blind spending leads to bottlenecks, and those bottle necks create financially stressful periods of time. You can end up trading a feeling of momentary invincibility for a predictable crash and high stress point.
You owe it to people around you to not have bipolar financial conditions, as it introduces paranoia, stinginess and uncertainty not only into your life, but affecting what you give and take from people around you. Money used like a drug or painkiller or sedative has to be managed BEFORE it bottlenecks, not after. By easing the transition of bottle necks you open up greater generosity around you, stabilise relationships, and give yourself way more wiggle room. Overall it helps mindset and mindset helps business. If you are approaching a bottleneck, you HAVE to check stability of sources around you and hustle (without panic). It is absolutely crucial you babysit the process and make sure it comes in and isn't left to slide.

Cycles:
Cycles are about how pressure hits on at certain times, and people can give at certain times and not at others. You have to have an understanding that availability of money and problem solving gusto comes in cycles. This means that there will naturally be times when solving is easier and more affluent and when it is scarce. If you can take preemptive approaches to these cycles, you can ride them out better. I always like to remind myself in times of higher flow, that there will be a jamming point that strains that flow, and invest a safe portion to help ride through the change in cycles.
You never really fail 100% because cycles are constantly moving, but you want to be as independant of those cycles as you can, so that your finances never get bipolar, and never rot and become unstable, before you can replace them.

After I assess these three keys, I have a much better view of my financial situation.
So instead of binging after a sale, I assume a reverse in luck, I invest in stability, and I take a look at what will jam up the flow.
I am never 100% certain of the future, so what I do is project a level of confidence, and skim the "cream" off the top of the sale, AFTER I've had time to calm down.

I have an after sale routine to manage my emotions, and an after famine routine I have to relift spirits.
When I can validate the cream, I then can budget in growth.
The growth is important, so shouldn't be wasted (so minimise as much self destructive behaviour as you can when faced with cream), be creative and resourceful with everything you have when scaling up, inch by inch.

Don't just buy a car, or a blah blah blah, you have to do feasibility studies and cross reference all strategies available so you can pick the right path. Then you go through them diligently, and once justifiably resolute, you can lay out the cash but only after you inspect the goods.


This might all sound simple, but actually going through these processes helps build a mental muscle that can resist almost any financial strain. And once you are clear of that, you can see what is a problem and what is just being overly cautious much clearer, and that allows you to spend with a free conscience which is more liberating than spending out of relief, and certainly better than fearing the point you reach the choke point.

Think ahead emotionally and you can qualify how you spend your cash, but not only that, you can also better use your time, and stop working in a pressure cooker.
Relieving your fear of cash is not a matter of having more of it, it is about qualifying expences.

Best of luck
I hope this helps

 

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