Money with Alpha

Cashflow  is something that is the  lifeline  for small businesses.  Having started out as a corporate tax accountant, I was always trained to focus on the Profit and Loss (or Cash Statement) and the Balance Sheet.  However, cash really is the health check of any business.  Your accounts can look very healthy.  However, if you don't have cash available to pay for things, then that becomes a big pr...

Mindset is something that impacts every aspect of our lives, particularly money.  What is it though and how is it formed? There are 4 aspects that I believe are how our mindset is formed: Identity or Sense of Self Beliefs (about you we are based on our identity) Behaviours (that reinforce who we believe we are) Habits (repeated behaviours that embed our beliefs and reinforce our sense of identity)...

In this episode Rudi opens up about an incredible journey and how navigating stereotypes and biases has been part of a life altering transition.  We cover off many topics here from following your innate curiosity about life to experimenting and using your Values as a compass to help you gain clarity. Rudi works with women to help them reveal their authentic best current self.  To find out more abo...

Life is about polarity - things come easily to us or are difficult to, problems are big or small, people are challenging or easy, life flows or feels stuck.  I could go on, but I'm sure you see what I'm getting at. Prosperity  is a goal that many of us aspire to achieve in our lives, both personally and in business. It's about more than just accumulating wealth; it encompasses a sense of well-bein...

While money itself is something we exchange for something we want or need, there is so much emotion attached to it. We are taught from a young age to believe that money is the thing that we all need in order to live a happy life. And, while money does enable a more comfortable life, we aren't actually taught about it, and the messages we are fed are often very gender biased. Men are told to invest...

Stories are powerful.  We learn through stories, and we tell ourselves stories all the time.  When it comes to money, we need to make sure these stories aren't holding us back. When it comes to relationships this is amplified, as there are now at least two potentially conflicting stories being told! Here are 4 strategies to help manage destructive money stories in relationships that are covered in...

Time is one of those limited resources that we all want more of. Having enough time to do "everything" drives many of us to follow new fads and hacks. The thing is, we can have all the time we need, if we have clarity on what we want and we support ourselves with the right habits. Sounds super easy right? Well, yes and no. Yes, because if we had clarity and habits to support the available time we...

Managing your money as it comes in and goes out can be challenging at the best of times.  It's even more challenging when your income fluctuates and some of your expenses do also (when they are linked to your income).  This is particularly the case if you are employed casually, are self-employed or run a business. Using a cashflow management method for both Personal and Business Finances becomes e...

What comes to your mind when you think of being " financially free "?   It's a term that gets used, but it's unlikely that we really understand.  I know I had no idea until not that long ago! Freedom  is one of those words that is often  interpreted differently .  There is perspective  and  mindset  that goes with this, and when it comes to money it also is different for different people. The impo...

Frustration is something we all feel at some point in our lives.  The question is, WHY are we feeling frustrated?  What is the problem that's causing this feeling? Before even answer this, get EXCITED about the fact that you're frustrated.  Why?  Because it means you have energy and you care enough about your life to feel like there should be changes made. So much change in our lives is borne out...

Investing is something we often put off because we have to get all our other "ducks in a row" - save for a house, buy a car, pay off personal loans, go on a holiday...  There are any number of reasons. Mostly, there is avoidance behind this because we are taught that investing is complex and risky.  While there is risk involved (like most things in life), it doesn't have to be risky.  Nor does inv...

Have you ever sat back and wondered where time has gone?  It seems to fly, especially after kids, and as I approach my mid-40s, it feels like the last 2 decades have just slipped by. It makes you think about where you're headed and what it is that you want to still do.  At least, I have been thinking about this lately!  Many things I have done, but there are things I still want to do and I need ti...

Travelling is meant to be fun.  It is also expensive and there are lots of things that can go wrong, where the costs go up a lot more than you expect.  I have been travelling my whole life.  My first overseas trip was with my parents when I was 4 years old.  As a grown up, I have gone overseas at least every second year, and sometimes multiple times in a year.  Then, the borders closed and we coul...

I get a bit passionate in this episode!  Understanding what lifestyle YOU want and WHY is very important. Without this clarity, it makes getting where you want to go very difficult, and take longer. In this episode I go through what you can do to gain this clarity, and the 7 things you need to do to then achieve this lifestyle: Calculate how much money do you need to make this lifestyle a reality...

While you probably didn't go into business to be a finance expert, there are some key numbers you need to know to help your business grow. Numbers tell you about  how your business is performing , and what levels of debt you're carrying, or how much cash you actually have.   This helps you to make better decisions about how to grow or scale your business and do it in the areas that your customers...

Failure, as unpleasant as it is, is an important, necessary part of life. Life is about polarity – the only reason we even know what happiness is, is because we have experienced sadness and failure. We can't always know the outcome of something before we do it, so there is always a chance of failure.  That doesn't stop us giving it a go. Just think of all the things you can do now.  At some point...

Willpower is one of those words that most of us scringe at the thought of, but somehow think we need more of. What is willpower?  Psychologists define it as  the ability to delay gratification, resisting short-term temptations in order to meet long-term goals The capacity to override an unwanted thought, feeling, or impulse The ability to employ a "cool" cognitive system of behavior rather than a...

When we are children we love to dream.  Dreaming of games, far away places, new worlds, you name it.  There are no boundaries to imagination when you're a child and haven't heard "you can't do that" enough times. My daughter has some pretty big dreams, and it has made me realise that I have put some of mine on a shelf in the back of my mind, and they have gathered a lot of "dust". Many I have actu...

Do you feel like an imposter sometimes?  In business and in life? Feeling this way often shows up as fear, guilt, anxiety and confusion.  Why do we experience these feelings?  In a word, Conditioning.  Often things that happened in our childhood, the innate Negativity Bias that we have as humans (which is linked to our survival instinct), and then societal stereotypes impact why we experience Impo...

Support is something that we all need.  Having the right people around us to give constructive feedback, inspire, bounce ideas, be honest (in a loving way), and help to keep us accountable is so incredibly valuable and important. When it comes to money and business, it's VERY important to make sure you understand enough so your business can have the impact on your life and the lives of the people...

If you have caught the travel bug, like I have, then you will love that the borders are open again, and we can explore the world once more. While travelling has never been overly cheap, the costs have gone up quite a bit since the events of the last few years. So, it's even more important to be as budget conscious as you can be, without spoiling the fun! Here are some ideas I go through in this ep...

Being wise with money is what many of us aspire to.  What does it mean though?   Wisdom (by definition) is the result of: Knowledge ; Good judgment (which means making considered decisions ); and Experience . It looks so easy, doesn't it?  If I want to become better with money, I just need to learn about it and there we are!   The reality is not that easy. Why is that?  Our minds get in the way an...

Time is something we all want more of.  More often than money being a limiting factor in decision making, it's time that becomes the constraint. In business you can buy your time back through outsourcing, but there are other ways to become more effective with your time. Here are the 7 ways to experience more hours in your day, that I go through in this episode: Create a plan for an area of your li...

Success in life and business is not something that happens without focus and effort.  There are also potentially many years where there is no perceived process.  The concept of success is also something that changes as you learn and grow on your journey. In this episode I go through 3 key concepts to help you focus on the things that will help you achieve success: Incremental Steps - reocognise th...

Change is something that happens to all of us, whether we choose it or not.  Here is the 7 Step Formula that I use to manage and initiate change in my life and finances.  I use this with clients as well, and it's a powerful process: Understanding yourself Knowledge Plan Action Experience Review Rinse and repeat. Using these steps is what I go through in this episode, with examples and analogies to...