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Caring for ageing parents
Some of us may help provide assistance to our ageing parents or other relatives in the future. That time may bring a range of emotional and physical challenges. Planning ahead may help relieve stress down the track. Here are three suggestions that may make a difference.

Talk about your parents’ future
It may not be an easy discussion, but knowing what your parents want can help later. Ask them about the type of care and living arrangements they want. Find out about the different types of care they can afford. Think through whether you will be able to physically and mentally offer the support they require. This is an important but often overlooked consideration.
It also helps to establish trigger points. Being unable to manage a garden or a dementia diagnosis and clear signs of memory loss may be time to change care arrangements. This process is about helping your parents to state their wishes while they still can. They can also take this information to specialists, such as their financial advisers, accountants and lawyers. Knowing this information can also help you plan ahead if you need to offer financial support.

Setting up a power of attorney and enduring guardianship
You never know what circumstances life may send your parents’ way that mean someone else needs to take care of them or their finances. At some point, some of us might not be able to go to a bank or make an informed decision about our care. Which is why appointing a power of attorney and setting up enduring guardianship documents can be important.
This is a trust relationship, and your relatives should carefully consider the right person to appoint. It’s also important not to leave this until it's too late. It’s difficult for someone suffering from mental deterioration to provide informed consent about changes to their finances. Setting up these documents before problems arise can protect ageing relatives and their families.

Establishing clear records of finances and assets
Finances and assets are a sensitive topic, which could be tough to discuss. This is understandable, but you can still help them plan by encouraging them to set up clear records of what assets or debts they have, as well as contact details for institutions they use along with details about any financial advisers, accountants, lawyers and other specialists with which they have relationships.
Having clear documentation can also help down the track. For example, it can ensure any debts are attended to and avoid unexpected debt collection notices for bills that would have been covered at the repayment time if you’d known about it. Or it can help to identify funds to cover medical expenses or nursing care when needed.
Being prepared can offer you and your relative's confidence about their options for whatever the future brings, even if it feels confronting at first. It can also make difficult times a little less challenging. There is a range of tools offered by state trustees and government websites like MoneySmart to help with budgeting and estate planning. Speaking to financial advisers and lawyers can also help.

Source: BT
 

Work life balance – managing career and personal life

In the digital age, where connectivity is constant, achieving a healthy work-life balance has become more challenging than ever.
Technology and remote work have revolutionised the way we live, work and even relax. Thanks to digital advancements, we can now work from anywhere, anytime. With emails, messages and notifications buzzing on your phone or laptop, it’s tough to unplug and unwind. So, what’s the solution? 
Building a balanced lifestyle starts with setting boundaries and prioritising core tasks. Especially during career transitions, setting distinct boundaries for work activities and re-evaluating priorities are fundamental in maintaining a work-life balance. Here’s how…

1. Track your time
Analysing your present situation is the first step in achieving a good work-life balance. Keep a time log of everything you do for one week, including work related and personal activities. This data will serve as an eye opener, helping you understand how you are using – and where you are losing – your time.

2. Determine your priorities
Spend some time seriously reflecting on what is most important to you and make a list of your top priorities at work and at home. Then analyse your time audit by asking yourself these key questions: 
•    What do I need to start doing? 
•    What do I need to stop doing? 
•    What do I need to continue doing? 
•    What do I need to do more of? 
•    What do I need to do less of? 
•    What do I need to do differently?

3. Set specific goals
Take your list of priorities and turn them into concrete and measurable goals. When setting objectives or goals, avoid being overly ambitious or setting vague goals. Instead, be realistic about what you can achieve within a given time frame. For example, an objective such as ‘spend more time with family’ is too broad. Instead, specify the objective as ‘have a weekly family meal together,’ which is specific and actionable.

 4. Schedule scrupulously
Whether paper or electronic, this is the vehicle by which you turn your priorities and goals into reality. Set aside 10-20 minutes at the beginning of each day (or the night before) to plan your tasks and activities for the day and evening ahead. 
 
5. Set boundaries
Clear boundaries between work and personal time are crucial for a balanced life in the digital age. This can be achieved by defining work hours and unplugging from technology during personal time. Maintaining these boundaries can significantly reduce stress and increase feelings of control.
Effectively communicating these boundaries is likewise important. By being direct and respectful, others can understand and respect your limits. And by consistently reinforcing these boundaries and leading by example, the effectiveness of these boundaries is enhanced.
Develop a mental on-off switch between work and home. It helps to establish a transitional activity between the two realms. This might consist of listening to music or recorded books during your evening commute, exercising at the fitness centre, running errands or keeping personal appointments. 
Strategies for digital detox
It’s important that you also set boundaries with technology, or your use of it.
•    Unplug regularly: Designate specific times, like dinner or before bedtime, when you switch off all digital devices. This helps to establish tech-free periods, giving your brain a much needed break.
•    Limit notifications: Don’t let your phone’s constant pinging dictate your day. Limit notifications to essential ones only. This reduces distractions and allows you to focus more on tasks at hand.

6. Take care of your health
You can also replace screen time with physical activities like walking, yoga or any sport you enjoy. This not only improves your physical health but also your mental wellbeing.
If you are not in good shape physically, mentally and emotionally, both your work life and your personal life will suffer. Take care of yourself by eating healthy meals, try to exercise three times per week and sleep a minimum of seven hours per night.
While you may not think you have time to add exercise and extra sleep to your jam-packed schedule, these practices relieve stress, raise your energy level, increase your stamina, improve your mental clarity, boost your immune system and make you a happier, more engaged and more productive person. 

7. Take advantage of work options
Find out what options your business offers in terms of flex hours, a compressed work week, working from home, job sharing or part-time employment. You may find an arrangement that allows you to work more productively, while at the same time cutting stress and freeing up valuable personal time.
 
8. Ask for help when you need it
If you are overwhelmed at work and it is causing undue stress, don’t suffer in silence. Untenable work situations can usually be alleviated but it will take some assertiveness on your part. Similarly, if a balanced life continues to elude you, or you are experiencing chronic stress, talk with a professional. Take advantage of the services offered by mental health organisations or from your employer, if any, such as an employee assistance program.
Maintaining balance: Long term tips
Try as we all may, work-life balance isn't an exact science. Each person must find his or her own way of combining career, relationships and personal care into an integrated whole. What is right for you now will likely change as new circumstances arise, so periodically review your situation and adjust accordingly.
Don't get overwhelmed by assuming that you need to make big changes all at once. Even if you implement only a few of the above strategies, they will have a positive and measurable impact in your life. Start with one clear goal – then add another, and another.

Source: MLC

Navigating the transition to a successful retirement

Just as it is vital to invest in the financial planning, retirement planning must also focus on that other precious commodity – time.

We live in an era of increasing longevity, and we have the opportunity to redefine the concept of retirement and create our own path forward – which may include working in some form. 

Having the option to retire is recognised as a significant career and life stage, and it can produce mixed feelings. 

At times throughout life you are likely to have initiated, pursued or welcomed change related to work, home, family, friendships, travel. You may have viewed these changes in a positive way – onwards and upwards! Any feelings of uncertainty are likely to have been pushed aside in pursuit of the exciting development.

For those who will soon have the option to retire, the next step may feel very different. It can feel like the end of an era. Navigating change can feel challenging.  

Our brains are wired to treat uncertainty as a threat. A useful response is to identify what we can control. For example, maintaining a healthy habit and listening to some favourite music are just two ways you can calm that part of your brain that wants to activate a sense of fear and anxiety.

Research suggests it is not change that we fear, it is the sense of loss that we fear. In this context, we may fear the loss of daily routine, loss of work community and networks, loss of identity, loss of purpose, possibly the loss of being part of something bigger. 

The good news is you can be proactive in navigating change and you can start well before you leave work. Here are three examples.

First, a major change is likely to relate to who you’re spending your time with. You may assume you will spend more or all of your time with your partner. A question to consider is have you ever spent this much time together? It’s important to discuss each other’s expectations. Even if you don’t yet know exactly how you want to spend your time, identify whether you would each want to have your own interests and your own circle of friends, as well as shared interests and friends.

Second, you may assume that you will spend more time with your grandchildren. It’s important to discuss your hopes with the parents of your grandchildren to check whether you all share similar expectations. If this is not the case, it can be a heartbreaking discovery at a time when you are already feeling the effects of change, so have this conversation well before you retire. 

Third, if you are planning to move house and possibly downsize, consider the changes involved. Will you be living in a new community? Will you have new neighbours, and be living at a new distance from friends and family? If you are planning to do this soon after leaving your work role, consider how much change you want to deal with at once. Even though you may view this as a positive development in your life, a lot of change at once can feel overwhelming. 

When it comes to identifying how you want to spend your time, it can be hard to know where to start. It can be tempting to fill your days with busyness. Start by considering the following:

First, consider what role (if any) work will have in your life.

Second, check your mindset. We often view retirement as an ending. Yet if we potentially have 20 or more years ahead of us, we can choose to see this as a magnificent opportunity to start something new. 

Third, we live in an era in which we have so many options for how we spend our time, so explore the broadest range of options. This doesn’t have to involve an extravagant lifestyle. You may decide to retire, unretire, travel, continue learning, teach others, pursue a passion, start a business, write a book – all of the above. 

People ask, ‘what makes a successful retirement?’

Arguably, the key to thriving is to spend as much time as possible in ways that are meaningful to you. The challenge is to identify what energises you, so you are genuinely loving life. The good news is you don’t need to work this out alone. That’s where a coach can help.

We can’t control every aspect of life – we know there will be challenges at times, and that finances have a significant influence, but when you look back on your life at some future stage, how do you want to feel about how you have spent your time?

What would a fulfilling life look like for you? That’s success – for you.

Source: Money & Life

Financial literacy for kids

Books can spark our imaginations, transport us to new worlds, and let us explore other times and other minds. They’re also an invaluable tool for learning. Here are some ideas to help kids of all ages learn about money and start developing their financial literacy.

Kids aged 4-6

At this age, many kids will be starting to understand that money – in the form of cards, phones, or notes and coins – can be used to buy things, but how these transactions take place may still be a little mysterious. Money-themed picture books can help to simplify financial concepts in a way that kids can relate to, exploring what money is and where it comes from, spending, budgeting, and saving, and touching on important life skills like delayed gratification, patience, knowing the difference between needs and wants, and setting goals.

Look for Sid and Jan Berenstain’s The Berenstain Bears’ Dollars and Sense and The Berenstain Bears’ Trouble with Money; Cinders McLeod’s 4-book MoneyBunny series, starting with Earn It!; and Sue Graves’ Money Matters series.

Kids 7-12

Once kids start reading for themselves, there is a range of practical activity books that can help them learn about money through games, activities and puzzles – while practising their maths skills too. You’ll also find books that cater to kids’ fascination with becoming a millionaire. David M. Schwartz’s If You Made A Million introduces the concept of interest, while James McKenna, Jeannine Glista and Matt Fontaine’s How To Turn $100 Into $1,000,000 offers financially precocious 10 to 12 year olds an introduction to finance, investing and starting a business, along with true stories of how real people became millionaires. Australia’s own Barefoot Investor, Scott Pape, has Barefoot Kids, with projects, stories, rewards and stickers to get kids earning, saving, investing and giving - many of these books discuss the importance of giving money to charity or other causes.

Teens

Older kids can start learning how to manage money for themselves through pocket money (which they may or may not need to “work” to receive) and part-time jobs. Introduce your kids to the idea of setting savings goals for the things they want, and teach them tricks and tools that make saving easier.

Teaching your children how to manage money will help them to set and achieve goals and live the life they want – even if they don’t make it as a 12-year-old millionaire. 

Source: TAL