50 + and no savings - 5 steps to financial stability

They call my generation , generation X. Reading those words always makes me feel like a genetic experiment. What does that actually say about my generation, well it says I'm an 80's cool kid, big hair, fab music and a fashion sense to match , however what it doesn't say is, that for me, my generation is the one that thought they didn't need to plan for the future, Work was unlimited, pensions were for the rich and I probably wouldn't make it to old age so I didn't need to worry about that.

So lets fast forward 30 years or more and pull the brakes , what just happened? Did I fall asleep and wake up in a new millennium ? What just happened, technology moved so fast , life got even faster and suddenly my birthdays say I am in my mid life even though my mind still thinks I and twenteen.

In my twenties I was so busy providing for tree thriving daughters that the thought of savings and pensions and investments, that was for the rich people, the university clique who had left school and gone to university, the career girls. That was not me, it took me all my time to stretch our salaries enough to put food on the table and keep a roof over our heads. The plan was to take care of this when I was older, well hello now I'm older and its a rude awakening to the fact that my bank statement says - you were stupid . If you google financial disaster , you will probably see my picture right beside those words.

So now what? Is it too late? Has all hope for my financial stability gone? Am I doomed to a life of 9-5 until I drop because I was complacent in my youth? I am now left with the dillema of working this out . I refuse to give up on the possibility of financial freedom however, as this time in life I had hoped to be sipping cocktails on a beach somewhere in the carribbean not busting my ass in the name of survival.

This now is becoming my quest , an adventure to prove to myself that I am not financially challenged, that I can put on the big girl panties and be a mature adult. That I no longer require so many things , that wealth is more important than riches. I have decided that my personal challenge from today and beyond is to be more financially responsible. Can you relate or is this simply a me thing ?

I have had to take the bull by the horns so to speak and do my research, because the truth of the matter is that no one taught me these skills, no one felt it was important enough to sit down with me and explain what I needed to do with money , no advise on saving or building emergency funds or even thinking about my future or the future of my babies , so as with most things I'm on my own, it is time to work out how this all works.

It will be interesting to see which pathways on this journey bring me joy and which make me want to give up, either way I am going to blog about the journey so that perhaps it can inspire some of you that find yourself in this position to take new steps too and perhaps together we can dance into our senior years in a better financial position.

so where do we start ?

1. Where are we ?

Apparently we can not move into our future if we don't know where we are in our present- what does that mean exactly? well , where are you financially ? Do you have debt? If so how much ? who do you owe that money too? Do you find your self with too much month left at the end of your money? Do you spend without thinking? Do you live the life of a celebrity on a minimum wage salary? Are you living beyond your means? all of these questions will help us to understand where we are exactly before we begin. You wouldn't go on a road trip without having some idea of your starting point or where you wanted to go , so this is the same, we must know where we are to decide where we want to be.

2. Learn to budget

We have to learn to budget , that word feels like a swear word to me. Budget ??? what the heck is a budget , I don't have time for that. Therein lies the begining of my problem. so apparently I am supposed to know where every penny I own is going , honestly I've never known that , I only knew I didnt have enough in my bank account when the atm said no more cash. So this is the first learning curve, control your money , stop letting it control you- wise words .

3. Emergency fund

An emergency fund . What is that ? good question , so I should have an emergency fund for the eventuality that an emergency arises ? that does not mean a sale on my fav shoe shop or the latest tik tok fad, that savings fund is for that time when I loose my job, the bottom falls out of my car or my washing machine decides it has had enough.

4. Understanding

Gain understanding, we need to stop the process that got us to this point, stop doing what you are told and start learning about all things financial so that no one can wipe your eye. We must focus on what we don't know , accepting that grass is green is not enough, we need to begin to ask more questions, why is it green, what do we do to keep it green, are there variations of green etc etc education does not end in school, readers are leaders - thank you Tony Robbins, we must be obsessed with creating the life we really want and dream of.

5. Help

Seek help. Please do not seek help from auntie Jean's cousins best friends husband who is in debt to his eyes, proper help , perhaps a coach or maybe even a good friend who you feel comfortable confiding in to become your accountability partner. It is time for us to take control back for our financial situation, time to take responsibility for all of the past mistakcs we have made that led us to this moment in time. Time to make the money change a fun adventure not a burden than sinks us deep into the no man's land of anxiety and depression.

I can't wait to report back on the wins and the challenges that I have faced on this journey. Are you in ? come on, lets do this.

xx Lei

MONEY ISN'T EVERYTHING BUT IT RANKS RIGHT UP THERE WITH OXYGEN - Zig Ziglar