Friday, September 25, 2015

Bloomingdale resident and Certified Financial Planner Chuck Donalies: The Frugal Planner's Weekly Dispatch

See this message from Bloomingdale resident and Certified Financial Planner Chuck Donalies:

Subject: The Frugal Planner's Weekly Dispatch
From: chuck@donaliesfp.com
Date: Fri, 25 Sep 2015 15:59:21 +0000

The Frugal Planner's Weekly Dispatch

News, Ideas, & Things I Find Interesting

Issue 1

Comparing Your Financial Situation to Others

I read an article on Fox Business that asks "Are You Better Off Financially Than the Average American?". Let's face it, everyone, including me, compares their financial situation to that of a family member, friend, or even a celebrity. This is a bad habit to get into.

Let's stop comparing ourselves to others. Who cares what kind of car someone else drives or how big their house is? Instead, let's focus on the short- and long-term goals we want to achieve. I guarantee we'll all be happier.

Fear and Greed

I recently had the pleasure of hearing Carl Richards speak at the XY Planning Conference in Charlotte, NC. If you aren't familiar with Carl, he's a fellow CFP® and Director of Investor Education for Buckingham Asset Management. He's also an artist with a talent for visualizing financial concepts through simple drawings. You can see his work weekly in the Sketch Guy column in The New York Times. His "Fear and Greed" sketch is one of my all time favorites because it sums up perfectly how most investors behave. This video (3:36) is worth your time.

Productivity and Parkinson's Law

Many years ago I came to the realization that I could accomplish more by setting deadlines for tasks I wanted to complete. Only recently did I discover my observation has a name: Parkinson's Law. If you're unfamiliar with Parkinson's Law, then here it is:

Work expands to fill the time available for its completion. If you give yourself a week to complete a task, it will probably take you a week to overthink and stress about it prior to completion. However, if you give yourself two days to complete the same task you'll probably find a way to get it done.

As an entrepreneur, I'm constantly looking for ways to boost my productivity. Understanding the psychology behind Parkinson's Law has enabled me to do just that. Lifehack.org has a good article about how to use Parkinson's Law to your advantage.