Ever have one of those months where every conceiveable expense comes up? Your car needs repairs, school fees are due, a medical emergency comes up, the refridgerator dies, etc,etc… just the worst. And of course, the loans are due and there just isn’t enough to stretch. So what do you do?

.Do you complain about it to your colleagues?

.Do you lose your temper over the situation?

.Do you give in to frustration?

It’s like you have no control over life.

Right?

Wrong.

You always have a choice; whether or not you exercise it is up to you. And that is where flexibility comes in. This also means that a person needs to vary their behaviour until they get their desired outcome. If what you are doing is not working, vary the behaviour and do something else. Anything else is better than continuing with what doesn’t work. Keep varying your behaviour until you find something that works.

Behaviour + Situation = Outcome

So the next question is how does this relate to how your money is feeling?

Well, the answer is about choices. Do you have a good relationship with your bank and can you call on the manager if a situation occurs? What about insurance — have you considered that as a rainy day option? What savings and investing products do you have and what are the benefits to each? These benefits may just be the emergency help you need.

So it’s not just about saving for a rainy day. It’s about having a plan that takes into account that life happens and you don’t want to have your back against the wall. You want to create a plan that gives you choices and allows your money to be flexible and meet your needs.

Creating that plan is where a financial coach comes in. It’s not about the products — that’s where a licensed financial advisor comes in — it’s about how your life works and what works for your life.

And so if you are ready to get financially flexible, it’s time to speak to professionals about gaining more choices with the resources you have available.

Dennise Williams, MBA (banking and finance) is a journalist, TV producer, certified practioner NLP Coach and has 15 years’ experience in the financial services industry. You can see more of her work at www.youtube.com/financiallyfocused.