http://www.lindamnicholson.com en-gb lindamnicholson.com 2012-3-28T00:00:00Z lindamnicholson.com http://www.lindamnicholson.com/page2.htm#115500 I have switched to Facebook to share ideas amp information. Please join me by clicking on the Facebook Icon amp liking my page. I look forward to seeing you there. 2011-12-4 22:16:13 http://www.lindamnicholson.com/page2.htm#104549 Do you have difficulty relaxing and switching off after work Do you want to improve your work life balance WLB The document below contains some practical and easy to use Relaxation tips and techniqueshttpwww.lindamnicholson.comUSERIMAGESrelaxation.pdf 2011-9-30 12:59:13 http://www.lindamnicholson.com/page2.htm#102981 Are you curious about Work Life Balance Take the free WLB Quizhttpwww.lindamnicholson.comUSERIMAGESwlbquiz.pdf 2011-6-21 17:22:47 http://www.lindamnicholson.com/page2.htm#90461 As with all areas of life it is easier to get what we want when we know exactly what we want. Our workcareer area of life is no different and in this blog post I want to share practical suggestions that can help you create more clarity focus and direction. A wish list is an excellent starting point starting point towards determining what you want or what you dont want. I suggest you make a list of what you would like from your next role e.g. is there a specific industry organisation or location you are drawn to What skills do you envisage offering in your next role Do you want to work outdoors work as part of a team etc.. This is a very simple and worthwhile exercise. Perhaps you have an idea for a positioncareerbusiness but youre not yet clear as to how you can make this a reality. Reduce your plan to writing.the moment you complete this you will have definitely given concrete form to the intangible desire1. Writing provides you with an avenue to crystallize your thoughts an... 2011-3-11 12:26:02 http://www.lindamnicholson.com/page2.htm#84027 This blog is also located at WordPress httplindamnicholson.wordpress.com 2011-1-6 14:16:56 http://www.lindamnicholson.com/page2.htm#74976 Todays climate is creating a lot of change and uncertainty for many people. Although we look to others for answers and meaning many of us are discovering that we already have all of the skills and tools that we need to succeed. We just need to be reminded of them. In this post I want to look at some tools and exercises that may be helpful to anyone experiencing challenges in their career or workplace. Although this list is geared toward workcareer the same themes tend to arise in other areas of life. Assess Your Expectations Some of us expect our careerwork to meet all of our needs yet it is unrealistic to expect this of any one person career relationship location etc.. Its important you dont generalise that work contributes to you being unhappy when by design it cannot meet all of your needs. Explore how to meet these other needs. If you are looking for more intellectual stimulation consider further education or seek out likeminded people. If you want more fun think about what give... 2010-12-1 22:35:46 http://www.lindamnicholson.com/page2.htm#71467 Fear of public speaking is the number one fear in society. A world renowned billionaire once wrote that he invested 100 in a Dale Carnegie course in the 1950s not to prevent my knees from knocking when public speaking but to do public speaking while my knees are knocking 1. Isnt it reassuring to know that as human beings we all share the same fears Although fear may block us we have a choice to feed fear or face fear. When we focus on fear we get fear. When we focus on solutions we get solutions. Be open to solutions and remember what you resist persists. What you look at disappears 2. Fear of flying heights etc. can all be addressed through hypnotherapy and NLP. You have nothing to lose by exploring solutions. Most strategies related to enhancing personal performance primarily address two areas competence and confidence. Lets look at both with regard to public speaking. Competence Never underestimate the importance of a well planned and carefully thought out presentation... 2010-11-1 20:49:40 http://www.lindamnicholson.com/page2.htm#78800 With Christmas approaching and October being a key month in the Tax calendar I thought today was an opportune time to revisit our Financial Health and remind you of some important tax dates and popular personal taxation reliefs. 2006 Tax Refunds As you are probably already aware Revenue allows you to go back 4 years from the current tax year when making a tax refund. As such you only have until December 31st 2010 to make a claim for 2006. Consider each of the questions below and if you answer yes to any question you may be entitled to a tax refund. a Did you incur medical expenses in 2006 GP visits laser eye surgery etc b Did you pay nursing home expenses in 2006 c Did you work for part of 2006 or switch employer in 2006 For information on how to go about obtaining your tax refund please scroll down to read financial blog posts 1 2 amp 6. 2007 2008 amp 2009 Tax Refunds You can claim your 2007 2008 amp 2009 income tax refunds today. Remember this is your money and... 2010-10-26 11:37:11 http://www.lindamnicholson.com/page2.htm#76982 Todays Sunday Independent article on bank charges written by Roisin Burke includes some quotes from Linda. You can read the full article by clicking here. 2010-10-3 22:24:02 http://www.lindamnicholson.com/page2.htm#68014 Please click below to read an article from todays Evening Herald that I featured in. httpwww.lindamnicholson.comUSERIMAGES2010eveheraldarticle.pdf or you can read the full article at httpwww.lindamnicholson.comUSERIMAGESeveheraldarticle.doc 2010-6-15 14:56:08 http://www.lindamnicholson.com/page2.htm#65650 The time and energy we spend procrastinating often far outweighs the time it takes to just get the task done. Each of us knows this and yet we complain about not having enough time. Time isnt what we need all we need is a little focus Today I want to look at two areas that tend to cause people a lot of unnecessary worry and look at ways to mitigate those concerns. Its time to get organised its time for some financial housekeeping. Your Paperwork Having a system for storing your financial and personal records can help you to be more organised around your finances. Disorganised paperwork can be an unnecessary source of stress and yet putting a filing structure in place can be one of the easiest things you will ever do. Imagine how good it would feel to get organised No more looking in kitchen drawers paper piles or shoeboxes. There may even be a nice surprise in the form of an old bank deposit book or share certificate you had forgotten about. Sorting your paperwork has n... 2010-5-19 12:19:14 http://www.lindamnicholson.com/page2.htm#61762 We get more of that which we associate into and less of that which we detach from. Once each of us acknowledges the futility of associating into negatives the future starts to look brighter. In todays post I want to address worry around money. If any of the three questions below resonate with you then this post could be beneficial to you. 1 Do you spend more time worrying about money than you do dealing in specifics 2 Do you tend to think negatively about money E.g. Im no good with money or Im no good with numbers 3 Do you avoid dealing with your finances Often people who worry about money tend to worry about money in general. With money its best to be as specific as possible. You can choose to tell yourself over and over Im no good with my money or you can be more specific and ask yourself what exactly do you think youre not good at. What is it that you want to change Are you worried about credit card debt Worried about your income Worried about uncompleted tax returns Flesh o... 2010-3-30 16:06:22 http://www.lindamnicholson.com/page2.htm#60062 Financial structures are not what they used to be and our thinking around money is most definitely not what it used to be. Today it is becoming more important than ever for each of us to assume personal responsibility for our own financial affairs. For most of you mortgage repayments represent your largest monthly outflow and for this reason alone I decided that a blog post dedicated entirely to mortgages was in order. Mortgage providers typically provide you with two annual statements. The first and most important is your annual loan statement. It is vital that you review this to ensure that all is in order e.g. do all of your repayments appear on your annual statement Is the interest rate what you expected Are there any transactions you do not understand or recognise At a minimum I suggest you read review and retain this document. In addition to the annual statement most lenders also send a letter summarising the total annual interest repaid. If you are a landlord the... 2010-3-5 13:27:26 http://www.lindamnicholson.com/page2.htm#58651 As I listened to Margaret Gray Christeen Skinner and Betty Cosgrave last weekend at Oscailt I was reminded of the importance of choices. Whilst you may have no control over certain events or circumstances you always have a choice in how you think and how you behave. Recognising and acknowledging this can be really empowering. Increasing your income and reducing your expenses result in the same outcome more money. In my last post I explored ways of enhancing your income and today I want to look at how you can spend smarter. One of the main benefits of completing your Money Diary is that you now have a better sense of your spending. With this information to hand today is a really good time to explore where improvements can be made. Lets look at some practical ways of achieving some savings 1 You can tell a lot about yourself by reviewing your spending. Were you surprised at the amount you spent in any particular expense category E.g. taxis alcohol cigarettes clothes travel e... 2010-2-17 21:35:29 http://www.lindamnicholson.com/page2.htm#57736 Diet and exercise are crucial to maintaining a healthy body but what about your mind Abstaining from negative thoughts is an excellent place to start. This week you could considerably improve your financial health by digesting the points below. They share one common thread all of them could lead to an increase in your income. 1. Tax Refunds and Tax Credits a You can earn 10000 a year tax free if you rent a spare room in your main residence. This is referred to as Rent A Room Relief and there are more details at httpwww.revenue.ieentaxitleafletsit1.htmlsection4 b Dont forget that nursing home expenses constitute medical expenses. You will get a tax refund at your highest tax rate once the nursing home is on the Revenues approved list httpwww.revenue.ieenaboutpublicationslistapprovedhospitalsnursinghomes.html. For more information on contacting the Revenue and how to make a claim please take a look at my first blog post. c You can claim tax relief on some third level ... 2010-2-4 20:50:53 http://www.lindamnicholson.com/page2.htm#57165 Facts are crucial where money and finances are concerned. Without facts how can you really know where you stand financially Be honest with yourself and remember the more you deal in facts the less you deal in guesswork. This week I want to recommend an exercise that can facilitate you in becoming more conscious around your finances. This is a straightforward financial coaching exercise that I often use with clients if you have not used excel before I promise you it is really straightforward so do not be put off. Before you begin you will need A print out or screen shot of your January bank account transactions Your account balance on Jan 1st and Jan 31st Believe that you can do this. If any negativity or resistance comes up choose to bypass it and remember that this is just negative selfdialogue that does not serve you. Here are the five steps to completing your money diary 1 Open httpwww.lindamnicholson.comUSERIMAGESmoneyflow.xls 2 Enter your Jan 1st ... 2010-1-28 19:48:54 http://www.lindamnicholson.com/page2.htm#56753 Every day you make a choice to think positively or negatively. Your thoughts create your reality so why not choose positive thoughts Plant some acorns in your mind and awaken your inner giant This week I want to suggest two behaviours that could improve your finances and enhance your financial education. My first suggestion is that you Review Your Bank Statements. Look closely at your next statement and question anything that is unfamiliar or unnecessary. Ask yourself Do you recognise each transaction Do you need to query or follow up on anything Are you paying bank charges Bank charges are usually avoidable so ring your bank and ask them what you need to do to get free banking. My second suggestion is that you Consider Reading The Personal Finance Sections of The Newspapers. I recommend the Business amp Money Section of the Sunday Times and the Business Section of Fridays Irish Times. Both usually contain a lot of interesting articles that can result in real savin... 2010-1-22 21:03:16 http://www.lindamnicholson.com/page2.htm#56224 How different the story would be if the giant had a burglar alarm. Financially the best investment you will ever make is choosing to become consciously aware paying attention is the best security system you will ever have. This week I want to focus on credit card debt. If you have an overdue credit card balance you have everything to gain by dealing with this sooner rather later. In addressing this think about how much lighter you will feel how less stressed youll be and how much better youll sleep. Oh and it will cost you less money. When used correctly credit cards can be wonderful. By correctly I mean that you clear your balance in full each month so you are not duped into paying interest. The easiest trap to fall into with credit cards is to just make the minimum monthly payment and let the debt build. Credit card companies love it when you do just that because this makes them a lot of money. Credit cards come with two main health warnings Interest is charged each an... 2010-1-15 12:04:58 http://www.lindamnicholson.com/page2.htm#55590 Jack would never have found those golden eggs unless he climbed up that Beanstalk. No matter what your goals it is crucial that you take action to achieve results. Any action is better than inaction so be realistic start small and remember that from little acorns giant oak trees grow. This week I want to bring your attention to the wonderful P21 Balancing Statement. Last September I gently alerted a friend to the fact that he had worked only nine of the twelve months in 2008. I suggested that he contact the Revenue and ask for a P21 Balancing Statement. A few weeks later he received a tax refund for approximately 1500 How can this be The Irish tax system is designed to spread your PAYE tax liability evenly across each month so that your take home pay is relatively consistent month on month. The system sort of assumes that you will work a full calendar year so if you have only worked for part of the year or if you have switched employers during the year you could be due a ta... 2010-1-6 11:42:44 http://www.lindamnicholson.com/page2.htm#55088 Last week I rediscovered pantomime at the Gaiety Theatre when I saw Jack and the Beanstalk. This magical fairytale used to fascinate me as a child do you remember it Magic beans a beanstalk a giant and a hen that laid golden eggs Over the next few weeks I want you to consider what magic beans you could be sitting on and how with a little effort on your part you can generate some additional cash. This week I want to focus on medical expenses relief i.e. if your annual medical expenses exceed 125 the Revenue will give you back some money. All you need to do is fill out a form which is as quick and easy as downloading an album from iTunes. Let me whet your appetite I had laser eye surgery done in Jan 2007 and in early 2008 I got a cheque from the revenue for about 1000 How does it work If your annual medical expenses are in excess of 125 if you are claiming for yourself or in excess of 250 if you are claiming for more than one person then you are entitled to a tax refund. Y... 2009-12-28 12:13:58