Originally posted on Facebook - Scenario Planning - 2017-12-29-001

Jennifer, the recipient of a Cash Pot Ticket with a prize of TT$29,792 decides to allocate the expected funds to supplement her income in 2018 as follows:

Mths 1-3: $4,000 per month
Mths 4-6: $5,000 per month*
Mth 7 : $ 792
Mth 8: $2,000

During the year in an attempt to meet some expected expenses in Mths 9-11, in Mths 4-6, she takes $1,000 and places it in a separate Unit Trust Money Market Fund. Jennifer intends to have these funds held as an Emergency Fund.

As Jennifer knows that her allocation for Mth 7 is rather small, she intends to keep that Emergency Fund separate to her other savings.

What would be your allocation of the above funds if you were the recipient of the ticket?

Originally posted on Facebook - Scenario Planning 2017-12-31-001 Costing your product

So you have read about the low cost of sausages in the tin (at TT$3.45) and the low cost of sardine and mackerels and you think that you can open a business selling breakfast items either at a school or at a busy place like Licensing Office.

You have done your research and you decide that there are lots of persons visiting those places and chances are that your food will sell quite nicely.

Well let us start with the sausages: To stretch the sausages, you will need to slice them thinly, add some onions, garlic, pimentos, ketchup, mustard and something to give it some zing...

Do you buy all of the abovementioned products and make the sausage dish to sell it or do you take some of the ingredients from home and just wing the cost or the expectation of what your income will be?

Well if you decide to sell the dish either you add up the cost of the ingredients, something for gas and something for the use of the dish, estimate the number of spoonfuls you can serve, the size of the spoon, whether you will heap the item on the spoon or just level it out and you work out the cost per spoon ful of sausage and then the income.

If you decide that you just want some income, some cash to come in as you want to be in a spot to lime, then the sausage may be your loss leader or your draw me close to you...

The aroma will draw persons in to your stall, the scent of the sauce may be what you pull in persons with and there is the option for you to sell a slice or two of cheese on bread and have two items for sale on that day, cheese and bread at a lower price and sausage and bread at a slightly higher price or vice versa depending on the size of the bread, the amount of sausage or cheese which is available at that point in time...

Depending on the time of the month, you may go back home with your sausage as there may not be a demand for it... Of course if persons are fasting, then nothing may sell.... Do not forget the cost of your food badge, something to contribute to the stove and your transportation costs.

So get your calendar, check the phases of the moon and work backwards to the start of Ramadan or Divali and see if you want to sell more vegetable dishes or if you will switch to being a gardener for part of the time..

Personally I think that the Cash Pot Scenarios are nicer to think through as they offer a thrill with easy stuff... For some persons money is what they work magic with and there are persons for whom the experience of selling, the joy of being there is priceless...

So which one will be your choice for the next two months, put some comments for me and have a happy new year....

Originally Posted on Facebook - Financial Planning 2017-12-31-001 Record Keeping & Business Options

 For all those persons who play the Lottery, the Mega and other games where a ticket is provided as evidence of your playing of the game, remember to photocopy the ticket, (it fades easily) as it discloses a fair amount of information as to :

Your location at a date and time

The amount of funds which you disbursed at that time versus

The amount which you spent on all of your tickets

Some persons have an officer certify their copies, which is an extra cost and includes a stamp, a signature, a name and an address.

So be cautious and have those winning tickets copied and certified. This is also a good process to use for certificates, such as marriage, birth and death which may make you more money over the long term.

A file folder or two, some scotch tape or paper clips, a few Bull dog clips, a letter or legal sized brown envelope just might hold all of your stuff if you are starting out.

This  idea is another business option which might be suitable for a large geographical area where the cost of transport is higher than the cost of the items. One area may hold about 20 small shops which may offer part time services and the supply of stationary.

Next year I might sign up for some training on how to provide affidavits, certification of copies and like..

I just have to start reading the newspapers to find out when training is offered, get some "Masters" to be guided by, pay someone a fee for them and I have a start up.

On the other hand, some persons may have photocopiers, ink, surge & dip protectors for sale going forward, so that may be yet another business option.

2018 just might be an interesting year for small businesses. Then, I may need to get incorporated to offer NIS as a benefit.
P.S. I forgot about selling the tins of sausages, mackerel, sardine and coconut milk. But then that is for the other side of the shop.

Originally posted on Facebook - Financial Planning Tip Jan 3, 2015 - 001 Traditions!

In some parts of the world, there is a tradition to start the new year with a peas and rice dish, either black eyed peas or pigeon peas or some form of home cooked meal.

One of the possible benefits of that meal was that the food would last for several days without refrigeration and you would save time in not having to cook another meal, money (not to be spent) and you would also have easy access to food for a few days if possible.

While this one pot meal may not be an option for everyone due to dietary preferences or work schedules, over the next year, this concept may be an opportunity to try something new (frequently) such as:

Using your home, have a meal together or part of a meal, either desert in the middle of the day, or

A snack together in the afternoon or a cup of tea at some time in the day!

Just enjoy some time together and start your own tradition!

Originally posted on Facebook - Financial planning Tip Jan 3, 2015 - 002 Limits!

Coming to the close of the year, on the spur of the moment, I bought several types of dried peas which I now plan to cook.

Now this purchase was not planned, based on the last check of my cash flow, so there I am, trying to revisit the use of the funds since this was a purchase which was excluded from the budget.

The options are: try to make a dip, soup for several days (healthy eating) package some of the soup to eat when I do not feel like cooking, peas and rice combo next week and then back to soup!

Midway through that period, I will redeem my Massy points for some vouchers and splurge on something to make the meal more exciting, or I will pull out the pastelles or cornmeal cakes which I have placed in the deep freeze and use them!

There is a limit as to how economical one can be at any point in time!

Update Jan 3, 2018: I bought 2 types of peas in Dec 2017, which were: Black eyed peas and split peas and they were in 1/2 lb packs.. Also I bought some bow ties pasta, tuna with corn, which taste really great with beet and carrots.. Salad dressing is optional or extra chicken or turkey or ham.

Originally Posted on Facebook -Financial Planning Tip Jan 11, 2016 -001 Same Food Different Day.

Many of us have used that expression to describe different situations at varying times in our life.

However this week, I am using it with lots of glee as today I got about 5 fairly large potatoes for approximately TT$5.00 at one grocery during lunch.

Then this evening in an attempt to continue eating as much peas as possible, I stopped off at another grocery for Lentils at TT$4.99 a pound for another type of soup (some of the channa soup is still in the deep freeze btw). And I gave in and bought TT$11.35 in minced beef. Now many of you may wonder what is the big deal!

Well, with a little bit of seasoning, (red sauce) and some butter, I have potatoes filled with minced beef and mashed potatoes which will be lunch for at least two days if they last!

While the cost of the meal may be a bit far fetched as I am not counting the cost of purchasing a packet of this and that which I added to either the beef or the potatoes I am really happy that I can produce something that I cooked that will not break my budget.

Also on both occasions, the grocery stores were within walking distance of where I was or where I was going and visiting them did not add to my transportation bill.

My only regret at this time, is that there are no vegetable peels to add to my plants to fertilise them as that is one of the reasons behind eating vegetable soup

Originally posted on Facebook - Financial Planning Tip Jan 16, 2016 - 001 Better Late than Never

For many of us, Saturday is our day to get something to eat from a restaurant or a nearby Food Court.

After all, there are so many things to do that it is better to have something healthy to eat, than to go hungry and for some persons it may be the splurge day.

Last night, I made a meal which was designed to last until lunch time today. I made something that was a bit extravagant for me, in terms of preparation, effort and output,

Also the meal would fit quite nicely into a Sunday lunch, so I was having my "special" food early.
Tomorrow I am making soup which will be my "fast food" for a few days of next week. I can pair the soup with a sandwich and have it at any time of the day.

That way I won't be tempted to spend as much as I normally would and I would put the money into raw materials which would offer variety and choices.

Thus I can try my hand at a bake or a quick bread and keep my baking skills honed.

What is the financial gain for me? Well I am deferring my use of cash, hopefully until bonus points come my way or I come up with another choice as to what I will be eating.