Hygge (pronounced hue-guh, not hoo-gah) is a Danish word used when acknowledging a feeling or moment as cosy, charming or special. This can happen whether alone or with friends, at home or out, ordinary or extraordinary. It’s about how the event makes you feel, not the event itself.

From Danish cookies, cheese and pastries to their culture of simplicity, politeness, and equality – they should have a pretty good sense of how cosy-charming-special truly feels! And, when life is handing us bagfuls of lemons, it’s encouraging to know that there’s a word for how we can adopt a strategy to cope; hygge is a fresh, yet traditionally sound, system to consider.

In Danish, it means “to give courage, comfort, joy”, but in the Old Norse, it stems from the words used for “to think” and “hug”. It’s an active word that quite literally wants to embrace. It’s a word that affirms everything will be okay, that we’ve got this, and that we’re going to make it through to the other side.

Hygge helps us find and acknowledge comfort, contentment and wellbeing in the current moment, and not feel like it’s an unobtainable future feeling. It’s wise to consider this when we look at our life plans. Planning can be very future-focussed and, if we’re not careful, transport us out of the present and into a future that may or may not happen.

But joy is found in the present; it’s not something that we work towards. Joy is something we choose for today. We shouldn’t be planning to be joyful; we should be planning from a place of joy. This is how we can muster up the courage to be present and not panic about tomorrow.

Courage is resilience put to the test. We’re living in an age that is calling us to be more courageous and more vulnerable. The awareness that courage and vulnerability go hand-in-hand is so new that many large businesses are still restructuring their leadership cultures. They hope to connect on a more engaging level with their teams and find more fulfilment, more hygge, in their corporate culture.

Hygge reminds us that it’s okay to wear track pants today, to stay in those comfy old socks and work from the couch. It reminds us that comfort foods (those cookies, cheeses, pastries and pasta…) help heal our emotional and mental states. It can be as simple as lighting a candle and surrounding ourselves with people and things we love.

We don’t have to swim upstream all day, every day. We need to take rest days, personal health days and pamper days. It’s about the attitude of comfort, not the cost of conformity.

Give yourself a hug – take a Hygge-Day.

Everyone knows that building wealth can help to ensure financial security in the future. Yet, it is a small number of the world’s population who have had the opportunity and fortitude to save money consistently.

In some cases, this is because putting money away is not the easiest thing to do. It’s a tough habit to form. As a result, we don’t give ourselves time to save, only time to spend.

These behaviours cause us to start believing specific money stories about our lives, and the problem becomes persistent when we start believing what we tell ourselves. When it comes to money, there are a lot of beliefs that are not true. Some of these are our own, and others come from our parents and the people around us.

We need to reframe our minds and tell ourselves positive things if we want to progress towards greater financial security.

Here are five things to stop telling yourself about money.

• I don’t need to save for retirement because I won’t retire

Even if you love the work you do, always keep in mind that it won’t be forever.

One of the lessons we should take from the world upheavals of 2020 is that we can encounter disruptions that can lead us to lose our income prematurely. 

Many – especially young people – tell themselves that it’s not yet time, or that they simply don’t need to build up reserves yet. Retirement is changing, the way we prepare for it and engage with it is changing, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be saving for whatever that eventuality might look like.

• All my money should be in a savings account 

The money in your bank savings account may be sufficient for several months as an emergency fund, but keeping all of your savings in there is not sustainable. Money that is not compounding will decrease in value because of inflation.

There are various options you can explore that will help to invest money that will generate interest. Tax-free savings accounts (TFSAs) and ETFs are worthwhile entry options that we could discuss.

Having money in your savings account for the daily purchases or necessary transactions is practical and wise, but also, have money growing somewhere else.

• Investing is inaccessible because it’s risky, complicated and only for the wealthy

This belief is one of the reasons some of us do not even start investing. Thinking like this creates a more significant risk that will complicate your financial life a lot more in the future. 

The best way to overcome it is to consult a professional financial advisor to help you with the advice you need to navigate the risks. This will help you to discover what opportunities there are for you to invest in, take it in manageable steps and grow your wealth right from today. 

• Only rich people can afford to build wealth

For a lot of us, when we hear the words savings or investment, we immediately think of an amount with many zeros. Sometimes we picture a mogul in a big shiny car. We tend to believe that saving is for a particular, exclusive club. 

You have the ability to afford the lifestyle you would like. 

Even if you’re young, you can build up to your own multiple zeros if you start today. You can start with anything you can afford. A little bit every month creates the habits of wealthy people.

Start by honestly reviewing your spending habits and budget. If you find unnecessary expenses, cut them and save it to cultivate the habit of building wealth.

For many of us, we tend to believe that saving and investing is for a particular age group or the elite, people who can afford to save. But you have the power to create your own wealth.

Young or old, you can start saving with a small amount. Be honest when reviewing your spending habits, cut out the unnecessary expenses from your budget, and begin cultivating a habit of saving.

• It doesn’t matter because I’ll always be in debt 

Getting out of debt will require more work than it did to get you into debt. It is not easy, but it is possible. 

Conquering your debt doesn’t need a sophisticated strategy or a massive windfall from the lottery. Paying off one debt at a time will improve your perspective of your financial situation and get you to believe in your power to live debt-free. The little you can contribute will undoubtedly reduce your debt.

Here’s the trick: it all starts in your mind. If you learn to develop a more positive outlook on how money works, you’ll discover your power to create the wealth you need for the life you want. 

Saving is for everyone, and there’s no better time to find out how you can start than now. Start today!

We all want more from life. We want to live a good and meaningful life. This is how we generate hope, by believing that there is something new for us to discover, fresh for us to share and fulfilling for us to experience. 

Sometimes life will gift us a reward that we haven’t had to work for directly, but for everything else, it is a constant cycle of trade-offs. We have many resources at our disposal, from skills, knowledge and time, to money, assets and relationships.

In a world that is easily distracted by materialism, it’s easy to become focussed on the physical investments we can make into our present and future wellbeing. But there are many investment ideas to keep us balanced, and intentional about our choices.

• Invest your time

We can spend time on an activity, or we can invest time in an activity. One way to bring balance and fulfilment is to learn to manage your time, to not feel like you have wasted it. 

Who you spend your time with, where, why, and what can help you reflect and identify more profound value in your life. 

• Invest your money

No future is ever certain, but we can certainly reduce risk (mitigation) and bolster financial security in the future when we invest our money. This doesn’t always mean that it has to be invested in the markets or financial vehicles; you could also invest in the people around you by supporting them financially.

Economically empowering others shows a strong social awareness and can be uplifting on a larger community level.

• Invest your energy

Between careers, friends, family, health, and everything else in-between, balancing your lifestyle can be a challenge. Apart from investing your time, different activities require different levels of energy and engagement.

Social media and technology have made us ‘always online’, and this unfettered presence can be a significant energy sapper. We may not think that we’re spending large batches of time, but the energy that we invest (or waste) on conversations and journeys of thought that are sparked by a social media post or a video call, can be immense.

Yes, this may mean reducing your social circle, but it could just mean applying more intentionality around how you invest your energy. A secret to investing energy is to find activities and relationships that revive, refresh and inspire us.

• Invest in yourself

Try doing at least one thing that makes you happy each week. It is not selfish; rather, it’s about recognising that you’re important, and nurturing yourself needs to happen before you can encourage and enable others.

Investments of value are not just those that involve the exchange of money; they are multi-faceted and crucial to finding value, meaning and fulfilment in life.

There seems to be an increasing drive to pursue happiness; we want to be satisfied and content with who we are and what we do with our lives.

Whilst a few people seem to eventually “find” their happiness, many of us are still trying to figure out what would genuinely lift our spirit… and keep it there!

The usual assumption is that we’ll be happier when we achieve success, but some successful people think their accomplishments are still not enough, not finding satisfaction with who they are and what they’ve done.

Perhaps it’s not about finding happiness, and it’s more about finding meaning. Studies show that people who have found meaning in their lives are more resilient in pursuit of a fulfilling life.

Having listened to Emily Esfahani Smith’s TED talk on ‘There’s more to life than being happy’, here are some ideas to work on.

• Find where we belong

Belonging does not merely come from showing up or being present. Some people who have been part of communities for a long time still might feel like they don’t belong. The sense of belonging develops in groups or communities where we feel valued for who we are and what we contribute.

Love and kindness are where true belonging is born. Knowing that the contribution we make is appreciated indeed develops a confident feeling of belonging. From this confidence, we can begin to find our purpose, which is another essential pillar of living a meaningful life.

• See our purpose

Finding our purpose may not happen today or tomorrow; it may take a while to find. 

This could be because deep purpose is not found in what we do, but in what we give. As we grow in our place of meaning, we will start to see that an element of what we do becomes a service to others. It’s about creating space in our lives to serve others and make positive contributions to their lives.

Why do I wake up in the morning? Why do I do what I do? Who am I doing it for? Who else benefits from my work or actions? How else can I make it better? These are some of the questions that can start us on a journey to finding our purpose and transcend the frustrations of daily challenges.

• Be open to transcendence

Whilst transcendence is often used in a spiritual sense, it can be very practical. It simply means that we’re starting to see that we are part of something bigger than ourselves. Our sense of belonging, our embracing of purpose, helps us see that the work we’re doing contributes to something far more significant and far more connected than we realised.

As we live through these experiences, create memories of meaning and engage in purposeful work, we gather up stories that we can share with others, to encourage and embolden them.

Good stories are significant in living a meaningful life.

• Personal storytelling

What stories are you telling yourself? What is the story you tell yourself when you reflect on your life?

What you think of yourself profoundly impacts your behaviour and actions.

“It all starts in the mind,” Napoleon Hill once said. “Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”

Beliefs matter because they can lead to habits.

Positive storytelling can give you the courage to relentlessly pursue the things you want and live a life that will be meaningful to others too. 

Applying these ideas into your daily life won’t be linear or clean-cut, but if you can explore one idea at a time and define them according to your life or what they mean to you, you’ll be taking a step in the right direction.

Remember, all the money in the world will have no value if we have not discovered some sense of meaning.

The hardest time to save is when we’re ‘just saving’ with no end in sight. It’s like going to the gym to train; but, train for what? 

As Lewis Carrol once wrote ‘If you don’t know where you’re going any road will get you there.’ Goals help us set the direction and motivation for our choices, and speak to our integrity and authenticity.

Whilst most people want to enjoy a prosperous life, a proper plan for creating wealth is not always high on their agenda. If we want to change this, we need to have a clear goal in mind as to what we want our financial future to look like.  

When we set clearly defined savings goals we have a better chance of accomplishing them because we know what we’re working towards. It’s not simply putting money in your bank account or relying on what’s left after your monthly expenses; that money can be easily spent if there’s no clear purpose for it.

Often the best place to start is by considering our life goals, and then aligning our savings goals to help us achieve those life goals. The two are intrinsically connected – so the planning should be connected too!

Here are two tips on how you can set achievable financial goals:

Save for the next big life transition

This could be retirement, marriage, buying a car or house, paying for university or any other big life goal that you have.

Each of these transitions have unique costs, considerations and timelines, which means that you could be saving for more than one of them at any given time.

The longer you have available to save, the more you can include strategies that account for  compound interest accrual and tax efficiencies on the different investment products. 

You can also start working towards these savings goals by either investing a lump sum or making regular contributions to the investment portfolio. 

Have an emergency fund

Whilst life transitions are events that we can reasonably plan for, we have to figure out a smart way of dealing with the eventuality of unexpected expenses. 

Your roof may cave in or there may be a burglary and that will cost you money. It helps to know you’re secure for those future events that will need you to dig deeper into your pockets.

A very smart way of protecting yourself (aside from insurance) against unexpected expenses is to create an emergency fund. This is to ensure you don’t clean out your savings accounts or have to rely on loans and credit cards for emergency expenses.

It is ideal to save up for six months of living expenses. Of course, this won’t be easy but the goal is to have a backup beyond your income source(s). You can start by including emergency fund contributions in your budget. 

The beautiful part of this is that you decide how much you’ll dedicate towards the emergency savings. So throw in what you can afford to. Once you’ve paid off all your debts, you can add more.

Creating savings goals will give you more peace of mind in the future and ensure you have more financial security in your life. A productive and positive attitude towards how you work with your savings is just as important as amassing the actual funds.

Last week we looked at why it’s important to become flexible in setting goals. This week we’ll consider how we set flexible goals.

Setting personal goals can empower us to transform our lives and drive towards our wishes – but if we feel like we’re not achieving our goals this can have an adverse effect. With the major changes we’ve all experienced in recent times, we need to shift to set flexible goals.

What are flexible goals and what do flexible goals look like?

Flexible goals have a timeline but the focus is on how they adapt with the times, rather than ‘keep to the times’. 

With flexible goals, we prioritize tracking our progress as well as development and growth, rather than achieving the end goal – helping us focus on progress rather than perfection.

Here are three tips on how to set flexible goals: 

Record your journey, daily  

Journaling remains one of the best ways we can remind and keep ourselves motivated in pursuit of our goals. You don’t actually need a notebook for this. There is an abundance of smartphone apps and other resources that you can use to organise your thoughts, daily activities and plans.

Identify a tool that will be easier for you to visit every day. One that you can use as an accountability partner that’ll keep you measuring your progress.

Remember – it’s about progress, not perfection, so when (not if…) you have bad days, be kind to yourself, allow yourself the space to alter course or take a rest when needed.

Size down your time and your goals

One of the best ways of evaluating your progress is to size down your goals into mini-goals. This helps you break down your targets into smaller, achievable goals so you can find it easier to work on them every day. 

Again, journaling can help with this.

Evaluate your progress daily, weekly and monthly so that you can keep one eye on managing each day as it comes, and the other on how much you’re growing towards your longer-term plans.

Have a willingness to learn

Embracing teachability expands our knowledge and gives us a more rewarding life experience. It allows us to be more informed about the world and not be limited to our own opinions, thoughts, feelings and views. 

Whether it is learning through self-discovery or interactions with others, being open-minded and curious is highly beneficial for cultivating a growth mindset.

In your social interactions, always look to pick up lessons that will be valuable in your journey of success. Evaluate your shortcomings and look at what you can do better should you be in the same situation again.

Learning to set flexible goals opens us to more of the opportunities we are seeking in life. With a growth mindset, we can be flexible and accomplish more than we ever thought we could.

Towards the end of every year, it is customary to reassess our priorities, take stock of the year that was, and plan for the year to come. The emergence of the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic and global lockdowns disrupted our daily routine and our lifestyle altogether, throwing most plans and resolutions out the window!

Does that mean that planning is no longer helpful? Or does it mean that setting long term goals is no longer relevant?

Not at all – all it means is that we need to progress in our approach to planning.

A big lesson that we can learn from the lockdowns of 2020 is that we need to embrace an approach that works with the times – as we continue adapting our habits to the “new normal”. 

Going forward, we need to determine how to set flexible resolutions. 

With flexible goals, we need to remain aware of a broader spectrum of possible scenarios. 

Here’s why.

Timelines have changed

Traditional goal-setting strategies generally employ a timeline, and when it comes to New Year’s Resolutions, the timelines are often constrained within a year. Partly because we sometimes make these things up on the spot and assume that we have plenty of time to achieve them, and partly because we’ve put pressure on ourselves to see measurable change within a shorter period of time. 

Taking the time to review resolutions and sensibly deciding on them is a good idea. But, an even better view can be to create a larger goal – like a 5- or 10-year goal, which can be engaged with in stages each year.

So perhaps, instead of saying “I want to lose weight this year”, consider a longer-term plan for your overall health. A first priority for the first 12 months could be committing to a healthy meal plan. For year two, you’ll continue eating healthily but could include exercise. As you engage with each stage of the plan, you will slowly start to see the next mini-goals become apparent and shape the long-term goal.

New Year’s Resolutions are often not relevant to us

New Year’s Resolutions are popular conversational trends at the beginning of the year with many of us feeling like we need to ‘follow the crowd’. As a result, we are prone to setting goals that have little or no personal gratification or inherent value; we set ourselves up for failure.

When we make goals – they need to make sense to us and be achievable to our current life stage.

All the legendary athletes, artists and academics who have inspired us had to face failure and unexpected challenges along their journeys. Often, their success has been linked to their ability to ‘roll with the punches’ and their ability to be flexible when plans change.

This is why we need to be flexible with our resolutions. Always remind yourself that a happier life does not depend on achieving your resolutions, but it’s about enjoying the journey and gaining valuable lessons as you work towards them.

Festive celebrations will look a little different this year (and possibly every year going forward!). No matter where you find yourself this December, everyone has had a year of heightened awareness around health and personal space.

It has not been easy to follow precautions of preventing the spread of Covid-19. Having to wear masks all day and sanitise at every entrance took time to get used to. These experiences have changed the way we look at everything – from nipping out to the shops right up to blowing out the candles on a cake. 

Festive season celebrations will need a fresh look at what it means to be responsible. Usually, celebrating responsibly means not overindulging and putting yourself and others at risk – now it will include keeping guests to a minimum and extra consideration around how much we expect ourselves and others to spend.

The responsible thing to do this holiday season could very well be to socialise less and stay at home more. This doesn’t mean we cut all ties and burrow away; it just means we need to rethink our traditions of spending time together over the holidays.

Here are a few ideas…

Create some space

Over socialising and ‘trying to fit everyone in’ is no longer advisable. In some ways, it removes the pressure to attend so many events that we slide into the new year completely exhausted.

For the year-end functions that you can’t avoid organising, many are choosing to split these into mini-events. Family gatherings could be something smaller, with extra consideration given to those who are elderly or at higher risk. If someone chooses to pass, we shouldn’t take offence or pressure them into not missing out. 

Hybrid events, where some guests attend in person, and others are linked through a screen, are also popular ideas to keep in mind.

Keep yourself fit 

Keeping fit is good and could help keep your blood pressure low – which is beneficial for boosting your immune system and coping with stress.

There are free apps with short, effective workouts that you can download on your phone and start on right away. Taking regular walks outside is a great way to improve health, circulation and mental stamina – and doesn’t cost a cent!

Shop away from the shops

With everything online, going to the shops is a choice and no longer a necessity. 

Be mindful of cyber-security and verify whether you’re paying the right store before inserting your personal information on any platform. Stick with brands and providers that you know and trust.

Stay updated with safety regulations

2020 reminded us all that rules and regulations can change from week to week. Keep your guests aware that you’re flexible and try, where possible, to have a plan B in place.

It’s also not merely about your event, but how others can travel and which business may stay operational. If you need access to specific catering services, make sure they’re also allowed to operate and won’t affect the success of your event.

Let us all try our best to embrace safer ways of celebrating during this festive season. If you’re not doing it for someone else’s safety, do it for your own.

As our finances ebb and flow, we will sometimes face a festive season where we have to think out of the box for holiday gifts. Gifts are a wonderful way to let our loved ones know how much we appreciate and value them, but they can be expensive and out of reach if we don’t give them enough thought.

Gifts don’t always have to be a physical, fit-in-a-box, wrappable item – they just have to be meaningful and well-considered. Most people don’t actually want the plastic swizzle sticks from the local Crazy Store that have been sitting on the same shelf for the last seven years.

If you’re willing (or needing) to be a little more cost-conscious in your gifting, then here are some great ideas to add to your list.

Memberships and subscriptions 

Instead of designer socks or a new skincare regime pack, how about paying for that SkillShare class or MindValley course your friend has been talking about? If you’re getting gifts for someone who reads a lot, why not pay for an Audible subscription or Kindle voucher? 

If you’re looking to reduce the stress and boredom of someone who’s housebound, you could get them a gift voucher to NetFlix, iTunes or Spotify.

Even if it’s a three-month subscription (remember, the first month is generally free), they’ll think of you every time they enjoy the ease of choosing what they want to watch or listen to.

A ticket or voucher for an experience

Vouchers for dinners, a day in a theme park or a guided tour are downright exciting! Whether it’s to a local wine estate, or that touristy balloon thing that no locals ever pay to do, this type of gift can be well-tailored to the person you’re gifting.

Of course, you’ll have to look for gift options that will be fun but affordable at the same time. If you’re going for a road trip or flying somewhere you may have to fork out more, whereas, if it’s dinner at a niche restaurant or a ticket to a concert you could spend less than on those designer socks…

Try secret Santa

Giving gifts can be an interactive event that includes everyone. With so many events going virtual, you can have a virtual secret Santa, for exchanging gifts with colleagues as well as friends and family.

There are great apps to help with a virtual secret Santa (like Elfster or Giftster), but with a little innovation, you and your squad can draw names and use local online shopping to send gifts to people.

If you think about it – this becomes an awesome idea for groups of friends, colleagues and families who find themselves on completely different continents.

Remember, costly gifts are often the ones that go unused. You don’t have to spend outside of your budget, and you don’t have to pressure others to do so either. You can start a trend and set the pace for more responsible spending and celebrating this festive season!

Tough years lead to leaner budgets and lighter wallets. But it’s important to celebrate and the festive season is traditionally a time to enjoy and celebrate friends and family. Families and businesses host and cater for large groups of people, and the costs can add up quickly.

Enjoying the holiday season during tough economic times means that we need to change our usual game plan. In addition to the material costs, being mindful of new social norms like social distancing (not an issue for most of us pre-2020) and other fluctuating government protocols, curfews and restrictions is a priority.

Here are four ideas to help us have a merry and safe festive season!

Dine together – online

During the “new normal” we became accustomed to virtual meetings and video chats. Savvy celebrators are taking it one step further and dining virtually! It sounds like a challenge-and-a-half but when one considers the logistics and costs that go into hosting and catering for IRL (in real life) events, it’s not so daunting. Being limited to a small screen on your smartphone or laptop can be conquered.

There are ways of making the experience interactive and fun for everyone involved. 

If you usually plan the menu together or cook together, you can create a live Google doc or spreadsheet that you can use to list the recipes and have how-to-guides, that other family members and friends can use to prepare the same dishes in their own homes. Because they’re interactive documents, you can also share tips and alterations that you make to the menu based on your restrictions or budget constraints. 

This way you’ll end up having the same meal and treats together, albeit not in the same room. You’ll be able to tease each other and communicate over a meal, on video.

Cater for a small circle

Adapting to the times and hosting a small group seems to be the most ideal thing during trying times. Preparing food for three or five more people instead of 12 or more is enormously cost saving and reduces health risks for those who may be uncomfortable with larger groups. 

If you feel it could save you more time and money, you can order pre-cooked or already prepared meals with smaller portions from your local deli or home-enterprise, this way you’re also supporting local businesses and boosting our economy of small businesses. 

Eat outside 

Apart from having the health benefit of being outside, having a garden meal helps reduce the cost of things like decor and fancy furnishings. Having a picnic-styled meal reduces many costs, makes it easier for guests to contribute what fits with their budget and keeps us breathing fresh, clean air.

Do your shopping from home

With click and collect services now all the norm, and so many more retailers upping their online game – shopping for food and gifts online is only getting more convenient.

Not only is it healthier for those who don’t feel comfortable in large public spaces, it’s a super way to shop the specials, save on transport and parking!

Major global events and economic downturns can place immense pressure on us, and in some cases; radically change our lifestyles. This doesn’t mean we should hide away and pinch every penny, it means we must adapt our ways in order to keep getting the most out of what we have and who we can share it with.

The festive season does not always have to be the same – we can create new traditions. We can be more mindful and respectful of others and share on a deeper, more authentic level.