The Bogo Times

Anyone here a mega-fan of Game of Thrones? *raises hand*

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, this series has been taking the world by storm and many of us are both excited and sad about the last season.

While you can marvel at the awesome costumes, cry when Daenerys Targaryen’s baby (aka dragon) Viserion was killed, or wince when skulls get crushed (too many to name here), Game of Thrones has a lot to teach us about money. If you pay close attention, the dialogue and symbolic imagery weaved throughout the series can show you a thing or two about how to handle your money the right way.

Let’s take a stroll through the Seven Kingdoms, shall we?

Photo by mauRÍCIO santos on Unsplash

Always Be Prepared

Spoiler alert: By the end of season seven the White Walkers are on the brink of breaking through the Wall and heading into Westeros. While the Night’s Watch has done a decent job, they’re kind of helpless at this point. And White Walkers are scary AF. Have you seen the Night King lately? He even has his own dragon of the dead now.

What can we learn from the dire situation in Westeros? There will always be circumstances out of your control when it comes to finances. A tree could suddenly fall on your roof, or you could find out you need to replace the battery in your car. What you can control is how you react to ambiguous situations. Just like Jon Snow is actively trying to find solutions and make weapons out of dragonglass, you too can arm yourself with things like an emergency fund. That way, when the unexpected happens, you’re well prepared for battle.

Pay What You Owe

As the Braavosi say, “The Iron Bank will have its due.” When Cersei Lannister took over the Iron Throne she inherited a debt to the Bank from those who sat before her of six million gold dragons. Fun, right?

No matter what kind of debt — whether it’s student loans, credit card debt, or your mortgage payment — you have to pay it back. Imagine how much freer you’ll feel seeing your debt balance inch closer towards zero. Paying off debt also means you’ll avoid serious damage down the line, like a super low credit score or possibly being sued for your debts.

While you don’t want to pull a Cersei and wipe out a whole family to take their money (RIP Tyrell family), you’re smart enough to find a good solution to your debt repayment journey. Try to make more than the minimum payments — working overtime or starting a side hustle. Whatever it is, keep your eye on the debt repayment prize.

Create a Nest Egg

You know Daenerys Targaryen? The shy girl who ended up commanding a massive army and becoming mother to three dragons? Yes, her. Daenerys Targaryen — Lady of Dragonstone, Protector of the Seven Kingdoms, The Unburnt.

When we first got to know her, Daenerys was a shy girl about to be married off, given three dragons eggs as a wedding present. After her fortunes fall — aka her husband dies and she loses the support of those around her — the eggs hatch. Multiple times people offered to buy the eggs from her (tempting!) but she resisted, waited, and it paid off.

Now that her dragons are well-known and frankly, feared, she’s probably glad she kept those eggs. As as the dragons continue to grow, the more power she’ll have. She’s treated her dragons like children, and in return she can leverage their powers.

Now you may not literally have eggs (probably wouldn’t be that helpful for you TBH), but you can build a nest egg. It could be as simple as setting aside $25 every paycheck and increasing your savings or building an emergency fund. Consider putting your nest egg into a high interest savings account or build your retirement savings with a 401k or Roth IRA such as your employer’s 401k.

The important thing is to start making your money work for you. As your nest egg grows, you can feel safe knowing you can leverage it in times of need. Imagine that you’ve been saving diligently for a house and you have a sizeable amount set aside. The perfect house comes to market and you want to put in an offer. The 20 percent down payment you have helps avoid paying mortgage insurance, lowers how much you need to borrow, and gets you started on the right financial foot.

Knowledge is Key

There’s a reason why so many financial experts want to teach you about money: financial literacy is the stepping stone to improving your finances.

Be like Petyr Baelish, who has used his knowledge and smarts to move up the ranks (but maybe he shouldn’t be your role model, we all know what happens there). Or surround yourself with maesters— aka financial professionals — who you can provide professional guidance. Or channel your inner Tyrion Lannister who seems to thrive using his smarts.

Sure, ignorance is bliss, but it can also lead you down a dark path with your finances. You want to arm yourself with the basics of personal finance first, then continue to educate yourself before you make any huge financial decisions. Prepare yourself with the right tools to weather the storms when winter does come.

This article was originally published at HiCharlie.com.

by Sarah Li Cain | Apr 11, 2019

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Let’s talk money goals. What are yours?

Photo by Skitterphoto from Pexels

If you have a big, audacious financial goal, it can seem really overwhelming — maybe you’re wondering how you can keep yourself motivated, or how to tackle the goal in the first place.

What if there’s a fun way to do it that also gives you the opportunity to unleash your creativity?

Visual Goals FTW

Yup, I’m talking about turning your goals into a visual masterpiece. Aspiring Rembrandt or not, being able to see your goals can increase your chances of achieving them.

Whatever your goal is, achieving the dang thing can see scary. I know when I had a goal to save for a down payment on a house, I had no idea how I was going to set aside tens of thousands of dollars. However, creating a visual goal serves two purposes — you see the tangible effects of your goal and break it down in a realistic way. It’s like eating an elephant: you eat it one bite at a time.

What do I mean by visual goals? Simple: you’re creating a way to track the progress of your goals alongside the overall goal. There are a myriad of examples online, like debt payoff charts you color in, or coloring pages for savings goals.

Let’s look at an example:you decide you want to set aside $10,000 to replace your roof. You can create a large poster replica of your home and draw roof shingles where each one represents $100 towards your goal. Every $100 you set aside, you get to color in one roof shingle.

Or let’s say you want to save $2,000 for your next family vacation. It can be hard to imagine with bills to pay off and everyday expenses piling up. Instead, break it down starting with a drawing of your dream spot.How about $5 or $10 dollars here and there? Soon, those $5 or $10 dollars will stack up — and you’ll get a buzz every time you color in another palm tree on the picture of an island you drew to represent your dream vacation.

Sound silly? Get this: People who write down their goals are 33% more likely to achieve them. Visual goals can absolutely help you work towards them.

Turn It Into a Game

Setting visual goals can be fun because it gamifies the saving journey. Make a cool poster or a chart that you keep in your where you see it everyday, you want to fill it up or have it all colored in. Every time you pass by you’ll think, “How can I color in that flower petal faster?” or, “OMG only $300 until I get to color that bike tire in!”

Even creating the visual goal tracker can be a game in and of itself. First, you’ll need to think about what you want it to look like and then find a way to break it down into parts you can color. It’ll also force to you crunch numbers to see what the final goal amount is, and what each milestone will be. (And determining reasonable benchmarks! As in, if you’re looking to pay down debt, what’s more realistic: $50 or $100 increments?)

Ultimately, you’ll start to think of money as something other than a source of worry. Come on, you’re coloring in a poster or creating a piece of art. It’s not just about being good or bad with your money, it’s about finding a fun way to track your accomplishments as you work towards your goals.

I’m Convinced. How Do I Create One Of These Things?

There’s no right or wrong way to create a visual goal. As long as you make it clear what your overarching goal is and breaking it down in increments, let your inner Picasso shine!

For example, Amy Jones from Map Your Progress creates posters of swirls that join together to form one large image. If you use one of these or something similar, each swirl would represent part of your savings or debt slaying goal.. Your overall goal is achieved when the whole thing is colored in.

Start by determining what your goal is — get specific in the dollar amount. Maybe you have credit card debt to pay off, or you want to set aside money for your 10th-anniversary trip. Once you determined the total amount, break it down into smaller chunks. For example, f you’re setting aside money to pay off $5,000 worth of credit card debt, divide that amount by 50, so each part of your visual goal represents $100.

Not into coloring inside the lines? Get as creative as you want.

Here are some examples to get your artistic juices flowing:

Build a Lego castle and as you pay down your debt, take out one block until it’s totally demolished.
Print some cute labels and stick them onto a bunch of jars. . As you fill them up with literal cash (or use something like buttons to represent the money), change the labels or screw on a lid to indicate that jar is filled.
Create a large thermometer (like the ones you see for charities when they set donation goals) and set it on an easel in your kitchen for your family to see.
Create a spreadsheet in your planner or bullet journal — there are TONS of templates out there.
Use a wall in your home and great an image using sticky notes. Take down a sticky note until it’s all gone!

You know you have the drive and the determination. Now go attack those financial goals.