WORK EXAMPLE

Email 1: Welcome

Subject: Well done for deciding to do more with your money…

Hi (Insert name),

Congratulations and thank you for subscribing to the AskPaul email series.

Regardless of your current financial situation, by signing up, you have taken the first step to taking better care of your finances, making your money go further, and planning for greater financial security in the future.

The next step from here is to prepare a personal budget. While that may sound a little daunting, it’s much easier than most people think…

Get your free personal budget planner

Trying to improve your personal finances without having a budget is like trying to get to a destination without knowing where you are starting from. It’s impossible!

To help you get started, here’s a FREE link to our personal budget template.

All you have to do is fill in the gaps for your monthly income, expenses and savings and the template will prompt you for all the info needed.

And here’s a short explainer video to help you fill it in.

Everything I’ll be passing on through the emails in the coming weeks will be simple, actionable steps designed to improve your financial situation.

I will help you:

• Make better investments and be smarter with your money
• Plan your finances better
• Protect your assets
• Optimize your mortgage
• Fund your retirement more effectively

Over the course of the coming weeks and months, I’ll be passing on some important tips – many of which I normally reserve for my paying clients.

We’ll start with one that everyone can use: immediate ways to reduce your monthly bills. That email will be in your inbox shortly.

Till then,
Paul

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Email 2: Reduce Your Outgoings

Subject: How can you free up more cash by reducing bills?

Hi (Insert name),

In the last email, we looked at our personal budget template. I hope you’ve had a chance to fill it in – it doesn’t take long to complete and this video explains how.

Your personal budget planner is the first step to get a better grip on your finances.

Of course, there are two ways to increase the amount of money available to you:

1. Reduce outgoings
2. Increase incomings

It’s a simple equation but many people do not know where to start. Others worry about it being painful and having to give up doing the things they love.

That not the case. In this email, I am going to show you a few simple ways to cut your outgoings by reducing monthly bills.

Everyday charges you can reduce or eliminate

Start with your list of outgoings. Are there any everyday items you can eliminate or reduce the cost of? Some common examples include:

• Can you take public transport (or even a bicycle) to work instead of driving?
• Can you bring a packed lunch to work instead of buying food?
• Can you start to cook more rather than eating out or getting takeaways?
• Are there any subscriptions (newspapers, magazines) that you wouldn’t miss?
• Could you reduce the café-bought coffees at work and get a travel mug you to use instead?
• Why not carry a reusable water bottle instead of buying bottled water?
• Stop smoking and reduce alcohol intake

The good news is that you can reduce your outgoings AND become healthier at the same time…a double whammy. Reducing restaurant meals or fast food is a good example.

These savings will all add up – and you will begin noticing the freed-up cash almost immediately.

Reduce the big-ticket items

Next, there are two big-ticket items to reduce outgoings on.

Start with the utilities – shop around for better energy deals. If you haven’t done that for a while, chances are that there are better deals out there for gas and electricity. Switching can save hundreds of Euros a year.

To do that, simply get your last bill and note the following info:

• When your contract expires
• How much electricity and gas you use
• Your current tariff

Then log on to www.switcher.ie and start comparing deals.

Next, check your broadband, TV and mobile. Perhaps your deal(s) expired some time ago and you have been on a rolling month-by-month contract since.

Have you checked the details? Often, you will be offered a better deal to switch networks.
Besides, when was the last time you watched a movie on that Sky Movies Channel you pay for every month?

To find a better deal, follow these basic steps:

1. Understand your current deal and when it expires
2. Decide on a realistic budget of what you want to spend each month
3. If possible, remove any unwanted TV channels or other un-needed services
4. Ask Carphone Warehouse to find you the best bundled deal – TV, mobile and broadband

In the next email, I’ll pass on a few more tips about generating extra cash by controlling discretionary spending.

Once you control your spending, you can make the extra cash you create work harder for you with sound investments.

That will be with you soon.

Have a great week,
Paul

PS. There’s still time to download the free budget template and to catch up if you missed that step.

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Email 3:  Start saving money by setting up a virtual envelope for discretionary spending

Subject: Why do the small amounts matter so much?

Hi (Insert name),

In the last email, we looked at a few simple ways to cut your outgoings by reducing monthly bills. By doing that, you free up more available cash, which is one of the first steps to doing more with your money.

Many people’s investment plans are derailed by discretionary spending, i.e., spending too much on the non-essentials. Too many people look at their credit or debit card statements and can’t even remember what they bought in a particular shop or the meal they ate in an expensive restaurant.

Do you remember the old saying, “if you look after the pennies, the pounds look after themselves”?

If we’re going to get serious about our money, we need to get a handle on the small amounts and stop money going out of the door unnecessarily.

Here’s what I advise my clients…

Keep a separate virtual spending account

Let’s say that you set a budget of €50/week for discretionary spending. It’s much easier to keep to this if you set up a separate account.

Pre-Covid, you might have taken out the cash on the same day each week and controlled your spend that way. Now, it’s probably best to open a digital account or “virtual envelope” with Revolut or N26.

Both these platforms not only let you access and monitor your funds from a phone app – they are free to use.

Keeping discretionary spend separate in this way will help you really pay attention to the smaller spending. In week one it may seem strange and the €50 may be practically gone by Wednesday. But stick to it and, after a few weeks, you will be used to thinking about spending before you do it – every tea and coffee will count.

Keep it in a jar!

Do you know people who keep coins in a jar?

Don’t underestimate how much you can save like this. Again, it’s part of the same mindset about saving money by being smarter with the small amounts we spend.

Start off by putting any change under a €1 coin away. Don’t touch it. Keep a goal in mind and once you reach that amount, you can use it – whether it’s for a holiday, a small investment, or something else, at least you haven’t just frittered it away.

This state of mind about focusing on the smaller spends will help you become more financially savvy and start to save money.

Get your free Investment Club eBook

And when you start to save money, it opens many doors to making investments. If you’d like to know more about how to start making savvy investments with all that money you save, download my Investment Club eBook.

It is written specifically for non-finance professionals and includes all you need to know to think more strategically about your money and investments – with no confusing jargon.

Otherwise, in the next email, I’ll pass on a few tips about how you can start tackling debt.

Have a great week,
Paul